Arizona Gives Day 2024 is Tuesday, April 2, and the 24-hour window marks the culmination of a three-week campaign that seeks to net at least $5 million for nonprofits statewide.
The goal is ambitious, much like the initiative staged by AZ Impact for Good (formerly the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum). Last year, it raised $5.3 million; since 2013, it has funneled more than $42 million into nonprofits statewide.
The funds are vital to the 1,026 nonprofit organizations participating this year, according to Jennifer Purcell, Chief Impact Officer for AZ Impact for Good.
“There is a core group of organizations that use Arizona Gives to leverage “the collective power of giving,” as I call it. It is one of their main fundraisers for the year; they make it part of their fundraising plan. It may not be a large, in-person event, but it is online so it is relatively low-cost for them and they really depend on it,” said Purcell.
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Purcell said Arizona Gives also provides a tool kit to help organizations that may not have funds to direct toward marketing.
“Nonprofits are in need in Arizona. We have seen donations drop since the COVID pandemic. Giving USA national data indicates that overall giving year-over-year has dropped 10.5 percent, and individual giving has dropped 13.4 percent year-over-year (the numbers are adjusted for inflation). We believe that lots of that is due to inflation. Everyone has felt it,” said Purcell.
She emphasized that every aspect of the nonprofit sector — from basic needs and health and human services to animal welfare, arts and culture, and education — has been impacted by the economy.
“As inflation rises, need increases in the nonprofit sector. They are doing more with less because their costs have increased, just like the general public. Now they are also trying to help more people, so it is a bit of a double whammy,” said Purcell.
In Southern Arizona, approximately 320 organizations, 260 of which are headquartered in Pima County, hope to benefit from funds contributed on Arizona Gives Day. As additional incentive to give on Arizona Gives Day, about one-third of these nonprofits qualify for the Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) tax credit ($421 for individuals and $841 for married couples filing jointly in 2023); the Qualifying Foster Charitable Organization (QFCO) tax credit ($526 for individuals and $1,051 for married couples filing jointly in 2023); or the Public School tax credit ($200 for individual filers and $400 for married couples filing jointly in 2023). Alternatively, Arizona taxpayers can choose to direct the contributions toward their 2024 taxes, which have slightly higher limits. Visit https://azdor.gov/tax-credits/credits-contributions-qcos-and-qfcos for more information about deadlines and 2024 limits.
Donations to nonprofits through the Arizona Gives Day website at https://www.azgives.org can also help nonprofits to qualify for $180,000 in incentive prize money courtesy of sponsors such as Arizona Community Foundation; Freeport-McMoRan Foundation; The Burton Family Foundation; The Diane & Bruce Halle Foundation; Hickey Family Foundation; Vitalyst Health Foundation; Thunderbird Charities; Community Foundation for Southern Arizona; SRP; Southwest Gas; Sechler Morgan and Tucson Electric Power/UniSource Energy Services.
Additionally, donors can utilize the website at AZgives.org to search for nonprofits that support causes meaningful to them.
“It is such a nice tool for people. They can search by mission, service area, headquarter area, and demographic areas. So if you want to focus on immigrants, veterans, children, health care, LGBTQ+ causes or something else, it is easy to do that,” Purcell said.
Individuals and nonprofits can also choose to set up “fundraisers” through the website, which also helps promote awareness about their missions.
Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE) is among the local nonprofits that has launched several fundraising pages (visit https://www.azgives.org/ironwoodtreeexperience to make an Arizona Gives Day donation).
In an effort to create healthy and resilient communities, ITE promotes engagement of young people with the natural world and encourages them to become stewards of the environment. Working in collaboration with other organizations, it serves about 1,000 youth ages 14 through 20 annually, offering field studies through local public high schools. ITE also provides internships and other opportunities for students interested in environmental studies.
“There is a deficit in the amount of time that youth are able to get outdoors compared to in the past, and we want to help them connect with where they live and help them to grow their appreciation for their home and community,” said Chrissy Maes, Engagement Manager for ITE.
She emphasized that Arizona Gives Day is ITE’s largest single fundraiser of the year, with a goal of raising at least $40,000 by the end of Arizona Gives Day.
Many nonprofits also build celebrations around Arizona Gives Day, and ITE is no exception: It will stage a happy hour from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 at MotoSonora Brewing Company, 1015 S. Park Ave. During happy hour, ITE will receive $1 from every Testarossa beer served.
“Arizona Gives Day is very important to us. We put lots of energy into it and we are excited,” Maes said.
