PHOENIX — Arizona Gives Day is underway! And this year, it is more important than ever as Arizona's nonprofits report significant losses over the past year.
As to how we got here, the short answer is the pandemic, and the closures as well as other restrictions that came along with it, are to blame.
Jennifer Purcell, who is a senior vice president with Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, said, “The nonprofits haven’t been able to continue business as normal...meaning they can’t hold fundraisers in person, which is a huge component of being able to bring revenue into those organizations.”
Plus, less volunteers were eligible to help. Not to mention expenses went up, primarily for PPP, supplies and technology. In total, more than 400 Arizona nonprofits reported over $91 million in losses over the past year, according to Purcell.
As to how we can help, “Arizona Gives has a shopping cart experience, and we have over 1,040 organizations for people to choose from,” Purcell said. To pick a recipient, donate and possibly pledge to volunteer head to azgives.org.
One potential recipient or your generosity is Arizona Small Dog Rescue. Dani Joslin, the intake coordinator there, says your donations would be used to build a space to help socialize dogs before they get forever homes.
“So creating like a separate quiet area just for them to get used to everything, and just to calm down, is really important,” Joslin explained. “And it would help benefit the dogs 1,000% more.”
To donate, head to azgives.org to pick a recipient, donate and possibly pledge to volunteer.
“Thank you guys for everyone who's donating. We really appreciate it," Joslin said.
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