SAN ANTONIO \u2013 As The Nonprofit Council prepares to kick off its largest fundraising event of the year, leaders say recent budget cuts and rising costs make the event even more important.<\/p>\n
The Big Give<\/a> is considered South Texas\u2019 largest day of giving, allowing donors to give back to more than 400 charities and nonprofits with unrestricted funds. The Nonprofit Council, a charity for charities, organizes the event.<\/p>\n Renee Garvens, the new CEO of The Nonprofit Council<\/a>, said nonprofits are struggling.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need for nonprofit services has gone up significantly while funding has gone down,\u201d Garvens said.<\/p>\n The event has raised more than $60 million since 2014. The nonprofit raised $5.53 million in 2023, $5.85 million in 2024, and $6.3 million in 2025.<\/p>\n Garvens said the goal is to exceed those numbers in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2026, 2025, there were a lot of federal cuts to nonprofits,\u201d Garvens said. \u201cThe city has had to talk a lot about how they\u2019re going to spend their money as they\u2019ve been negotiating the future budgets. Things are tight all over.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Ware works with Roy Maas Youth Alternatives<\/a> (RMYA), an organization that provides residential care and treatment for kids in foster care.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not much funding from states and from government and things of that nature, which makes it very difficult to give the kids the adequate care that they need,\u201d Ware said.<\/p>\n RMYA has a fundraising goal<\/a> of $50,000.<\/p>\n Christy Pryor recently helped start Mile Markers<\/a>, an organization <\/a>hoping to raise $92,000 to support its mission of giving kids in foster care a driver\u2019s license and car.<\/p>\n She said starting has financial barriers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve applied for grants, we\u2019ve applied for foundations, and a lot of them already want us to have funding,\u201d Pryor said. \u201cIt\u2019s just getting our foot in that door.\u201d<\/p>\n Other organizations, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio, have recently been in the news<\/a> for planning to close a club and pause programming at another. <\/p>\n A Tuesday news release said the organization will remain operational, thanks to an outpouring of support from donors and the community. The Club still hopes to raise<\/a> $50,000.<\/p>\n