Big Day of Giving: Sacramento region’s 24-hour nonprofit charity drive is underway

Lezlie Sterling/lsterling@sacbee.com

The Big Day of Giving is back, with the 12th annual 24-hour charity drive for Sacramento-area nonprofit organizations underway Thursday.

As of 5 p.m., the event had raised more than $9.9 million, with nearly 22,000 people donating to over 810 organizations across California’s capital region.

The event has broken its own fundraising record every year since its 2013 inception, according to the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, which organizes the event. Last year, more than 31,000 donors gave close to $13.8 million to more than 750 nonprofits.

Here are the leaderboards as of 5 p.m., according to the foundation:

Extra-large nonprofits

Operating budgets over $5 million

  1. Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services: 911 donations totaling $211,114.

  2. Volunteers of America: 49 donations totaling $201,264.

  3. ACC Senior Services: 240 donations totaling $140,270.

  4. Sacramento Children’s Home: 274 donations totaling $136,799.

  5. Sacramento SPCA: 667 donations totaling $134,102.

  6. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Sacramento: 206 donations totaling $127,646.

  7. PBS KVIE: 477 donations totaling $90,013.

  8. Sacramento Zoological Society: 324 donations totaling $75,212.

  9. Shriners Children’s Northern California: 274 donations totaling $74,439.

  10. Meals on Wheels by ACC: 353 donations totaling $56,395.

Large nonprofits

Budgets between $500,000 and $5 million

  1. The Salvation Army of Sacramento: 124 donations totaling $268,050.

  2. Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera: 95 donations totaling $224,031.

  3. Meals on Wheels Yolo County: 339 donations totaling $100,893.

  4. Placer Land Trust: 335 donations totaling $100,133.

  5. Sacramento Loaves & Fishes: 302 donations totaling $92,565.

  6. Yolo Food Bank: 344 donations totaling $89,361.

  7. Placer SPCA: 247 donations totaling $85,955.

  8. Crocker Art Museum: 251 donations totaling $85,211.

  9. Women’s Empowerment: 139 donations totaling $82,376.

  10. Gold Country Wildlife Rescue: 286 donations totaling $79,487.

Medium nonprofits

Budgets between $100,000 and $500,000

  1. First Tee - Greater Sacramento: 317 donations totaling $131,071.

  2. Sacramento Splash: 335 donations totaling $99,811.

  3. Verge Center for the Arts: 113 donations totaling $89,732.

  4. Friends of Front Street Animal Shelter: 764 donations totaling $88,460.

  5. Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra: 52 donations totaling $85,683.

  6. Friends of the Sacramento Public Library: 381 donations totaling $82,626.

  7. Kiwanis Family House: 115 donations totaling $69,176.

  8. Twin Lakes Food Bank: 135 donations totaling $62,857.

  9. Auburn State Theatre: 82 donations totaling $55,760.

  10. Elk Grove Food Bank Services: 148 donations totaling $53,172.

Small nonprofits

Budgets under $100,000

  1. Divine Mercy Human Development Foundation: 168 donations totaling $60,081.

  2. Parkinson Association of Northern California: 123 donations totaling $51,970.

  3. Lincoln Hills Foundation: 113 donations totaling $50,177.

  4. HART of Folsom: 54 donations totaling $36,619.

  5. TEAM Bradshaw: 250 donations totaling $33,953.

  6. Girls on the Run of Greater Sacramento: 208 donations totaling $32,558.

  7. Sisters of Nia, Inc.: 311 donations totaling $27,877.

  8. Winters Museum: 45 donations totaling $26,344.

  9. Project Lifelong: 99 donations totaling $25,766.

  10. Folsom’s Hope: 24 donations totaling $24,630.

The event started as the Arts Day of Giving in 2013 and raised $500,000 for arts nonprofits before broadening its reach the following year. It has pulled in more than $78 million since then, with fundraising totals increasing every successive year since its inception.

The Big Day of Giving thrived in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced financial hardships for a number of different types of nonprofits.

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