Thousands of Minnesota nonprofits and schools are once again the targets of the 13th annual Give to the Max Day on Thursday.
The annual day of giving connects people to various community causes with a focus this year on causes impacted by COVID-19 and organizations led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.
In 13 years of Give to the Max Day, over $250 million has been raised.
"It's an annual celebration across Minnesota of generosity and supporting organizations together," said GiveMN executive director Jake Blumberg.
Blumberg, who spoke with WCCO Radio's Paul Douglas on Thursday morning, said Give to the Max Day in 2021 is more important than ever given the last 20-plus months.
"This is a series of disasters like no other," Blumberg said. "We're used to natural disasters like hurricanes or tornados, and this pandemic has stretched on so significantly and continues to."
Blumberg said he's witnessed firsthand how the need has gone up for nonprofits and schools.
"Resources continue to be tighter and tighter," he added. "We've seen it at the grocery store and see the prices have gone up. Imagine if you're running Second Harvest and you have to buy products at scale. You recognize prices have gone up and you have more people to feed. That's really the case with thousands of nonprofits and schools."
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Thursday's fundraising includes $100,000 in prize grant giveaways. Golden Ticket prizes of $500 are given out to randomly selected groups every 15 minutes, and the winners chosen on the hour receive $1,000.
More prize grants and their details can be found here.