SAN ANTONIO – 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.
The Big Give is considered South Texas’ 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.
Renee Garvens, the new CEO of The Nonprofit Council, said nonprofits are struggling.
“The need for nonprofit services has gone up significantly while funding has gone down,” Garvens said.
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.
Garvens said the goal is to exceed those numbers in 2026.
“In 2026, 2025, there were a lot of federal cuts to nonprofits,” Garvens said. “The city has had to talk a lot about how they’re going to spend their money as they’ve been negotiating the future budgets. Things are tight all over.”
Chris Ware works with Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA), an organization that provides residential care and treatment for kids in foster care.
“There’s 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,” Ware said.
RMYA has a fundraising goal of $50,000.
Christy Pryor recently helped start Mile Markers, an organization hoping to raise $92,000 to support its mission of giving kids in foster care a driver’s license and car.
She said starting has financial barriers.
“We’ve applied for grants, we’ve applied for foundations, and a lot of them already want us to have funding,” Pryor said. “It’s just getting our foot in that door.”
Other organizations, like the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio, have recently been in the news for planning to close a club and pause programming at another.
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 $50,000.
The San Antonio Botanical Gardens lost $200,000 in city funding and hopes to raise $10,000 through The Big Give.
The Big Give officially begins Wednesday at 6 p.m. and closes Thursday at 6 p.m. Early donations are open now.
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