Arlington Tomorrow Foundation Awards $50,000 in Grants During 6th Annual Arlington Gives Event
By Office of Communication
Posted on September 19, 2019, September 19, 2019

 

The Arlington community once again donated in record amounts during Arlington Gives to help nonprofits large and small continue their dreams of serving the needs of children, adults and even animals.

Arlington Gives is an annual event hosted by the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation on the same day as North Texas Giving Day. Besides organizing a free community concert featuring Daphne Willis at the Levitt Pavilion, the foundation also awarded $50,000 in grants throughout the day to Arlington-based nonprofits.

More than 2,000 people came out to Downtown on Thursday to participate in the 6th annual Arlington Gives event. About 50 Arlington nonprofit organizations set up booths along Abram Street between City Hall and the Levitt Pavilion to provide residents with more information about their mission.

Ethan, 22, helped explain the classes and the valuable educational and vocational programs made available to him as a participant in the Green Oaks School Adult Learning Program and the importance of supporting the nonprofit.

“Green Oaks is awesome to me,” said Ethan, who talked about his love of dancing, music, singing, cooking, Bible study and even math classes that he gets to enjoy at the school.

The Green Oaks School was one of many Arlington nonprofits who received an outpouring of support during the 11th annual North Texas Giving Day. The 18-hour online giving event, coordinated by the Communities Foundation of Texas, is designed to encourage residents to make a contribution to the nonprofit organization of their choice. All contributions made between 6 a.m. and midnight on Thursday were matched in part by the Communities Foundation.

Since 2014, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation has sponsored Arlington Gives! to recognize and highlight Arlington-based nonprofit organizations and help North Texas Giving Day contributors' dollars go even further. In all, 7,299 donations totaling $1,796,731 were donated to Arlington nonprofits, exceeding last year's record-setting 6,440 gifts totalling $1.6 million.

That included support from Debra Nelson, who brought her pup, Gidget, out to enjoy the Daphne Willis concert on the lawn of Levitt Pavilion. Nelson said she supported New Day, which provides meals on the weekends for Arlington ISD students.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Nelson said of the annual Arlington Gives event and free community concert, which aims to help increase visibility for the work of local nonprofits.

Since its creation in 2007, the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation has awarded more than 400 grants totaling nearly $23 million to Arlington nonprofit organizations, City of Arlington departments and neighborhood groups for projects that help the public.

Arlington Gives Award Recipients

The Arlington Master Chorale received the first $5,000 bonus grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation for the highest number of donations received between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Grace Prep Academy received the second $5,000 bonus grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation for the highest number of donations received between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The Friends of the Levitt Pavilion Arlington received the third $5,000 bonus grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation for the highest number of donations received between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Mission Arlington won the fourth $5,000 bonus grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation for the highest number of donations received between 7 p.m. and midnight.

During the concert, Wildlife on the Move and the Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities were each randomly selected to receive a $5,000 bonus grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation. The organizations selected had to be in attendance during the Arlington Gives event.

Green Oaks School was the winner of the People's Choice Award, which is a $10,000 donation from the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Arlington Youth Foundation based on votes from Arlington Gives event attendees. More than 5,000 votes were cast for the school.

Additionally, 46 small Arlington-based charities with operating budgets less than $250,000 will split a $20,000 pool of grants. These nonprofits, who will each receive a grant of $434, participated in the Arlington Gives Charity Showcase.

Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, Support Youth and Families, MyArlingtonTV
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