In the News ... "Permian Basin Gives takes place Tuesday - TODAY""

• Fundraising goal for one-day event is $1.459 million

By Stewart Doreen, Editor
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Tuesday is a big day for giving in Midland and the Permian Basin.

Permian Basin Gives – a one-day event encouraging residents to create meaningful impact through nonprofits that serve the region – will take place Tuesday. The fundraising goal is $1.459 million.

“Permian Basin Gives started in 2020 at time when nonprofits were having to cancel or postpone their fundraising events,” Laurie Johnson, executive director of the Nonprofit Management Center, wrote. “Permian Basin Gives is the result of several nonprofit executive directors brainstorming about how to replace that lost revenue. Since its inception, the annual day of giving has generated $3.8 million in donations to our area nonprofits.”

Johnson stated 117 nonprofits are participating in this year’s event. She also said that the Permian Basin Gives online initiative has brought nonprofits together to support each other by sharing the same website, www.PermianBasinGives.org, which allows donors to find out about other nonprofits.

“When donors visit the website, they select each organization that they want to support and can also research other nonprofits,” Johnson said. “By working together during Permian Basin Gives, everyone is a winner.”

Kay Crites, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters, told the Reporter-Telegram in an email that Permian Basin Gives has resulted in donations of almost $40,000 to BBBS over the past two years.

“This is money that can be used to conduct background checks on volunteers to help ensure the safety of children in our program and to hold activities to help volunteers and children bond,” Crites wrote in an email. “It can also be used for more mundane, yet essential, expenses such as postage and utilities.”

In addition, Permian Basin Gives has allowed organizations to create new, individual connections in the communities for both future donations and possible volunteers, she said.

“Permian Basin Gives has brought in millions of dollars to help our local agencies thrive and fulfill their missions to support our communities,” Crites wrote. “This funding has been a lifeline during the past two years, when fundraisers have been cancelled and people’s attention has been focused on other matters.”

Autumn Vest of Midland Shared Spaces noted that even with $100 oil, many in Midland and across the region are feeling the effects of inflation, which Bloomberg recently reported is as bad in Midland as just about any other place in the country.

“Now, more than ever, every dollar has the power to make a difference for a nonprofit,” Vest wrote. “Nonprofits provide critical community services and touch our lives through emergency response services, health and wellness programs, education, entertainment and more.”

Permian Basin Gives is a day about the individual donation and the ability to be reminded about other opportunities in the non-profit sector. With nearly $4 million in donations over two years, it has been a nice complement to foundation donations and efforts by individual organizations.

“Every day Midland nonprofits make a difference for you and your neighbors,” Mark Palmer, executive director of the Abell-Hanger Foundation reported ...

 • Read the rest of this MRT report, and check the list of participating non-profits ...

PBG Ends Tuesday, May 17, 2022 @ 11:59 PM