For those who stayed up late to watch the 2024 North Texas Giving Day Board race to the midnight finish line, it was a real nail-biter. Surely, appointments are going to be made Friday to replace the chewed-off acrylic nails.
A quick rundown of the final hour was that it looked like there was a chance this year’s mega-fundraiser for area charities just might beat the previous year’s $63.8M. But it didn’t seem like a sure thing.
Then, like a West Texas earthquake, out of nowhere a surge shook the naysayers out of their chairs. The tally passed the $64M point and headed lickety-split deep into the $65Ms. The surge only got greater with less than 15 minutes to go, as the numbers quickly rose to $67M. Nothing was slowing down this train.
Now there were just ten minutes left before the annual fundraiser by Communities Foundation of Texas would be over, but there was such momentum going that the memory of maybe making it past $63.8M seemed like a joke.
Where was it headed? With three minutes to spare, it passed the $68M mark.
The final result? Even after the hour struck midnight, the donations kept rolling in. While the final total is still in the works, the fact is that the 2024 North Texas Giving Day broke all the fundraiser’s previous records.
Yes, it was a long 18-hour day, but the final minutes were simply exhilarating.
* Graphic courtesy of Communities Foundation of Texas