In 2013, the Nonprofit Council and San Antonio Area Foundation jointly established Big Give to help local nonprofit organizations build capacity through new donor connections. With limited resources and a goal to raise $1 million for 200 nonprofits, the newly formed Big Give planning team turned to Burnam | Gray to help work on event logistics, recruit nonprofits, rally the community and evaluate the event’s long-term potential.

By the time the dust settled on that first year campaign, Big Give had raised more than $2.1 million from 21,000 donations benefitting 467 nonprofits. And, it had firmly established itself as a part of San Antonio’s philanthropic tapestry.

In 2015, with a successful first year under our belt, the Big Give team decided to dramatically expand its footprint to include the eleven counties surrounding Bexar County. Again, with a limited budget, and the new added task of bringing together and equipping new nonprofits, the event managed to double in size, raising $4.3 million from 39,000 donations benefitting 882 nonprofits, producing a 30 to 1 return on investment and bringing over 20,000 first time donors to organizations.

Despite technical glitches in 2016, the Big Give was back and better than ever in 2017, breaking all previous totals and raising $4.6 million from 31,000+ donors for 648 nonprofits. With the relatively young age of the event, Big Give has already established itself as one of the most successful give days in the country delivering $15.3 million dollars from over 144,000 donations to more than 1,500 nonprofits located in the 14-county region around San Antonio.

Big Give’s rapid growth, strong ROI, and ability to bring in massive numbers of new and first time donors on a limited budget, demonstrates Burnam | Gray’s ability to help agencies replicate and repeat successful programs with explosive growth.

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