Get Amped Up, Austin!

Amplify Austin Day

All of Central Texas is coming together on March 1st for Amplify Austin Day. I describe it as a collective action day for civic generosity or a fundraising movement! This year, Austin’s non profits and organizers hope to raise $10 million in just 24 hours. What an audacious goal!

The folks at I Live Here, I Give Here are behind Amplify. I Live Here, I Give Here, the Central Texas Campaign for Philanthropy, is a collaboration of individual philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, family foundations, local businesses, and religious leaders. When asked what is the mission of Amplify Austin Day, they shared, “We inspire the people of Austin and their neighbors to make a difference in their community by connecting them with the causes they’re passionate about by giving online.”

The Amazon Of Giving

I recently heard someone say that Amplify Austin is the Amazon of giving. I must admit that it made me belly laugh. Anyone can go online to make a donation to their favorite cause or even create a fundraising page for a specific event or project. The best part is that this can be done at anytime and not just on the annual day of giving.

I respect the folks at I Live Here, I Give Here, not just because they’ve raised $35M for more than 700 non profits in the span of five years, but because they truly have taken a moment and turned it into a movement. As a student of movements and board member of ILHIGH, that gives me goosebumps.

More On ILHIGH

ILHIGH was started more than ten years ago by Patsy Woods Martin, a visionary and philanthropist. After working at United Way of Central Texas for many years, Patsy saw a moment. She felt that one organization could serve donors in a better manner by working to increase awareness of the needs in Central Texas and the role that all Austinites could play in creating solutions to those needs. Just five years after ILHIGH was launched, Amplify Austin was born.

Like the non-profits it serves, ILHIGH uses the money raised on Amplify Austin Day to support its mission. One program of ILHIGH is See Jane Give, which I had the honor of chairing in June. SJG targets women under the age of 40 to attend a fancy dinner and learn about why they should consider philanthropy and meet seasoned philanthropists. My favorite part of this event is there is absolutely no charge for attendees. It’s covered by fundraising done for the event, as well as a pay it forward fund. The night of the event, chairs ask attendees to pay it forward to participants the next year by donating. In fact, more than half of the attendees said yes and donated that evening. That’s a moment that I hope ILHIGH turns into a fundraising movement.

Check out this video to learn more about the See Jane Give program and click here to get amped up by donating on March 1st! P.S. You can schedule gifts today for Amplify Austin Day!