'The chorus of giving'

Leaders of nonprofits in this area say Giving Hearts Day is very important to raising funds and building relationships with people who care about their missions.

Building those lasting relationships is called "friend-raising," an essential part of fundraising, said Pat Traynor, executive director of the Dakota Medical Foundation.

In the past 10 years, $41 million has been raised through Giving Hearts Day events, Traynor said. Last year, donations from about 22,000 people in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota totalled almost $10.7 million.

"It's become a ritual for families to sit down and choose charities to give to," Traynor said. Many people give to more than one organization.

"We've added 40 charitable causes this year," he said. "Each charity brings in a network of friends."

This year's goal is to inspire 50,000 to donate on Giving Hearts Day, he said, when a donor's gift of $10 or more can be matched and have twice the impact.

More than 400 charities and non-profit organizations are involved in Giving Hearts Day this year.

"Each one of these charities is raising the chorus of giving," he said. "It's awesome to see these charities reach more of their potential."

Raising the profile

As part of Giving Hearts Day, non-profit organizations are hosting special events, such as open houses, to spread the word about their work and purpose.

"It's everything to us," said Jamie Bischoff, development director of special events at the Community Violence Intervention Center.

Bischoff has spread the word through social media, email or regular mail "to get people engaged," she said.

The CVIC also has partnered with Deek's Pizza, which is topping their pizza boxes with a flyer encouraging customers to donate to CVIC on Thursday.

The amount of funds directed to CVIC has increased each year, she said. "(As a donor) you can do very little or you can do a lot."

The Sunshine Memorial Foundation is hosting an open house Thursday at the Sunshine Hospitality House, which is fully enclosed but still under construction.

The three-story, 19,600-square-foot facility will house outpatients who are receiving health care services locally and family members of hospitalized Altru patients.

Visitors will be able to tour parts of the building and see display boards that capture the interior designers' vision, said Theresa Garbe, CEO of the foundation.

"We still need to raise about $300,000 for furnishings," Garbe said.

Anyone who makes a donation onsite Thursday may sign the interior framing of the house, she said.

Other groups are sponsoring campaigns to stimulate donations. For example, Gate City Bank is inviting everyone to nominate favorite charities. In a drawing, the top 38 nominated charities will each receive $2,500 from the bank, said Lexy Wilson, personal banker at Gate City in Grand Forks.

"We've been doing Giving Hearts for a couple of years," she said. "We are stepping it up this year. It will be a surprise for a lot of charities."

Open House for the Sunshine Hospitality House

Noon - 7 p.m. Thursday

933 Duke Dr., Grand Forks

Tours available. Those who make a donation may sign framing inside the house.

Refreshments will be served.