Pat Traynor

Fargo

Somebody might have to pinch me.

When I woke up on February 14, the final Giving Hearts Day ticker read $31,584,082, and I was sure I was still dreaming.

Surely this can’t be the same giving day that, less than 20 years ago, raised just half a million dollars.

Surely it can’t be the same giving day that, in 2008, had only a few dozen participating charities. Surely it’s not the same giving day dreamed up by one of our teammates, Jeana Peinovich, two decades ago.

And yet it is.

Not even two decades later, here we are, celebrating numbers that truly only existed in our wildest imagination when we first launched Giving Hearts Day.

While it started in Fargo, GHD is now a true region-wide effort, and the credit for its meteoric rise goes first and foremost to the charities themselves — all 619 of them. From Best Friends Mentoring Program in Dickinson to the Dream Center in Bismarck to the Anne Carlsen Center in Jamestown, they’re the ones who have bought into the idea of “learning how to fish.”

While most people only see the incredible results from Giving Hearts Day, what they don’t see is the commitment and effort these organizations put forth year-round. In addition to delivering on their important missions — and often with limited budgets and resources — our region’s nonprofits have built incredible fundraising engines to ensure that, first and foremost, they have the dollars necessary to serve the most vulnerable in our communities.

And the proof is in the pudding. With six charities breaking the $1 million milestone this year and countless others now consistently raising six figures, it’s clear how good they’ve gotten at building and maintaining relationships with donors who are eager to support their important work.

But of course no giving day is possible without the generosity of the tens of thousands of Giving Hearts across our region. To see the number of businesses, schools, churches, and families that continue to step up year after year fills our team with a sense of gratitude and pride that’s hard to put into words. This is what Giving Hearts Day is ultimately about: real people helping real people.

It’s a testament to what can happen when you give folks an opportunity and a platform to give back in a way that’s most meaningful to them, whether it’s dollars, goods, or volunteerism. When they know that their time, talent, and treasure are going to directly support a cause they care about, the full extent of their generosity shines through.

Here’s to the power of a dream and each and every person in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota who’s made it possible!