On September 19, the North Texas community will come together to mark an especially important event: North Texas Giving Day. This annual charitable holiday consists of an 18-hour online window where individuals can support their favorite North Texas organizations by donating through one easy-to-use platform.
Not only is North Texas Giving Day a big deal for the city of Dallas, but it marks the largest community-wide giving event in the nation. Last year, over $48 million was raised through more than 157,000 gifts benefiting 2,700 local nonprofits. It is a transformative day, and one that can impact deserving organizations for years to come.
This year, we could not be more excited to officially be a part of this important event for the first time ever. Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy exists to promote a more livable, sustainable center city through the championing of green space. We need your help – both in advocating for Downtown parks and in providing financial support – to ensure they are properly curated and maintained for decades to come.
We have already received a generous $10,000 matching grant from The Decherd Foundation that will match every dollar raised on September 19. That means your money—and your impact on Downtown Dallas parks—will be doubled! These dollars will go directly to a new Downtown Parks Maintenance Endowment that was established in 2018 with a gift from Lyda Hill to support the long-term health and vibrancy of green space in Downtown, including the four new parks DDPC is designing and building.
PfDD recognizes that parks that are not properly maintained become liabilities. The Downtown Parks Maintenance Endowment will give these green spaces the higher level of care they require through supplemental maintenance and capital improvements that no longer depend solely on the city’s annual budget process. Exceptional green spaces are the mark of an exceptional city, and we want to do everything we can to keep our city’s existing parks thriving—not just for today’s residents, but for the future generations who will one day call Dallas home.
If you’ve been following along since our founding in 2015, then you already know our work has made headlines. We are about to wrap up construction of Pacific Plaza, the first of the four public parks we are bringing to Downtown Dallas. In the coming years, West End Square, Carpenter Park (soon to be the largest park in the Downtown core) and Harwood Park will follow. These four new parks, as well as the maintenance endowment, will help us accomplish what research has already shown that city parks can do: improve the environmental, physical, economic health and social fabric of a community.
Compared to its peer cities across the country, Dallas currently spends 38 percent less per resident on park operations and invests 41 percent less on capital improvements. We believe residents and visitors of Downtown deserve high quality public spaces. Please consider making a donation to Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy on North Texas Giving Day to support your urban neighborhood parks. You also have the option to schedule your donation in advance, beginning September 9.
We are so excited to take another step forward in our mission to expand and improve the network of parks and open space in Downtown. If you are planning to make a donation to Downtown Dallas Parks Conservancy, we want to hear from you! Visit our North Texas Giving Day page and follow the conversation using the #NTxGivingDay hashtag on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
