Thursday is a huge deal for Minnesota nonprofits, with many relying on Give to the Max Day for much-needed donations after COVID and inflation have put them in a hard spot.

According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits' recent economy report and survey, 60% of organizations have seen a rise in demand for their services, and many say their ability to provide has been challenging.

"As we move into 2022, many organizations and researchers nationwide are seeing evidence that giving may be down a bit compared to the record amounts donated in 2020-2021," Jake Blumberg the executive director for GiveMN, the nonprofit organizing the big donation day.

"Our best guess for 2022 nationwide trends is that giving may indeed be somewhat less than the past two years, but will likely be moderately higher than the amounts seen in 2019 before the pandemic began," said Blumberg. 

Lt. Col. Dan Jennings, the Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army, said he expects inflation may impact donations.

"We're not sure what's going to come in," said Jennings. "But the good news is 50% of our budget comes in November and December."

Cathy Maes, the executive director of the nonprofit Loaves and Fishes Minnesota, said it has been difficult keeping up with the increasing demand for meals. 

"COVID has turned us upside down," said Maes, "We have increased meals from about a million meals a year, to over 4.4 million." 

Maes said one of the issues their organization still deals with is a shortage of workers. 

"We're struggling to hire," said Maes. "We are working hard to make certain that all of our food is healthy and nutritious. And that costs money."

For a list of nonprofits, visit GiveMN's website. 

Related: Give to the Max Day is here, and Boreal Community Media needs you!

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