Best Ways to Give – End of Year Giving with True Companions 

With the holiday season quickly approaching, giving season begins to ramp up as individuals and families focus on what’s most important to them. There’s a certain sense of community and charity that comes along with time spent with loved ones. If you’re an animal lover looking to harness that sense for good, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll help you discover all the ways you can make an impact on the True Companions mission, in a way that makes sense for you. 

The Why: Giving Season is Vital for Nonprofits 

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, True Companions relies on the impassioned support of our donors big and small, to fulfill the commitment we’ve made to the animals in our care. Without the generosity of you, our dedicated community, the shelter, care, and rehabilitation we’re able to provide Colorado’s needy animals would simply not be possible.  

Let’s be clear, True Companions Animal Shelter receives no government funding, and relies entirely on the generosity of individuals like you. Your donations make a direct impact on the causes you care about. Giving Season is especially important, as it helps to provide that final push needed to meet our goals for the year, providing for our shelter cats and dogs that much more.  

If you’re looking to make that next step in your dedication to animal welfare in support of True Companions, the rest of this blog will empower you to do so in a way that makes sense for you. 

First: A Quick Giving Season Dictionary 

We understand that all the phrases thrown around during this season can become overwhelming if you’ve never donated before. Check out the below breakdown on phrases and initiatives you’ll be hearing about a lot more these new few months:  

Colorado Gives Foundation: A nonprofit booster foundation with community in mind. The founder organization of Colorado Gives Day, Colorado Gives Foundation partners with local nonprofits, expanding the opportunities for nonprofits of any size to fundraise towards their philanthropic goals.  

Colorado Gives Day: Once a year, this day marks a time for us all to come together and dedicate time to support our favorite nonprofits. Simply put, this day is a statewide giving event. This year’s Colorado Gives Day is on Tuesday, December 8th, 2026. 

Giving Tuesday: Like Colorado Gives Day, we celebrate Giving Tuesday annually. This day of dedicated giving is celebrated more broadly to counter the commercial shopping holidays of the season and remind us of what the holidays are about: connectedness and generosity. Giving Tuesday typically occurs on the first Tuesday of the month of December, which is December 1st this year. 

Incentive Fund: The incentive fund is an added level of generosity provided by the Colorado Gives Foundation. Any donations made now until December 8th will be considered a contribution towards True Companions’ portion of the incentive fund. So, let’s say for example: 20% of all donations made through the Colorado Gives Day site were towards True Companions. That 20% is then rewarded to True Companions through the incentive fund, helping us to further our nonprofit goals that much more.*  

Power Hours: Power Hours are our opportunity as a nonprofit to compete for added contributions allocated for nonprofits of our size. During power hours, it’s popular for volunteers of an organization to call donors to give towards their nonprofit’s mission. 

 

New Ways to Give: 

Now that we’ve covered the basic terminology, we’re excited to share that there are many new ways to participate in our giving fundraisers through Colorado Gives Day. 

Peer-to-peer Fundraising: 

This type of fundraiser is what you’re used to seeing in the Colorado Gives Day portal if you’ve participated before. This essentially just a page you host on your favorite nonprofit’s behalf, encouraging your social network to give to your page. If you’re passionate about philanthropy, this is a great way to get your community involved while measuring the impact of your individual efforts. Start your own peer-to-peer page here. 

Business Giving Fundraisers: 

This kind of fundraising team allows businesses to publicly support our nonprofit mission while encouraging employees and customer to give back easily while engaging with this business. Hosting this kind of fundraiser is free and easy, and allows your business to highlight your impact in alignment with your internal culture and sense of giving. Get started on building your team here. 

Team Fundraising Pages:  

Want to get your team involved? You can, it’s simple! Team fundraising pages are a fun way to add an element of competition to your giving plan. Team pages are free, and allow multiple people to fundraise towards the same goal. So, if you’re looking for a fun way to give this holiday season, consider making a team page with your friend group or family in support of the True Companions mission. 

Giving Season: The Timeline 

Giving Season officially began on November 1st, as the team at Colorado Gives Day starts to push incentive opportunities for donors looking to maximize their donations. What does this mean? New this year: any new monthly donation commitments made to our Colorado Gives Day profile will be matched, up to $100, until this incentive runs out. So, if you’ve never given before through this portal, your donation counts twice without having to double your contribution. 

Throughout the month of November, into the first two weeks of December, there will be so many opportunities to strengthen your contributions. It’s important to note, only donations made before December 8th count in our favor towards the incentive fund. Be sure to schedule your donation ahead of time! 

Can’t Donate? Other Ways to Give 

We recognize that this time of year can amount to larger financial commitments for you and your family. Don’t fret, if you can’t donate there are other ways to help forward the True Companions mission this season. These include: 

• Sharing our fundraising page on your personal social media 

• Participating in the Colorado Gives Day Instagram Giveaway in support of our mission. 

• Hosting a donation drive in your neighborhood or place of business 

• Donating new/gently used items to our shelters 

Giving Season Starts with You 

You know the saying: an organization is only as strong as the people within it. By donating towards the True Companions mission through the Colorado Gives Day portal, your donation strengthens automatically.  

We hope this blog has empowered you to mobilize within your community towards the True Companions mission. Together, we can unite Colorado’s needy pets with their forever families. Donate Now on our Colorado Gives Day page.