If you don’t want to miss this year’s , there’s now an app that will remind you the day is approaching.
The Colorado Gives app, developed by in Denver, provides a countdown to December 9 and a link if you want to schedule your donation. On the big day, the app will track donations by the minute and let consumers see how organizations are doing.
Colorado Gives Day started in 2010 as part of an initiative by the and Colorado-based . It was an attempt for charities to reach out to residents on one day, instead of multiple times during the season. That first year, organizers had hoped to raise $1 million. They from more than 12,000 people.
In the following year, 2011, the day raised $12.4 million.
In 2012, 68,000 people .
Last year, 88,000 people to 1,442 nonprofits.
“It’s amazing to think three short years ago we were hoping to raise just $1 million, and today, we’ve raised more than $20 million,” said John Inkard, CEO of FirstBank, said last year.
The new app, which is available at and , is free. It cost about $5,000 to develop, according to organizers. The site features 1,600 charities.
