Colorado Gives Day Returns Dec. 8, With Giving Opening Nov. 1 for Eagle County Nonprofits
More than 60 Vail Valley nonprofits take part through Eagle County Gives, the local coalition founded in 2010, as the statewide campaign opens its giving season on Nov. 1.
Colorado Gives Day, the statewide day of online giving created by the Colorado Gives Foundation, returns on Tuesday, Dec. 8, with early giving opening Nov. 1. The foundation announced the 2026 campaign on Oct. 15, saying more than 5,000 nonprofits across Colorado will take part, and donations made from Nov. 1 through Dec. 8 on ColoradoGives.org will count toward the day.
In the Vail Valley, the campaign runs through Eagle County Gives, a coalition of more than 60 local nonprofits founded in 2010. The coalition says it works to strengthen collaboration, fundraising capacity and awareness of the nonprofit sector that enhances the quality of life in Eagle County, channeling support to basic human needs, protecting the mountains, and developing and protecting the next generation.
Every day, Colorado nonprofits are stocking food pantry shelves, tutoring kids after school, finding homes for shelter animals and helping neighbors find housing and work.
Kelly Dunkin, president and CEO of the Colorado Gives Foundation
Since Colorado Gives Day began in 2010, donors have given more than $581 million, according to the foundation. Last year the campaign raised $56.6 million from more than 100,000 donors. Eagle County Gives describes the day as the state's largest one-day online giving event, and PNC is this year's presenting sponsor.
How the incentives work
An Incentive Fund of more than $1 million, provided by the Colorado Gives Foundation, PNC and other sponsors, boosts every donation made through ColoradoGives.org during the giving season. New monthly gifts get an added push: the foundation will match the first $100 of each new monthly gift, as part of a $250,000 matching opportunity. Nonprofits not yet listed on ColoradoGives.org can enroll at any time, though the foundation recommends enrolling by Oct. 31 to be ready when early giving opens on Nov. 1.
Business challenge and a Dec. 8 drawing
Through the Good for Business Challenge, sponsored by Gary Community Ventures, businesses that raise at least $1,000 between Nov. 1 and Dec. 8 are entered to win one of 10 prizes of $1,000, spread across the nonprofits they support. On Dec. 8 itself, donors who give $100 or more to a single nonprofit will be entered into an hourly drawing for a round trip domestic airline ticket from Southwest Airlines, with a final bonus ticket drawn after midnight.
Local planning is already under way. Minutes of the Eagle County Historical Society record a first meeting of this year's Eagle County Gives collaborative, confirming that the local giving season begins Nov. 1 and that donations through Dec. 8 count toward the campaign totals.
