GPA receives over $168,000 in donations through the North Texas Giving Day

Grace Prep participated in the North Texas Giving Day (NTGD) Sept. 18th, experiencing record-breaking giving of about $168,000. We had 346 gifts, totaling $75,125, plus a matching donation from an anonymous donor. That’s not all, as roughly 10 cents per dollar were given by the sponsors of NTGD to our funds, which adds up to about $7,500.
The school Board has not yet decided what to do with the funds. The amount of money given was unexpected. They are first going to take time to thank God and pray about what He wants us to do next.
The school does not have the funds in hand yet. It takes about a week for the accounts to reconcile and matching funds to be applied.
“My heart is warmed and I’m teary-eyed with joy to see that we have that much participation and that people would give this much to our school,” said Dr. Marc Evans, Head of School. “This is affirmation that we are doing the Lord’s work and that our families are in support of us here.”
The day before the event, Dr. Marc Evans, Head of School met with faculty and staff and asked them to pray for the families, friends of GPA, and the organizers of the event, that we would be successful however God directs in this giving day. He explained there were prizes given throughout the day for various things.
“It’s in God’s hands as to whether He chooses to help us win a prize or not,” said Dr. Evans to the faculty.
Sure enough, at the beginning of the donation period Thursday, our school won $5,000 from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation for the most participating donors between the hours of 6 am and noon on NTGD.
During the donation day GPA families received texts with information about the happenings of The Giving Day. At 7:00 PM Dr. Evans, sent out this text, “Gifts to GPA now total $65,305. Now 11th out of 792 schools and 30th of 1690 non-profits.”
Updates like this helped not only remind GPA families and friends to contribute, but also to stop and thank God for His success in this giving event.
At the end of the NTGD donation period we were 10th out of 792 education institutions and 31st out of 1690 Non-Profit institutions.
Dr. Evans said, “I got the idea of participating in this NTGD by watching a story about it on Channel 8 news last year, and right after, I got a text from Dr. Jay Sedwick, GPA parent, who asked, “Are you watching channel 8 news? Did you see the story about NTGD? Why don’t we think about doing that next year?”
In order for us to take part in the NTGD, Dr. Evans had to provide much paperwork and attend a class over the summer through the Communities Foundation of Texas. The school itself had to go through a selection process to join the NTGD.
In years past, the auction and Gala was used to raise the majority of funds for each year. These events usually raised about $120,000 yearly, so being a part of the NTGD raised almost double the amount we would raise at the auction and Gala, and easier because we didn’t have to plan the event or spend any funds to host the event.
Never taking things for granted or taking something good, and twisting it into pride or dis-unity is what the school urges us to do next.
“Don’t let the spiritual enemy mess with our victory,” said Phil Smith, Dean of Students.
GPA is planning an evening of celebration soon here to worship the Lord and tell Him thank you for His blessings.