AMPLIFY AUSTIN GEARS UP FOR FIFTH YEAR OF GIVING

Online campaign has seen increased donations each year.

Amplify Austin, the city’s annual online day of giving, will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year by aiming to raise a record $9 million for more than 700 local nonprofits. The event, produced by the nonprofit group I Live Here, I Give Here, will start at 6 p.m. Thursday and run through 6 p.m. Friday.

“You don’t have to have your name on a building to be a philanthropist,” said Celeste Flores, executive director for I Live Here, I Give Here. Amplify “is about a lot of small donations coming together for a big impact.”

The 24-hour online fundraising campaign has grown in popularity over the years, garnering more nonprofit participation and increasing donations each year. In 2016, the campaign raised more than $8.5 million for 600 Central Texas-area nonprofits. This year, Amplify aims to raise an additional $1 million throughout the rest of the year by educating the public on the year-round Amplify website, which can also be used to donate for occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.

“It’s become more of a move-

RICARDO B. BRAZZIELL / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Hospice nurse Briana Rodriguez makes sure that Mike Sakewitz is comfortable in his room Monday at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. Hospice Austin, which provides end-of-life care regardless of ability to pay, raised more than $224,000 through...