Neighborhood resident Sarah Cotton Nelson is chief philanthropy officer at the Communities Foundation of Texas. Check out our story about her in the September Advocate. Nelson oversees $79 million in charitable donations, and she is helping conceive better ways to spend that money.

The Communities Foundation’s annual North Texas Giving Day is Sept. 13.

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That allows regular people like us, who don’t have millions socked away to give to our favorite causes, the chance to donate $25 or more, and some portion of that will be matched. There is also a full day of activities at the Communities Foundation headquarters at Central Expressway and Caruth Haven, starting at 11 a.m. with a visit from penguins from the Dallas Zoo. There will also be food trucks as well as dance, theatrical and musical performances.

The nearly 1,000 nonprofits participating in giving day include the Aberg Center for Literacy, Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Resolana, LifeNet and many other neighborhood-based nonprofits.