Cobb Community Foundation selected a record 31 nonprofits for its 2026 Match Magic giveathon, which will distribute $250,000 in matching funds starting Nov. 10.

The organizations were chosen from a record 70 applicants, up from about 50 in 2025, according to East Cobb News. The giveathon opens Tuesday, Nov. 10, and runs through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, which is GivingTuesday and GA Gives Day.

Participants with East Cobb ties include Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy, the nonprofit partner of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area; LiveSafe Resources; Special Needs Cobb, which has served adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities for 70 years; and Waymark. Other Cobb-area participants include the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, PORCH Marietta, Family Promise of Cobb County and BackPack Blessings.

The match pool stood at $160,000 as of the Sept. 5 announcement. The Atlanta Braves and Walton Communities Apartment Homes each contributed $50,000 as lead donors. Genuine Parts Company added $25,000, and S.A. White Oil Company gave $20,000. Stephen W. "Steve" Imler is personally covering campaign expenses, including printing, mailing and paid social media, so every match-pool dollar goes to the nonprofits.

The campaign has grown fast. It started in 2023 as the Cobb Thrives Gift Guide, a print catalog that drew $71,000 in gifts from 30 nonprofits. In 2024, the first year as a time-limited giveathon, 25 organizations raised more than $703,000. A $108,000 match pool pushed the total past $811,000. By 2025, 27 organizations raised nearly $1.6 million, and matching funds brought the final tally to $1,710,586 in three weeks.

Among 2025 participants, 93% reported gaining new donors, 89% reached a new audience and 78% received larger gifts from existing supporters, according to the foundation.

"The numbers are extraordinary, but the real magic is what remains after the campaign ends," Shari Martin, president and CEO of Cobb Community Foundation, said in the Sept. 5 announcement. "Nonprofits leave with clearer stories, practical tools they can use again and new and more people who understand and care about their work."

Each nonprofit runs its own campaign. The foundation provides storytelling training, a communications toolkit, individual online donation pages and a printed Giving Guide. The Marietta Daily Journal inserts the guide into its newspapers before launch at no cost to the foundation. In 2025, the guide reached about 5,700 households.

Donors can contribute to the match pool through the Cobb Community Foundation before individual giving to the 31 organizations opens Nov. 10.