Churches United ushers in the Giving Hearts Day season!

Jan. 22 event highlighted importance of Giving Hearts Day and Churches United’s goals

Churches United ushered in the Giving Hearts Day season with its kickoff event at the Minnesota State University Moorhead Christianson Alumni Center on Thursday, Jan. 22.

The event was an opportunity to celebrate how far Churches United has come since the previous kickoff and introduce the community to our mission and our 2026 Giving Hearts Day goal.

Speaking Thursday evening, Churches United CEO Pastor Devlyn Brooks thanked staff, board members and the community for uplifting Churches United over the last year during a period of great uncertainty. He also highlighted how critical Giving Hearts Day was last year.

“It changed the entire trajectory (of Churches United),” Brooks said. “We made it to our July 1 deadline, which allowed us to get state funding, which allowed us to stay open, which allowed us to get a new development director, which allowed us to get to end of year giving. The story that has happened in the last year is remarkable.”

Brooks also outlined Churches United’s accomplishments last year, including opening Silver Linings Apartments, a 36-unit complex for individuals 55 and older who have experienced chronic homelessness, purchasing a box truck to better serve the community and rebooting the beloved Gourmet Soup Kitchen fundraiser, to name a few. Churches United has also paid off all its debt and built a savings account over the last year.

This year’s Giving Hearts Day goal is $1 million. Achieving that goal, Brooks told the audience, will put Churches United on solid financial grounds for 2026 and 2027, allowing the organization to look to the future and chart a new course.

Churches United Board President Jess Spieker Ferden noted that achieving that $1 million goal allows Churches United to recruit and retain critical staff members.

“We told everyone at Gourmet Soup Kitchen that we’re being good stewards of the funds that we are receiving – and we’re making that promise again to you,” Spieker Ferden said. “We’re being very transparent with what we will do with those funds, and that is to ensure we keep our staff. We cannot afford to lose our staff. And (we will use those funds) to build for the future.”

Giving Hearts Day is Feb. 12, but you don’t have to wait to give. Early giving is underway, and you can do so here: Giving Hearts Day.