MIDLAND On Monday afternoon, Midland Shared Spaces hosted a kickoff party to unveil WTX Nonprofits.
The kickoff party took place at Second Story Coworking located at 223 W. Wall St., Suite 200.
According to the WTX Nonprofits website, it’s a project designed to connect individuals with nonprofits through outreach efforts operating or serving in West Texas. As of Monday afternoon, there were more than 150 nonprofits listed in the WTX Nonprofits directory.
MSS Executive Director Autumn Vest spoke with the Odessa American about the importance of keeping the nonprofit list up to date. WTX Nonprofits serves 20 counties throughout West Texas including: Andrews, Borden, Brewster, Crane, Jeff Davis, Dawson, Ector, Gaines, Glasscock, Howard, Loving, Martin, Midland, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward and Winkler.
“It’s a very hands-on project,” Vest said. “We are trying to reach out to every nonprofit before we list them, so we make sure that we are listing them correctly and that we know that they are operational. The whole goal is to be a living, breathing, viable resource for our community.
“We don’t want a bunch of listings that aren’t accurate or nonprofits that are no longer operating or whatever the case may be. We are really being diligent.”
The official launch of WTX Nonprofits was three years in the making.
Vest said this is the first of many steps to ensure that WTX Nonprofits continues in the future. She said the next major piece in the success of WTX Nonprofits is marketing.
“It’s not the field of dreams,” she said. “We can’t just launch it and walk away. We have to talk about it. We have to continue to share the information with community members.”
Vest wanted to emphasize WTX Nonprofits is a free tool for people to use when searching for nonprofits throughout West Texas.
The directory listing for nonprofit organizations includes its name, address, telephone number, website and social media accounts.
“This is an opportunity for some nonprofits who aren’t heard of as much, or are just getting started,” Vest said. “It’s an opportunity for them to get the same level of recognition as other nonprofits. The listings are fair. They are free. We don’t ask any nonprofit to contribute. We aren’t asking for money. It’s truly a collaborative regional effort.”
