" You Don’t Build a New Chapter Alone." By Carmen Lidia Fajardo

A new chapter doesn't begin with a blank page. It begins with everything you've already written.

For 14 years, The Madrina Project has been writing a story about what can happen when a girl has her very own Fairy Godmother.

What began with one purple dress and a simple belief in passing it forward has grown into a community built around dignity, confidence, celebration, and the milestone moments that matter most.

Now, we're opening a new chapter.

And one thing we're learning as we build it is this: You don't build a new chapter alone.

An author may have the story, but it takes a whole team and the right tools to turn a manuscript into a finished book that eventually lands in someone's hands. The same is true of a nonprofit organization.

Behind every girl we serve is a network of people, partnerships, resources, systems, and tools that make the work possible. As The Madrina Project enters this new era, we've been intentional about building the infrastructure we need to serve girls well and sustain this mission for years to come.

That's where GiveKit comes in.

GiveKit is becoming The Madrina Project's CRM, giving us one central place to manage our relationships, fundraising, trainings, and organizational information.

For a growing nonprofit, that matters.

We have spent years building the heart of The Madrina Project. Now we're also building the systems that can help carry that heart forward.

A strong CRM gives our team a shared place to steward the relationships and information that make our work possible. It helps us create stronger fundraising systems, keep our team connected, and build organizational practices that can grow with us.

We're not just adding another piece of technology.

We're putting tools in place for the next chapter.

More Than a Platform, It's People

One of the things that has made our partnership with GiveKit especially meaningful is the time and care they've invested in helping our team understand the platform and the purpose for it.

We are deeply grateful to Alberto for spending time with our team and helping us see how GiveKit can support the way we're building The Madrina Project for the future.

Because sustainability isn't just about raising more money. It's about building an organization capable of stewarding the resources, relationships, and opportunities that allow us to keep showing up for girls.

As someone who has spent 14 years figuring things out one step, one girl, one dress, and one relationship at a time, I know that having people willing to come alongside you and help you build well is a gift.

Thank you, GiveKit, for investing in our people, sharing your expertise, and helping us put the right tools in place for what comes next.

Writing the Next Chapter

We're excited to fully roll out GiveKit as we gather for The Next Chapter on Sunday, November 15, 2026. A platform like GiveKit gives us one quality space to support the fundraising behind our events, as well as the free experiences we create for girls.

It gives us another way to connect the many pieces of this work and build with greater intention.

And that is exactly what

The Next Chapter is about.

It is both a celebration and a preparation.

It's about celebrating what we love about the past 14 years while preparing for a more sustainable future. It's about taking everything we've learned, everything our community has helped us build, and everything we've dreamed about for the future and putting the people, systems, partnerships, and resources in place to carry it forward.

Fourteen years ago, we were simply trying to make sure a girl had a dress for a milestone moment.

Today, we're thinking about what it takes to make sure The Madrina Project can keep creating those moments for generations of girls to come.

On Sunday, November 15, 2026, The Madrina Project will gather our community at the Texas Public Radio Irma & Emilio Nicolas Media Center to celebrate 14 years of serving as San Antonio's Fairy Godmother and to open the pages of what comes next.

This isn't simply an anniversary celebration.

It's an invitation to see the story we've been writing.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

Tickets Now Available!

Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Doors open at 1:30 PM. Brunch bites, beverages & silent auction.

Program begins promptly at 2:20 PM. Theater-style delayed entry will be enforced.

Attire: Your favorite shade of Fairy Godmother Blue

Free parking will be available. We’ll send all the details you need in your “Know Before You Go” guide before the event.

Theater-style delay: what does that mean? Guests who are not in their program seats by 2:20 PM will be asked to wait in the lobby and will be seated during a designated transition in the program.