Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter is set to make the first donation of the season when the Giving Machine returns to Southern Nevada next Thursday, November 12. The kiosks, which let shoppers buy items for local and global charities instead of typical retail goods, will pop up at Downtown Summerlin and The District at Green Valley Ranch on the same day, marking the program's eighth year in the region.
Carter is slated to kick things off at 10:30 a.m. at Downtown Summerlin, making the inaugural donation of the 2026 season, according to FOX5 Vegas. A second machine will open the same day in Henderson, giving shoppers on both ends of the valley a chance to take part. The station reports that items at the kiosks range from $5 to $125, covering everything from meals, clothing, diapers, formula and car seats to global offerings like goats, clubfoot braces and school water filters.
Who Benefits From This Year's Purchases
Shoppers can direct their donations toward a lineup of regional nonprofits, with FOX5 Vegas naming Catholic Charities, Foster Kinship, Future Smiles, Baby’s Bounty, Eye Care 4 Kids and The Just One Project among this year's beneficiaries. The Giving Machine initiative first launched in 2017, and Downtown Summerlin got its first kiosk in 2019, the station notes. Since then, officials say the Southern Nevada community has donated nearly $4 million and purchased almost 200,000 items through the program.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors the kiosks and foots the operational bill, according to the church's local site, which states that the arrangement ensures 100% of donations reach the participating organizations. The same source reports that since the machines arrived in Southern Nevada in 2019, they've generated more than $3.9 million in donations to local and global nonprofits — a figure that differs somewhat from FOX5's nearly $4 million estimate, though both point to the program's substantial local footprint.
A Global Network Keeps Growing
Organizers expect the Giving Machine to expand into more than 150 cities across 25 countries in 2026, per the station's reporting. That would be a jump from last year, when nearly 1 million people visited kiosks worldwide across 126 cities in 21 countries on six continents, according to the church's results report. The American Red Cross separately put the same 2025 footprint at 126 cities across 21 countries and six continents, and said the program has raised nearly $50 million worldwide since 2017 — a figure that contrasts with the church's own estimate of roughly $70 million donated globally since the initiative began.
Locally, the two Southern Nevada kiosks pulled in more than $600,000 last year through the purchase of 19,127 items, with thirteen nonprofits participating and more than 60 items available for donation, the church's site states. That followed a similarly strong 2024, when the two machines generated nearly $600,000 in goods and services, according to a separate report from News 3 Las Vegas.
Payment Options and Past Kickoffs
Shoppers at the machines can pay with credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, News 3 Las Vegas reported during last year's season. The 2025 launch at Downtown Summerlin had its own celebrity sendoff, with Athletics outfielder Denzel Clarke, broadcaster Dallas Braden and mascot Stomper making the ceremonial first donation as the team helped welcome the kiosks back to Summerlin.
Earlier seasons show just how much the program can generate for local causes. During the 2021 holiday campaign, the Downtown Summerlin machine drew an estimated 41,400 visitors and about 9,200 transactions, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, raising nearly $740,000 for seven nonprofits that year, with the majority of funds supporting Southern Nevada organizations. More than $500,000 of that total went to five local nonprofits, while two global beneficiaries received about $240,000, the paper reported. Three Square alone received $195,440 for fresh produce and meal support that year, which the food bank estimated would feed more than 208,500 people, while Future Smiles received $55,451, part of which was expected to help 173 children in need of emergency dental care.
Last year's kiosks saw conflicting reports on their run dates — the church's site listed November 12, 2025 through January 1, 2026, while the American Red Cross said the machines launched November 11, 2025 and accepted donations through January 2, 2026. Shoppers can mark next Thursday on their calendars for the season's official start in Summerlin and Henderson.
