A Message from Executive Director Christina Gorczynski |
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Welcome back to an eventful Impact Austin year! I continually hear from Impact Austin members that they join Impact Austin when their kids are back in school. This year, we decided to theme our first few Fall membership info sessions #BacktoSchool. We're also highlighting several Education Grant Community Partners on our social media.
Austin Bat Cave, BookSpring, Austin Child Guidance Center, Black Mamas ATX and Ecology Action are several nonprofits we will be featuring at upcoming events. Find out more here.
Increase your Impact by inviting your friends (and your friends’ friends) to join Impact Austin this year! We have rolling membership dates and a monthly payment option. If they'd first like an introduction to Impact Austin, please share our newsletter, our Membership page, and our Events page.
The start of the new school year kicks off another class of Girls Giving Grants (g3). If you know a girl in 8th to 12th grade who wants to learn more about community issues and give grants with other young philanthropists, sign her up for Girls Giving Grants right now! Recruitment continues through September 24. This year the g3 program received a grant from the Overstreet Foundation to match $5,000 of their collective donations and increase the impact of their 2022 grant. Girls Giving Grants' total impact will exceed $100,000 in 2022; this will be a very special g3 class!
If kids being back in school or adult kids out of the house is freeing up extra volunteer time, two of our committees would love your support. The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Committee is looking for two co-chairs to lead our DEIB efforts for 2021 through 2022. The Advancement Committee, which fundraises for Impact Austin’s operations and educational programming, welcomes a co-chair and a few new members. If you have time, talent, treasures, ties, or any gifts to share, please fill out our quick volunteer form or reach out to me personally - I’m happy to get you plugged in.
Our Grant Review Committees are hard at work narrowing grant applications to finalists. Impact Austin’s Equity Grants and Health and Well-Being Grants will be voted electronically by the general membership in early November. Community Partners and grant awards will be announced at our online Town Hall on November 16 and checks presented at an outdoor reception on November 18 at Zilker Lodge.
Here’s hoping for another healthy, happy and generous year Impact Austin! We hope to see you online or in-person soon!
In Sisterhood,
Christina
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Fall Recruitment is Underway! |
Impact Austin is offering an array of fall events to a wide audience, sharing philanthropy education, the work of our Community Partners, and the Impact Austin experience. Invite a friend or colleague to join one of these events – virtual or in-person – to see if Impact Austin is a good fit for her. Our next Information Session is September 23. A potential member can Meet the Board on October 22. Town Hall Meeting on November 16 will shine a light on our grant outcomes. And we have several Zones gatherings. See below!
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The Zones team has come up with some great events, including hands-on volunteer service opportunities. See our Upcoming Events section below. Coming up first is a virtual Movie Trivia Night, September 27 at 7:30 PM. All are welcome to join this Zoom gathering. Grab your popcorn and Milk Duds and test your movie knowledge!
Trivia questions can be sent to
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Fall Grant review is well underway, with 27 members serving the Health & Well-Being GRC and 22 volunteering on the new Equity GRC. Between both focus areas, 47 applications underwent initial assessment. The Health & Well-Being GRC identified 6 applications for deep-dive review, and the Equity GRC selected five. See our semi-finalists here. In early October, three nonprofits in each focus area will move forward to site visits.
Voting instructions will be emailed to members in early November. Four grants totaling $226,200 will be awarded at our November 16 Town Hall Meeting.
Find more information on our blogs, including links to resources that provide valuable background to inform our member vote.
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Impact Austin’s youth initiative Girls Giving Grants (g3) is actively recruiting new members in grades 8-12 for the 2021-2022 year. Find more information here - but hurry! Recruitment ends September 24!
In other happy news, g3 has a new partnership with Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy, which will bring in 12 Sadler Means leaders thanks to a grant from The Overstreet Foundation. Read the exciting details and encourage a young woman in your life to join g3 and experience grantmaking as a young philanthropist.
For more insights into Girls Giving Grants, read our interview with g3 President Lilah O’Brien and watch our inspiring new g3 video!
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Strategic Advisory Council |
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Impact Austin recently established the Strategic Advisory Council (SAC) as an advisory committee of community leaders who will help strengthen and diversify our membership and grantmaking. We've had a long history of gathering community feedback to shape our work, and the SAC takes this to a new level with a more structured and sustained approach. The cohort of 28 council members was finalized and approved by the Board in August.
The SAC represents the diversity of our community, and over 70% of members are people of color. The SAC will hold its first meeting on September 28 and convene quarterly after that. We're excited to bring together this incredible group of leaders who care so much about our community, and we're grateful for the energy and ideas they'll bring to the council.
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Meet the Board on October 22 |
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As a learning organization, Impact Austin is committed to supporting members’ philanthropic journeys with educational webinars, recorded events, blogs, and social media content. Some favorite recent and upcoming learning opportunities are these:
Bite-Size Learning with Bank of America + Impact Austin + Silicon Labs - Recorded here.
September 20, 12:00-1:00 - Women Leaders Webinar featuring Black Mamas ATX and Austin Child Guidance Center. Register here.
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Your fellow Impact Austin members have reached out to their employers - or partners’ employers - to investigate opportunities for corporate support and/or matches. They’re already doubling their impact with corporate matching opportunities at Apple, Bank of America, Dell, Google, IBM, Intel, Pitney Bowes, and Shell Oil Foundation. But other companies may be just as eager to support groups like Impact Austin that are growing community giving. And some corporations like IBM also have Volunteer Grants! Here's the scoop!
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Community Partner Spotlight |
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With 99 grants and 81 Community Partners since 2003, we have much to celebrate! In each newsletter, we’ll choose a past partner to highlight, while urging members to See Our Impact online.
Senior Access brought the Drive a Senior program to Impact Austin in 2015, winning our $80,000 Health & Well-Being Grant. Our investment in Senior Access hired four new drivers, trained 15 volunteers, and expanded services in Elgin, Hutto, and all Austin suburbs. Read our results and see the impact video here.
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Check out our active list of upcoming events, with times, details, and registration links. You can find past events on our website, too, with links to blogs, videos, and web pages that recap the events.
Sep 20 Women Leaders Webinar
Sep 23 Membership Information Session featuring BookSpring
Sep 27 Zones: Virtual Movie Trivia Night
Oct 15 DEIB Education Webinar – “Insights on the LGBTQ+ Community and Philanthropy”
Oct 22 Meet the Board Webinar
Oct 26 Zones: Volunteer shift with Austin Diaper Bank
Oct 29 Zones: Tour and hike at Ecology Action of Texas
Nov 06 Zones: Volunteer shift with Austin Diaper Bank
Nov 16 Town Hall Meeting (virtual)
Nov 18 Town Hall Reception (in-person, details to follow)
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We have a team of amazing individuals who work hard to always keep you up to date with what is happening at Impact Austin.
Visit our blog to find event info, press releases, member profiles and so much more!
Plus, don't forget to #JoinImpactAustin on your favorite social media sites!
When you "like" and "share" our posts, you help to promote Impact Austin to a wider audience and potential members.
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We would love to hear from you...what do you want to learn more about? What type of information is useful for you? Contact us at contact@impactaustin.org.
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