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I'm still feeling inspired and energized from our 2026 Annual Meeting on June 8 when we awarded $300,000 in grants to six Central Texas nonprofits and celebrated Girls Giving Grants' 20th anniversary and their $8,000 award. Congratulations to our seven 2026 Community Partners! Read more about them below.
Our Annual Meeting is an important milestone each year as it is the culmination of months of work by our Grants Committee. I am grateful for the many women whose time and talents bring our mission of providing transformative grants to life. An event of this scale requires significant planning and behind-the-scenes work. Thank you to our Philanthropy Operations Manager Alyssa Torres, our interns, and the many volunteers who ensured that the event was a success. If you missed Annual Meeting, read our event recap.
Impact Austin's fiscal year ends on June 30. As we start our new fiscal year on July 1, our new Board of Directors takes office. After seven years on Impact Austin's board, including two years as President, Deanna DeHaven will roll off the board. Her leadership and stewardship have made an indelible impact on our organization. Thank you, Deanna! I am excited to welcome new board members Caroline Wilkinson, Lauren Lewis, Melissa Lorber, and Karen Cox. They all have a passion for collective giving, and each of their unique strengths will benefit our organization.
I am thrilled that Jerrica Deloney Witte will join the board's Executive Committee. Jerrica and I will be partners in leading the board and the organization in FY27 as we pilot a co-chair model. Based on best practices from other women's collective giving circles, the board decided to pilot this new model to strengthen Impact Austin's leadership, increase capacity, mitigate risk, and open board leadership to more women.
The board developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) policy which governs how we use this powerful and rapidly evolving technology for internal operations and grantmaking. Below you'll learn more about our policy. Given the quickly changing AI landscape, we'll update our policy as needed to stay current and ensure responsible use of the technology.
During the summer months, we slow our organizational pace to give our volunteers an opportunity to rest and recharge. While you'll see fewer events over the summer months, we have many exciting opportunities to engage, learn, and serve coming soon.
Regards,
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Claudia Barlow
Co-Chair, Executive Committee
| | $300,000 in Community, Education, and Health & Well-Being Grants Announced | | Congratulations to our 2026 Community Partners! Member votes that were cast before and during Annual Meeting determined the awards offered to each of our six grant finalists. In each grant category, the finalist with the most member votes received $80,000. The second finalist in each category received $20,000. All are unrestricted grants, awarded with a trust-based approach to invest in the mission and programs of these Community Partners. Learn more about our grants in our June 9 news release. | | Girls Giving Grants Celebrates 20th Anniversary and their 2026 Award | At our Annual Meeting, Rebecca Birch, Co-Chair of Girls Giving Grants, summed up g3’s impact with these words: "Two decades of young women learning to give, lead, and make a difference. We are thrilled to share that in that time, g3 has awarded $138,600 through 22 grants to 20 nonprofits. This year, 63 young women participated from 21 schools across the community. Over the past nine months, they collectively put in over 1000 volunteer hours." Congratulations to our g3 members! Read more on our blog. | | G3 Registration Opens July 13 | | |
Girls Giving Grants is Impact Austin’s youth program for girls in grades 8-12 who have an interest in making a difference and learning all about the community and philanthropy. The group meets every other week from September to April, on Sunday afternoons from 3:00-5:00 PM.
The g3 membership contribution is $125 ($100 directly to the grant and $25 for g3 program materials and administration) with scholarships available. Members pool their contributions to create a meaningful annual grant that goes to a local nonprofit chosen by the g3 membership.
Registration will be open July 13 to September 20. You can learn more about the program and the grants awarded here.
Please share this opportunity with a young woman who you think would be interested in joining this incredible group! For more information, please feel free to contact us at g3@impactaustin.org.
| | From the Board of Directors: Our Use of AI Tools | | |
As artificial intelligence (AI) tools become more widely available, we believe it is important to be transparent about how we use these technologies. We want our members, applicants, and partners to understand how we protect the integrity of our organization and its grantmaking.
All grant review, scoring, deliberation, and funding decisions are made by Impact Austin members. AI is not used in our grant selection process. We believe effective and equitable philanthropy requires lived experience, knowledge of community, and trust. Applicants may choose to use AI tools to help draft or refine applications, helping support equitable access for organizations with varying levels of capacity.
Impact Austin staff and volunteers may use AI for non-grantmaking activities. Protecting applicant, member, donor, and grantee information is a core priority. As technology evolves, we will continue to evaluate our practices to ensure they remain aligned with our mission, values, and commitment to the Central Texas community.
| | New leaders Welcomed to Board and Committee Positions | | In her message above, Claudia Barlow named new Directors joining the Board. Each will serve on a committee and in some cases co-lead that committee. Meet all Directors and Committee Chairs on the Our Leadership webpage. | | Outgoing Committee Chairs Thanked | | At Annual Meeting, four outgoing committee leaders were thanked for their many years of volunteer service. Kudos to Karen Davenport (not pictured), Girls Giving Grants; Karen McLinden, Grants; Judi McCarthy, Marketing; and Audra Morris, Membership. | | 2026 Volunteer Awards Announced | | Always a highlight of Annual Meeting, the volunteer awards announced by Claudia Barlow and Jerrica Deloney Witte were based on nominations by fellow members for outstanding service in FY 2026. Congratulations to these outstanding member-volunteers! | | |
Val Kirk Above & Beyond Award - given to the member who exemplifies exceptional dedication, service, and heart.
Congratulations to Lisa David, who was instrumental in the design and implementation of our new membership model.
| |  | Committee of the Year – Membership successfully navigated a leadership transition while simultaneously rolling out significant change to our membership structure. The committee continues to evolve, brainstorming fresh activities, deepening process analysis, and finding new ways to drive meaningful membership engagement. | | | |
Allison Marshall Volunteer of the Year Award – awarded to an individual who gave extraordinary time and energy to Impact Austin.
Congratulations to Caroline Wilkinson, not only the new Co-Chair of Membership but also a member of Development Committee.
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Core Values Award - recognizes a member whose actions and character reflect what Impact Austin stands for at its best.
Congratulations to Margaret Ballinger, doing it all: Finance Committee, Member Connections, Grants Committee, and now Grants Co-Chair!
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Did you miss the 2026 Annual Meeting? We had great attendance, extra time for networking, creative appetizers, refreshments, and the excitement of awarding new grants. Find the recap on our blog!
Now Impact Austin takes a summer rest. Events slow down to just a few. Later this summer, check out our Events webpage for more ways to connect after the summer break.
| | Community Partner Spotlight | | Our founder Rebecca Powers envisioned Impact Austin members as an army of informed philanthropists. In that spirit, we invite you to learn more about our new Community Partners through the See Our Impact webpage, which includes information about each grant and also links to each partner’s website. We are so honored to invest in their work – learn why! | | |
Jun 29 – Impact Austin Book Club, 6:00-7:30 PM. Register.
Jul 13 – Member Connections: Virtual Co-Working Mondays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Register.
Aug 10 – Member Connections: Virtual Co-Working Mondays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Register.
Sep 14 – Member Connections: Virtual Co-Working Mondays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Register.
| | Get Social, Stay Connected | | Impact Austin Member Hub Facebook Page | | The Membership Committee championed a Facebook group for members, and here’s how to join: From the “Search Facebook” field, type Impact Austin Member Hub. Request to join the group and answer three quick questions. Once you’ve answered those questions, your request should be approved by one of the group moderators within 48 business hours. This group is for members only – to strengthen connections, share ideas, get together socially, and stay updated. Posts may be generated by anyone in the group! | | | | |
