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Greetings to all,
This season naturally invites reflection and gratitude. Impact Austin thrives because of the generosity, commitment, and shared purpose of our members, community partners, and sponsors. To our members, I’m thankful that you invest your money, time, experience, and skills in Impact Austin to strengthen Central Texas through our collective giving. To our community partners, thank you for your vital work serving our neighbors. To our sponsors, I am grateful for your commitment to our mission.
It was inspiring to see so many members, guests, and community partners come together at our recent Town Hall meeting to celebrate our impact, hear powerful stories from our nonprofit partners, and look ahead with hope to the year to come.
As we approach year-end, please renew your membership or join by December 31 so your contribution is included in our 2026 grant pool. I also encourage you to reach out to friends, colleagues, and former members who may be ready to join or rejoin our mission. Every new member strengthens our ability to fund transformational grants for Central Texas nonprofits, and I’m excited to watch our 2026 grant pool continue to grow.
We have several opportunities to connect with one another through the remainder of the year. Please visit our Events page to explore upcoming events and register — and bring a friend with you. I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.
Wishing you a great start into the holidays!
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Claudia Barlow
President, Board of Directors, FY 2026
| | More Members Needed for High-Impact Grants | | |
December 31 is the deadline for membership contributions that will build 2026 grants. Impact Austin will award primary and secondary grants in the focus areas of Community, Education, and Health & Well-Being. How large will those grants be? Impact Austin loves to award high-impact grants!
To grant $100,000 in each of the three focus areas, split between primary and second grants, we need 100 more women to join, re-join, or renew their Impact Austin memberships by De31.Three membership levels invite each of us to choose the donation that best fits our philanthropic capacity and goals.
Is it time for you to join or renew? Let’s build that grant pool!
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At the 2025 Town Hall Meeting, Jerrica Deloney Witte and Erin McCord asked current members to reach out to former member-friends who have stepped away from Impact Austin but still believe in our mission. Personal outreach can make a difference in encouraging them to return.
- Think of women no longer active whom we’ve enjoyed volunteering with or giving and granting alongside at Impact Austin.
- Reach out to these women, invite them to an upcoming event, share our new membership webpage, and offer your own story of what continues to inspire you about Impact Austin membership.
Let’s get back to giving together.
| | Upcoming Membership Info Events | | Please share these December events with women curious about Impact Austin. Better yet, register for yourself and a friend or colleague to attend so that she might learn more about us. Click on the event graphics for details and registration. | | |
Impact Austin friends are saddened to announce the passing of Marla Whelan on August 3, 2025. A long-time Grants volunteer, Marla joined Impact Austin in 2007 and served in various capacities on the Grants Committee. She was instrumental in designing and implementing the current computer software for managing the grants process.
As Grants Chair when the Covid epidemic began in 2020, Marla revised the grants process mid-cycle in order to get funds to our community's nonprofits more quickly. She introduced the concept of a secondary unrestricted award after years of using a "winner take all" system. Impact Austin's current model of awarding only unrestricted grants arose from her innovative ideas.
Marla was a professional, kind, persuasive, and compassionate leader, encouraging and elevating volunteers to positions of leadership within the Grants Committee. She was generous with her time and patient with her volunteers, creating the conditions for every Grants volunteer to experience joy and growth during their time with Impact Austin. She told all her leaders, "Don't struggle. Ask for help." And she was always there to help.
The family held a private memorial service for Marla in early November. On their Facebook post announcing Marla's death, the family wrote, “If you want to make some type of donation, I think she would appreciate any donation to a hospice organization in your community, cancer research, Planned Parenthood, or your local NPR or PBS station. And to fight against any cuts to funding for cancer research at the federal or state level.”
| | GRC Registration Open Through Jan 30 | | |
A total of 75-80 members will give brainpower to Impact Austin’s three Grant Review Committees (GRCs). To date we have about 25% of the total needed. The following details and more were emailed to members on Nov 4 to help you decide if a 2026 GRC is right for you. We hope it is!
Important Dates:
All GRC Kickoff Meeting and Education Session - Feb 10, 6:30-8:30 PM
Community GRC will meet in-person on Feb 18, Mar 11, Apr 8, May 6
Education GRC will meet virtually on Feb 17, Mar 10, Apr 7, and May 5 (this date in person)
Health & Well-Being GRC will meet in person on Feb 16, Mar 9, Apr 6, May 4
Finalist Site Visits - All GRCs will conduct in-person site visits between April 23-25.
If you have financial skills, consider joining the Grant Finance Committee (GFC). GFC members assist with more rigorous financial due diligence during the grant application review phase in March. You can serve as a GFC member whether or not you serve on a GRC. Reach out to grc_coordinator@impactaustin.org.
Membership contributions must be paid by Feb 5 or you must be making monthly payments by that date to serve on a GRC.
GRC Mentor Program – Grants is piloting this program to match experienced GRC members with new. When you register, please indicate if you’re willing to serve in this capacity.
Technology Shadow – Our Technology Chair Melissa McDermott will retire in Dec 2026. If you have tech skills and would be interested in “shadowing” her in this position to take over in FY 2027, please reach out to grants@impactaustin.org
Ready to join a GRC? Complete your Impact Austin profile here.
| | Girls Giving Grants Honored in their 20th Year | | |
Thank you to Joel Coffman and RecognizeGood for highlighting the impact of Girls Giving Grants. The RecognizeGood blog shared, “For nearly 20 years now Girls Giving Grants has inspired young women in Central Texas to lead with compassion by finding various local organizations to give to, donating over $130,000 to date to improve the lives of our community members.” As part of their recognition, Joel Coffman presented a $1,000 check at g3’s October meeting. This amount will be applied to their 2026 grant of $8,000.
Impact Austin's youth initiative is celebrating their 20th year of collective giving, grantmaking, philanthropy education, and community impact. Check out their progress to date on our blog.
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If you missed our fabulous 2025 Town Hall meeting, we have a recap on our blog that offers some key takeaways. Of note are the Community Partner panel featuring leaders from Friends of the Children Austin, Latinitas, and Magdalene House Austin and a Member Panel that discussed the value of Impact Austin’s new membership model.
| | Member Connections Events | | Our Membership Connections team curates events that give Impact Austin members opportunities to socialize, volunteer together, even co-work! Check out these gatherings in December and consider bringing a friend to the holiday social! Click on the event graphics for details and registration links. | | |
Your Impact Austin Marketing Committee touches almost every part of Impact Austin’s mission: promoting it, reporting on it, adding it to the website, chatting about it on social media – you get the idea!
The committee became a close-knit team during the pandemic, and several of our members have been with the group for 5 years, 10 years, or more. We socialize now and then, so it’s not all work, and every virtual meeting adds a personal touch!
New volunteers are warmly welcome, with two specific opportunities awaiting the right people. (1) If you love Instagram Reels, we’d love to offer an IG takeover once a week. We’ll share resources and devise a mutually agreeable schedule with you. (2) If administration and delegation are your strong suits, consider serving as a chair or co-chair of the committee, knowing that you have hard-working volunteers alongside you. Reach out to Judi McCarthy with interest or questions.
| | Community Partner Spotlight | | 2025 Partners' Holiday Wish Lists | | |
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and year-end generosity inspire opportunities to support our 2025 Community Partners and the wish lists that will benefit their clients and programs. Check out these special wishes:
Austin Sunshine Camps
Black Mamas Village ATX
Breakthrough Central Texas
Good Work Austin
- Wish List - see page for list and How to Donate
Hope Clinic
- Amazon Wish List
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$25 gift cards from HEB/Walmart/Visa mail to 8101 Cameron Rd, Suite 101, Austin, TX 78754
Open Door Preschools
Saint Louise House
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Dec 1 – Members’ Holiday Gathering. 6:15-8:15 PM. Details/registration.
Dec 8 – Members’ Virtual Co-Working Monday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. Register.
Dec 12 – Virtual Membership Info Session, 12:00-1:00 PM. Register here.
Dec 13 – Walk + Talk with Impact Austin, 8:00-9:00 AM. Registration.
Dec 31 – Last day to invest in 2026 grants. #JoinImpactAustin or renew.
Jan 8 – Impact Austin Nonprofit Workshop. Grant amounts announced. Save the date!
Jan 9 – Virtual Membership Info Session. Details/registration.
Jan 8 to Feb 5 – Applications accepted for Impact Austin grants. Save the dates!
| | 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! | | | | |
