Rebecca Powers’ entire life focus changed on January 21, 2003.  Her brother was dying of colon cancer and she, a successful businesswoman, was adrift with emotion.  On her flight home, Powers read about a group of women in Ohio who established a Circle of Giving.  In helping others, she realized she’d heal her own aching heart. “I knew I could come up with 100 women in the Austin area, each donating $1000” like the Ohio women Powers read about that day.  “I didn’t know the women, and I didn’t know yet how I’d find them,” she recalls.

In its fifth year, Powers’ Impact Austin (IA) is one of the largest female-only giving circles in the county. Powers’ willingness to volunteer her time (she is involved seven days a week), energy and money to the organization and her continued passion for the benefits of philanthropy have inspired others to either join her group or start their own.


Fundamentally, a Circle of Giving is a group of individuals willing to pool their financial resources.  Many giving circles set a membership donation, with a typical minimum of $500 though some groups specify membership fees as high as $5000.  The group then reviews various nonprofits or other charities that request the money and vote to determine the winning recipient(s).  

Giving circles have donated nearly $100 million in the last four years; Impact Austin’s outlay during that time totals $1.45 million. The Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers (The Forum) is a network of 32 regional associations of grantmakers interested in the growth of Circles of Giving.  Its 2004 report identified more than 200 giving circles and by 2006 report, the total number had jumped to over 400, each with its own diverse membership and funding goals.  

Impact Austin’s uniqueness comes, in part, from its female-only requirement.  The reason?  Powers wanted women, who spend 75 cents of each dollar, to be more savvy when it came to donating within their own community. The idea was in place, but now Powers, who had never donated before, was planning an ambitious five-year strategy to find 500 local women willing to open their purses and hearts. Even though the group started as nothing more than one woman’s idea, the fifth Annual Meeting this June registered 510 members, enabling IA to give $102,000 to each recipient.

Powers says not to let the lack of knowledge deter you: Take that first step to learn about philanthropy.  Other groups are out there, willing to share their expertise.  Take the 78-year-strong Spinsters of San Francisco or Washington, D.C.-based Gather and Give: Let’s Eat, a group of twenty-somethings learning about philanthropy together.    

“The [six member] founding board was a group of successful businesswomen, and we didn’t know much, if anything, about the nonprofit community,” Powers says. “We rolled up our sleeves, talked to nonprofit leaders, did research on best practices and put our grant review process together.”


The most rewarding part of the process hasn’t been Powers’ own accomplishments; her daughter, with the help of a savvy young IA member, established GirlsGivingGrants (G3) for eighth through12th grade girls interested in philanthropy.  Each young lady posted a $100 membership and the group solicited proposals from local nonprofits. After reviewing each grant application, the girls gave $5700 to a local nonprofit working with teenage parents who are homeless.

It’s through this early understanding that Powers will make her biggest impact. “Some of our members can easily write the $1000 membership check,” she says.  “Some save all year to make that donation.  Regardless, many have increased their philanthropy significantly relative to their personal financial situation.

“We have many members who were not connected to the community and didn’t know how to get involved.  One of the outcomes of our process is that women feel informed and capable of making other significant contributions to the community.”

That’s another reason why giving circles are gaining popularity. The Forum found during its 2006 study that while traditional philanthropy is viewed for the wealthiest Americans, giving circles were designed specifically as a democratic response.  Anyone can start a group, and young people, people with limited incomes, women and people of color are flocking to this powerful philanthropic vehicle. “One member, a grandmother, told us she didn’t think she was qualified to review grant applications,” Power recalls.  “After going through our training process and sitting on a grant review committee, she said the experience was more exciting than her first plane ride!”

IA set out to be a trailblazer, not just a ‘funder.’  Not only did IA want to partner with the nonprofits at a grassroots level, they planned to be the best at it, a belief tested within the very first year.

“One member really wanted one of our finalists to get our inaugural $126,000 grant,” Powers recalls.  “When that finalist didn’t win, she rallied a group of IA women and raised $35,000 (in cash and in-kind donations) to fund part of what they wanted our grant for.  It was so inspiring!“

And that’s the purpose of these groups: See a need and fulfill it.  Powers says she’s still as enthusiastic and passionate as she was five years ago because the group hasn’t just been giving away money.  It has empowered women to realize their full potential.

“I’ve learned so much about the needs in our community and the nonprofits that are working in the trenches every day to meet those needs,” Powers says.  “In Austin, we are not known for giving a lot in terms of dollars.  We are a very active volunteer community, and we are now learning how to share our financial resources, too.”