Impact Austin and Girls Giving Grants Award $300,500 in Unrestricted Funding

Impact Austin
6 days ago
5 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Since 2004, Grantmaking Exceeds $9 Million to 103 Central Texas Nonprofits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

AUSTIN, Texas – June 10, 2025 – The 305 women of Impact Austin including 59 members of Girls Giving Grants (g3) are awarding seven new grants totaling $300,500. Impact Austin announced the awards during the organization’s Annual Meeting on June 9. Members voted on specific allocations for Community, Education, and Health & Well-Being Grants arising from 150 applications. The Girls Giving Grants Award to Saint Louise House was announced in April and celebrated again at the Annual Meeting.

2025 Community Partners include Austin Sunshine Camps, Black Mamas Village – ATX, Breakthrough Central Texas, Good Work Austin, Hope Clinic Austin, and Open Door Preschools. These organizations are among 103 nonprofits that have benefited from 133 Impact Austin grants totaling $9.14 million since 2004.

Impact Austin’s Community, Education, and Health & Well-Being Grants are unrestricted for the first time as the organization moves toward trust-based philanthropy. FY 2025 Board President Deanna DeHaven explained, “Our transition to fully unrestricted grantmaking is a continuation of Impact Austin’s evolution - one rooted in deep trust, shared leadership, and a commitment to trust-based philanthropy. We believe lasting change happens when our Community Partners lead the way.”

DeHaven added, “Our nonprofit community is facing a once-in-a-generation shift requiring many to rethink missions, scale back programs, and weather deep funding cuts.” She noted that Impact Austin’s grants reflect not only trust in Community Partners but the power of collective giving. On that same theme, the Philanthropy Together Braintrust - including Philanos (Impact Austin is a member), Amplifier, Black Funding Network, Community Investment Network, Latino Community Foundation, Social Venture Partners International and more – used social media to call on collective giving groups to deploy “the power of giving circles in times of need” by mobilizing unrestricted dollars and bringing others into the collective giving movement.

Incoming FY 2026 Board President Claudia Barlow remarked, “Through our 2025 grants, our members are supporting people in Greater Austin who need it most. Our funding will support low-income students to earn a college degree; help Black mothers thrive; train and support food and beverage industry workers; send children in foster care and from low-income families to summer camp; improve the ability for uninsured people to access high-quality healthcare; and offer families with children with special needs quality childcare.”

Impact Austin’s and g3’s Spring 2025 grant recipients:

Black Mamas Village – ATX

$80,000 Community Grant (unrestricted)

The mission of Black Mamas Village ATX is to foster a culture of connection that promotes holistic health and wellness, strengthens support systems, and cultivates thriving communities for all Black mothers. Founded in June 2019, they have grown from a small Facebook group into a vibrant village of over 3,000 Black mothers. Their pillars include connection and belonging; economic empowerment; and health and wellness.

Good Work Austin

$18,000 Community Grant (unrestricted)

The mission of Good Work Austin is to foster healthy careers in the local food and beverage industry through professional development and advocacy for more equitable practices. They partner with food workers and businesses to shape an industry where workers are valued, and locally owned businesses succeed. They support healthy workplaces, culinary workforce training, and a community kitchen.

Open Door Preschools

$80,000 Education Grant (unrestricted)

Since 1975, Open Door Preschool has been a trailblazer in early childhood education, with a long-term goal of providing inclusive, high-quality, developmentally appropriate education. Open Door’s inclusive model enables children with disabilities to thrive in integrated classrooms, benefiting all children. Open Door currently serves over 200 children annually, from infancy to Pre-K, across three Austin campuses.

Breakthrough Central Texas

$18,000 Education Grant (unrestricted)

Founded in Austin in 2001, Breakthrough Central Texas is a college access and success nonprofit that has partnered with thousands of students who aspire to be the first in their family to graduate from college with a degree or certificate. They make a radical, long-term commitment to students, to and through college. Breakthrough’s broader goal is to have a multi-generational impact, replacing the cycle of poverty with a future of self-sufficiency, choice, and hope.

Hope Clinic Austin

$80,000 Health & Well-Being Grant (unrestricted)

Founded in 2010, Hope Clinic Austin is a free clinic dedicated to serving adults with limited or no access to medical services. Operating with just three full-time staff members, the clinic leverages a robust volunteer base and strong community partnerships including public and private organizations, as well as interfaith groups, to deliver high-quality care. This collaborative model allows Hope Clinic to maintain a significantly shorter wait time compared to other free clinics in the area.

Austin Sunshine Camps

$18,000 Health & Well-Being Grant (unrestricted)

Austin Sunshine Camps provides the magic of overnight camp without charge to 500 children each year, 88% of whom qualify for National Free/Reduced Lunch or live in foster care. Founded in 1928 in Zilker Park, ASC now operates two camps at Zilker Park and Lake Travis. They have three major components of service for the campers: Summer Camp, Year-Round Programming, and the Counselor in Training (CIT) program.

Saint Louise House

$6,500 Girls Giving Grants Award

Saint Louise House is dedicated to the success of women and their children moving from homelessness to healthy independent lives. They strive to empower women and their children to overcome homelessness for generations to come. Their proven program provides stable housing and wraparound services with highly individualized support that fosters education, financial literacy, strong family relationships and healthy living, leading to a lifetime of self-sufficiency.

Join Impact Austin!

Impact Austin welcomes new members year-round and identifying as a woman is the only requirement. Each member contributes $1,250 through an annual payment, monthly payments or a scholarship to fund the organization's grants and operations. Impact Austin Community Partners are also invited to join at no cost. Members can get involved by voting on grants, joining a committee, participating in the review process, attending social events, learning philanthropy education and more. For more information, visit https://www.impactaustin.org/membership.

About Impact Austin

Founded in 2003, Impact Austin is a women’s collective giving organization funding nonprofits in Central Texas that provide services in Bastrop, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. Impact Austin’s mission states, “Through the power of informed women’s collective giving, Impact Austin provides transformative grants to Central Texas nonprofit organizations that strengthen our community and improve lives.” Girls Giving Grants (g3), Impact Austin’s youth initiative, creates learning and leadership opportunities for girls in grades 8-12. In 22 years, 3,112 local women philanthropists from Impact Austin and g3 have given $9.14 million to nonprofit organizations and collaboratives in Central Texas, including 133 grants serving 103 organizations. For more information, visit www.impactaustin.org.