Unlock Your Potential: Explore Learning Opportunities at the PowerUP! Texas Conference - Register by Nov 15

This is the 5th in a series of blogs leading to the 3-day Philanos Conference that will ignite collaboration among women's collective giving groups. PowerUP! Texas 2026 will come to the Hilton Austin on Feb 8-10. With Impact Austin hosting and four other Texas giving circles as co-hosts, PowerUP! Texas is the place to be for inspired learning, collaboration, and community impact. Early registratio offering a $300 discount closes on November 15.

Since Impact Austin launched in 2003, our founder Rebecca Powers envisioned an "army of informed philanthropists" empowered to give collectively as Impact Austin members and individually through life. To that end, Impact Austin has generated or supported dozens of philanthropy education events for our members. The PowerUP! Conference is the next of these opportunities!

How to register

Access the early bird discount in two steps by November 15. Registration with the regular rate continues until January 16.

• Start out by subscribing as an Affiliate (Impact Austin) Member; no cost.  https://philanos.org/Subscribe Doing so also gives you access to all Philanos resources past and future!

• Register for the conference: https://philanos.org/Registration-Austin

Conference Schedule from February 8-10, 2026

Keynote and Plenary Speakers on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday

Registered participants will hear from all speakers, most nationally-known!

12 Affinity Group Sessions on Sunday, February 8

At the Conference, attendees will choose any two Affinity Groups. These are casual roundtable discussions on topics across four Conference tracks.

20 Breakout Sessions on Monday and Tuesday, February 9-10

Attendees have five opportunities to choose among sessions across the four main tracks. Pick and choose which of these piques your curiosity!

Networking Opportunities

Informal networking abounds: Affinity Group and Breakout sessions, breakfasts, cocktail reception, and the spontaneous conversations sparked by each learning session.

Several of our members already foresee the opportunities to exchange ideas with other giving circle members, to share best practices, and to learn what each does well.

• Gloria Davenport - I'm looking forward to the experience of being among dynamic, motivated women doing good things in their communities. I'm also looking forward to sharing and discussing priorities with others within the nonprofit sector.

• Ami Kane - The chance to attend PowerUP! is so appealing to me because it represents a chance not just to learn in a community of female philanthropists but also to build meaningful connections, connections which span across the US with like-minded women who have a vision for stronger and healthier communities everywhere!

• Judi McCarthy - Women's giving circles are wonderfully collaborative! I am most excited for the idea-sharing among giving circle volunteers. Every circle does something really well - I want to learn their tried-and-true practices! Every circle struggles with something, and I want to know how they adapt and persevere.

More Information

In four earlier blogs, we've shared preliminary conference details repeated here, reasons why other collective giving groups should join us in Austin, our history with the Philanos network, and why some of our own members are excited to attend. For even more information, check out the conference webpages. Conference FAQs are here.