December 01, 2014 - Girls Giving Grants
Girls Giving Grants (g3) is ten years old! To celebrate this milestone, g3 members and alumni, Impact Austin members, past grant recipients and friends are invited to a 10 Year Anniversary party at noon, Saturday, December 20th, at the Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Many people have been instrumental in making g3 such a successful organization over the years, and here’s a look at just a few of them:
Girls Giving Grants was founded in 2005 by Claire Powers, Impact Austin Founder Rebecca Powers’ daughter. Claire was a freshmen at St. Stephen’s at the time and she served as g3’s first Application Review Committee Chair and first president. After g3, Claire participated in multiple philanthropic organizations at George Washington University and has been instrumental in the Engineers Without Borders organization. “Without g3,” Claire says, “I’m not sure I would have had as strong of a desire to continue my philanthropic efforts.”
Each year, g3 elects a student president, an experienced leader who can help navigate the grants process. This year, Melissa Porter, a senior at LASA High School and a g3 member since 2011, fills that role. “The most important thing I’ve taken away from g3 is how important philanthropy is and how genuinely dependent our community is on it,” Melissa says. “There are so many programs geared toward the youth in out community and all of those organizations depend on donations from nonprofits, corporations, and the community in general to continue doing what they are doing. I didn’t realize the need is so great.”
Dina Mavridis, our fearless leader, has spent ten years as the g3 Director, recruiting members, developing guidelines, and ensuring that the girls get the most out of their experience. Currently, she’s helping the 60 members of g3 analyze the grant proposals they have received. “The young women of Girls Giving Grants are truly inspirational,” says Dina. “Our girls are excited to learn about the needs of our community and to help in every way they can, starting with their collective grant of $6,000.”
Check out the work g3 has done over the years and the organizations they’ve supported. We hope to see you at the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration! See Event Details!
Girls Giving Grants (g3) is the youth initiative of Impact Austin. We believe in teaching the next generation of women the importance of thoughtful giving. The young philanthropists of g3 strive to improve the lives of youth in our community. The g3 grant making process teaches these young women to research, analyze, and work together as they identify a worthy grant recipient each year. g3 is open to all girls in the Austin area who are in grades 8 through 12. Plus, girls can earn up to 30 hours of community service credit at school.
