The members who volunteer to serve on Grant Review Committees each year do the vital work of choosing the finalists for our High Impact Grants. Two members who served on review committees this year tell us what the experience was like for them.
Grant review is the backbone of what Impact San Antonio does. The women who sign up to serve on one of our five Grant Review Committees — one for each of our five focus areas — work hard to choose ten finalists from the more than 100 applications we receive each year from nonprofit agencies in our community.
We talked to two women who were members of Grant Review Committees this year to get their take on the experience.
Janice Edgerson joined Impact SA for the first time this year and decided to serve on the Education review committee. She retired from the Army as colonel in 2004 after a distinguished career that included a stint as an Academy Professor at West Point in the Department of Art, Philosophy and Literature. After her retirement, she moved to San Antonio and taught in the UTSA Writing Program and later at the University of Phoenix.
Becky Hoag taught English for 26 years, 25 of those at Clark High School in the Northside Independent School District. Now retired, she volunteers as a docent and Holocaust educator at the Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio. She also co-authored a book last year on local Holocaust survivor Rose Williams. She has been an Impact SA member for four years and decided to serve on the Environment, Recreation & Preservation review committee this year. The three previous years, she served on Education review committees.
Who or what influenced you to join Impact San Antonio?
Edgerson: I joined at the urging of a friend, Dan McIver, who runs a (nonprofit) community engagement group called YELP-LV. His observation was that there were few women of color in Impact San Antonio and that I might be an asset to the organization. He pointed me to the Impact SA website, and I was intrigued to learn that there’s an organization set up to help other (nonprofit) organizations in such a significant way.
Hoag: Several of my retired teacher friends encouraged me to join. Jhane Ivers gets the most credit for inviting me to a Grant Award Night. I was blown away at that event and signed up then and there.
Why did you decide to join a Grant Review Committee this year?
Edgerson: I volunteered because I was/am interested in seeing the entire process that Impact SA uses in selecting agencies to support.
Hoag: I am convinced that serving on a Grant Review Committee is the best way to understand Impact SA and how it serves our community. We not only learn about Impact SA; we also become better acquainted with people from all backgrounds who make up this incredible body of women. It also is an eye-opener to those not already in the nonprofit world.
What have you enjoyed most about serving on a Grant Review Committee?
Edgerson: I truly enjoyed the (agency) site visits. I appreciated the opportunity to observe the folks who put their hearts and souls into these essential programs, and to hear them talk about what was of such importance to them.
Hoag: What I most enjoyed was learning about Impact SA, becoming acquainted with its members and discovering nonprofit resources in the community. This year was “unique” because we by necessity had to Zoom our way through it. This had to be the most challenging year ever, but we did it!
Anything else you would like to add?
Edgerson: Impact SA is an amazing organization. It seems to be an ideal model for truly making a difference in communities.
Hoag: I’d just like to thank all those involved. Even a regular member can make a contribution by committing to the grant review process. I encourage others to do so.
