I hope you have all seen our recent social media posts announcing this year’s grant pool! If you missed them, we are very excited to announce our grant pool total is $613,000! This means we will be awarding SIX $100,000 High Impact Grants (HIG) and FOUR $3,250 Support Grants!
Our grant pool is funded by:
- $523,000 from 462 individual members, 53 shared memberships, and 4 non-voting grant contributors (including one $5,000 contribution).
- $90,000 from unused funds from a previous HIG awardee whose project was no longer viable.
Our grant review teams are currently evaluating 120 project applications across our five focus areas. These volunteers work hard to assess each application for key markers of a potential HIG awardee, considering factors such as:
- The project’s reach and impact
- Critical community need
- Improvement in quality of life for people in our service area
- Secured funding for projects with large budgets
Every year I am so impressed by the dedication and thoughtfulness Impact San Antonio women bring to the role of selecting our finalists. These finalists will be announced in September, and our entire eligible membership will vote in October to select this year’s grant recipients.
The tragic 4th of July flooding
My heart goes out to those affected by the historic recent flooding in the Hill Country. It is both heartbreaking for the loss of life, and heartwarming to see Texans and individuals nationwide rally around those who have been devastated by this flood. Seeing the good in humanity feels good. A powerful example of this community spirit is highlighted in a recent New York Times article about Children’s Association for Maximum Potential CAMP), one of our 2024 High Impact Grant awardees. Despite suffering damage to some of their land, unexpected help allowed CAMP camp to open for campers just one week after the flood. Read the article HERE.
I am happy to report that our liaisons have been in contact with CAMP camp and they are on track to complete their Impact San Antonio funded project “Accessible Music Garden and Pavilion” on time, despite the recent clean-up efforts.
Upcoming Impact in Action
I hope you will plan to finish out your summer with us at our next Impact in Action event on August 28th at Respite Care, where we will get to see results of their completed 2023 HIG project, “Oasis in San Antonio’s Childcare Desert”. The following month we plan to celebrate you, our members, at our annual Celebration event on September 20th. More details coming soon!
Warm regards,
Yvonne Grothues, President, Impact San Antonio
