Impact Fairfield County (Impact FFC) held the 3rd of its Impactful Conversation series on Feb. 4 at HAYVN in Darien to discuss Meaningful Philanthropy with a panel of 4 philanthropic leaders in our community. Impact FFC, now in its 5th year of grant giving, began Impactful Conversations a year ago as an opportunity for members to take a deeper dive into the issues they are affecting with their grant giving. Drawing over 70 Impact FFC members from every corner of Fairfield County, the event brought its growing membership together to both learn from and meet with fellow philanthropists.
The topic of meaningful philanthropy is particularly timely as Impact FFC embarks on a 5 Year Anniversary Grant to pilot a new grant stream supporting a Core Mission Grant to expand or strengthen existing programs of local nonprofits. Currently, Impact’s $100,000 Impact Grants support new programs or the significant expansion of existing programs. This $50,000 Anniversary Grant provides an opportunity for the 7 previous Impact FFC finalists who did not receive a $100,000 Impact Grant to apply for restricted funds to enhance, expand or strengthen existing programs, services and organizational capacity that advance the nonprofit organization’s core mission.
Before introducing the Panel, Steviann Martines, Co-President with Wendy Block of Impact FFC, announced record-setting achievements for the 2020 grant year: 234 members to date, at least $234,000 for Impact FFC Grants in May, a 5 Year Anniversary Grant of $50,000, and 105 Generation Impact girls granting $13,000. Indeed, in its 5th year of giving, Impact FFC will have surpassed $1 million in total grant funding.
The panel leading the morning’s conversation consisted of Lucy Ball, Executive Director of Lone Pine Foundation; Nancy Better, Executive Director of S&L Marx Foundation; Cynthia Russell, Executive Director of Goodnow Foundation; and Mirellise Vazquez, Executive Director of Tauck Family Foundation. With their wealth of philanthropic knowledge and experience, these women led a powerful, engaging and thought-provoking discussion of
- What makes philanthropy meaningful to us and our community?
- How can we determine the best philanthropic pathway for ourselves?
- How do we evaluate and compare organizations that have missions of interest to us?
- How do we assess our impact?
- What are the challenges and needs in the non-profit world and how can philanthropy address them?
Impact Fairfield County will host additional Impactful Conversations throughout its 2020 grant year, offering its members the opportunity to learn more about the organizations they are supporting and the issues they are influencing. In addition to networking and socializing, these events also serve as an opportunity to introduce potential members to the important work Impact FFC is doing to support its community. New members may join Impact FCC up until the Annual Meeting on May 5th, when the Grant Finalists present and members vote for the 2020 Impact FFC $100,000 Grant Winners.
For further information about Impact Fairfield County and to Join Now, visit impactffc.org
