TTN PHILADELPHIA GIVING CIRCLE

 MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

April, 2023

Dear Giving Circle members and friends:

Hello everyone and happy April!

At this time of year, the Giving Circle is all about grants. Our wonderful grants committee volunteers, under Carol Williams’ leadership, are digging deep into the 23 applicants selected from our initial group of 72 applications. They’ll be digging deep, scheduling site visits and seeking to know how each works to improve the lives of children and their communities. This year, the applicant pool, and therefore our evaluations, have evolved as we are evaluating many smaller, often neighborhood focused nonprofits. As we’ve previously noted, we’ll be making four grants of $30,000 each, growing the impact we can make on Philadelphia’s children, especially with the focus on nonprofits this year, in honor of the Year of the Child.



Don’t forget to hold May 18 on your calendar, as we all gather to vote on this year’s grants recipients. It’s our most meaningful meeting of the year, the heart of our collective giving, and we hope that everyone will join us as we come together for this vital, communal event.

On a different note, the Giving Circle Executive Council held a strategic planning meeting on March 29 to discuss how we can best accomplish our mission to improve the lives of women and children in the city given the continually changing environment and issues. We’ll have much to share with you at a later date.



Please know that you, our members, are our most important resource. We have so much planned for 2023, and we welcome your participation in any way that works for you.

With appreciation,

Linda Senker, Chair

TTN Philadelphia Giving Circle



Why is May 18th the biggest night of the year?

Thursday, May 18th, is the Giving Circle’s Annual Voting Meeting. It’s the culmination of months and months of work, not only by our Grants Committee members, but also by others as well as by the applicants themselves for one of our four grants. Over the last few months, they have worked tirelessly to educate us about their organizations by completing our application and hosting us at site visits.

On May 18, we will hear from each of the selected semi-finalists and vote to select the four to receive a grant of $30,000 each. It is the night on which all of our work comes down to choosing, from the many worthy applicants, those that we will financially support this year. Think of it as our night at the Oscars without the outfits or the red carpet. It is the night when we hear about the amazing work they are all doing to improve the lives of underserved children in Philadelphia and then make the really tough decision about which four to support this year.

Who can attend?

Anyone who has an interest in learning more about the incredible work being done by local nonprofits can attend. For those of you who contributed $200 or more in 2022, you are a “voting” member and get to vote as well as attend. If you gave less than $200 or are just interested in learning more about our Giving Circle, you can attend to listen and learn with the hope that you will consider being part of the process next year. Anyone on the Grants Committee will tell you what a rewarding experience it is.

What you will learn?

You will hear from seven or eight worthy nonprofits that have been selected by the Grants Committee to be our semi-finalists. You will meet them on Zoom and they will tell you about their work and the children whose lives they touch. It is a moving and inspirational evening.

So, what are we asking?

We are asking that you mark your calendars with the date and register so that you will receive the Zoom invitation as the event draws near. And, we are asking you to invite anyone who is not currently a member but you think would enjoy the evening. We need all of you there to make it the biggest and best night of the year!

Why is May 18th the biggest night of the year?

Thursday, May 18th, is the Giving Circle’s Annual Voting Meeting. It’s the culmination of months and months of work, not only by our Grants Committee members, but also by others as well as by the applicants themselves for one of our four grants. Over the last few months, they have worked tirelessly to educate us about their organizations by completing our application and hosting us at site visits.

On May 18, we will hear from each of the selected semi-finalists and vote to select the four to receive a grant of $30,000 each. It is the night on which all of our work comes down to choosing, from the many worthy applicants, those that we will financially support this year. Think of it as our night at the Oscars without the outfits or the red carpet. It is the night when we hear about the amazing work they are all doing to improve the lives of underserved children in Philadelphia and then make the really tough decision about which four to support this year.

Who can attend?

Anyone who has an interest in learning more about the incredible work being done by local nonprofits can attend. For those of you who contributed $200 or more in 2022, you are a “voting” member and get to vote as well as attend. If you gave less than $200 or are just interested in learning more about our Giving Circle, you can attend to listen and learn with the hope that you will consider being part of the process next year. Anyone on the Grants Committee will tell you what a rewarding experience it is.

What you will learn?

You will hear from seven or eight worthy nonprofits that have been selected by the Grants Committee to be our semi-finalists. You will meet them on Zoom and they will tell you about their work and the children whose lives they touch. It is a moving and inspirational evening.

So, what are we asking?

We are asking that you mark your calendars with the date and register so that you will receive the Zoom invitation as the event draws near. And, we are asking you to invite anyone who is not currently a member but you think would enjoy the evening. We need all of you there to make it the biggest and best night of the year!