Greetings!

Welcome to Insights! We’ve had a lot going on since our last issue, and we are delighted to share the happenings with you. We hope you enjoy Insights, and—as always—we welcome your feedback .

Best Regards,
The GHCF Team 
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES - HOW YOU CAN HELP

Our colleagues at the California Community Foundation support intermediate and long-term recovery efforts for major California wildfires, as well as preparedness efforts, with the Wildfire Relief Fund. Please learn more here if you wish to support those suffering losses in the fires raging through their communities. You can also recommend a grant to the CCF Wildfire Relief Fund by logging into DonorXpress.
2018 CONTRIBUTIONS

The end of the year will be here before you know it! Click here for the 2018 year-end giving deadlines and instructions.
PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR CORNER


In particular, younger women in the U.S. align their wealth management goals with social causes.
WE'VE MOVED!

We have officially moved in to our new office space at 515 Post Oak Blvd! Two items to note:
  • Official address: 515 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 1000, Houston, TX 77027
  • All phone numbers and email addresses remain the same
THANKSGIVING HOURS

The GHCF office will close for the Thanksgiving holiday at noon on Wednesday, November 21. We will reopen for regular business on Monday, November 26 at 8:30 AM. We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday filled with good times and cheer!
NEW GIVING COLLECTIVE LAUNCH

New Giving Collective (NGC) founders and guests gathered on August 22 for a launch reception and presentation at Nicole Longnecker Gallery. In addition to hearing the impassioned stories behind the creation of NGC, guests learned about NGC’s first grantee, the Blue Triangle Multicultural Association. The community center, located in the Third Ward, received the grant to support the restoration of The Contribution of Negro Women to American Life and Education, a mural by Dr. John Biggers.

NGC, GHCF’s newest giving circle, is the first giving circle in Houston to bring together conscious citizens who collectively invest their financial and human capital to impact the Black community.

If you are interesting in learning more about NGC, including focus areas and goals, please contact Eileen Alexander.
HILSC FUNDERS BRIEFING

GHCF donors recently had a special opportunity to learn how they could make a philanthropic impact and empower Houston’s immigrant families. Over the course of two days, participants toured an ICE Immigration Detention Center in Conroe, learned about the Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative (HILSC), heard from a panel of experts about the issues driving the deportation pipeline, and how the immigration system uniquely impacts the physical and mental health of Houston’s migrant families.

A donor shared, “I am so glad GHCF has presented us with this critical learning opportunity.” Regarding the detention center tour, another donor stated, “I was very, very moved, and deeply emotionally impacted by what I saw and experienced on the tour. It is an oasis of despair.”

You can learn more about HILSC, a supported organization of GHCF, by visiting their website.
NEXT GEN GIVING CIRCLE
SITE VISITS

This year’s Next Gen Giving Circle (NGGC) mission is to support programs and services aimed at increasing college and/or vocational access, persistency, and ultimately graduation rates for vulnerable youth (16-25) in Harris County. 

NGGC members have been busy conducting site visits for this grant process. Thank you to all who participate in this important step! Three organizations that fit the mission and are in the final running for the 2018 grant are CollegeCommunityCareer, BridgeYear, and Genesys Works. Stay tuned for the December issue of Insights to learn which organization receives the grant!

Contact Jennifer Touchet, Senior Director of Family Philanthropy, for more information on the Next Gen Giving Circle.

Pictured, L-R, are Victoria Chen, Executive Director of BridgeYear; Farrah Najmuddin Lang; Frost Murphy; Richard Wilkens; Mary Lee Wilkens; and Dawn Hawley, President, BridgeYear Founding Board.
DHCT GRANTS

The fifth annual DonorHouston CoffeeTalks , held in August, brought 112 Houston-area nonprofit organizations together for networking, a presentation on giving circles, a Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund update, and—of course—hot, delicious coffee. 
NEW STAFF: MEGAN SPARKS
Welcome Megan Sparks – our new Donor Services Associate!

Megan joins us from the Houston Center for Photography, where she was the Executive Assistant and held a multitude of responsibilities such as gift processing, planning stewardship events, and managing HCP’s membership program. She is an arts administrator and is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communication at the University of Houston-Downtown; she anticipates graduating in fall 2019. Megan is also an artist, poet, and freelance art writer who is actively engaged in the local art community.