Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation had much to celebrate at its Grantee Celebration on October 2 at Toyota’s headquarters in Plano. The Giving Circle celebrated its fifth year by distributing $219,500 in grants to 14 nonprofit organizations to benefit the North Texas Asian community.
Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation is a group of Asian women who work together, pool their resources and leverage their networks to award community grants that support social change and services benefitting the North Texas Asian community. Orchid members, representing a wide range of Asian cultures, ages, ethnicities and professions, have a goal to increase awareness of the local Asian population, their community needs and philanthropic opportunities.
Cynthia Yung, Orchid Giving Circle Co-chair, welcomed members and supporters. She gave an update of the organization and its growth: “From when we started in 2015 with a handful of members, to almost 60 members today, we’ve grown in numbers and collective impact. Our grants help support the underserved community of North Texas Asians, and for that, I’m thankful to all of you who support us with your treasure, talent and time. Also a special thanks to Texas Women’s Foundation for its tremendous support and to Toyota Motor North America for hosting us.” She also extended thanks to Alpha Graphics and Weber Shandwick for their support of Orchid Giving Circle.
Orchid Giving Circle members wore white, purple and yellow to commemorate the suffrage centennial; women in Texas received the right to vote in state primaries in 1919 and the 19th Amendment was passed in the U.S. in 1920. To demonstrate the right-to-vote timeline, a group of men and women spoke about the history of voting in America, highlighting dates when various populations of whites and non-whites received the right to vote.
Orchid member Neena Newberry held conversations with several of the nonprofits to give snapshots of how the Orchid Giving Circle grants will help Asians in North Texas, from supporting transportation with Senior Source to funding social/emotional learning programs for refugee children in Vickery Meadow through Heart House. Two members, Mona Gupta and Seema Deshpande, shared how Orchid Giving Circle connected them to each other and to the community.
The program included grant distributions to 14 deserving nonprofits:
- Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIA): Scholarships
- Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth: Refugee Match Grant Program
- Chetna - Program Expansion: Domestic violence survivor support
- Crow Museum of Asian Art of The University of Texas at Dallas: The Next 20
- Dallas Chinese Community Center: "Inspire Asians to Move Up" economic programs
- Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum: Exhibition – Asian American Rights strand in the Pivot to America Wing
- DFW Hub Center for Health: Physical and mental health programs for Asian women
- Healing Hands Ministries, Inc.: Medical, dental and behavioral healthcare for Asian women
- Heart House: Head, Heart, and Hands (H3) Program to empower refugee children
- Ignite: Building Political Power in Asian American Young Women
- Mosaic Family Services Inc.: Refugee Health Access Program
- Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas Inc. dba Senior Source: Foster Grandparent Program
- Texas Muslim Women's Foundation Inc.: Peace in the Home – Culturally Specialized Family Violence Program (PIH-DV)
- Vickery Meadow Learning Center dba Literacy Achieves: Family Literacy Program at Vickery Meadow
Roslyn Dawson Thompson, president of Texas Women’s Foundation, remarked, “Texas Women’s Foundation is very proud to host and support Orchid Giving Circle, which was the first in our family of four Giving Circles. We celebrate Orchid’s wonderful growth and success in bringing Asian American women together as a vibrant philanthropic network that provides such significant support for important organizations serving the Asian American community. Brava to Orchid Giving Circle’s for your fifth great year!”
Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation was launched in 2015. The group has provided grants in education, housing, healthcare, arts and culture, social services and more to the North Texas Asian community. In addition, Orchid Giving Circle has an interest in organizations and programs that are led by Asian women. Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation is a member of the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP), a national, member-supported philanthropic advocacy organization dedicated to advancing philanthropy in Asian American/Pacific Islander communities. Orchid Giving Circle founders include Arang Cistulli, Kim Cummings, Sejal Desai, Loh-Sze Leung, Caren K. Lock, Mylinh Luong, Lynette Payne, Gowri Sharma, Thear Suzuki, Charmaine Tang, Anne Woods, Cynthia Yung, Trea Yip and Radhika Zaveri.
For more information about Orchid Giving Circle and grants, visit https://www.txwf.org/orchid-giving-circle/ or email orchidgivingcircle@gmail.com.
About Texas Women’s Foundation:
Texas Women’s Foundation (formerly Dallas Women’s Foundation) is Transforming Texas for Women and Girls, empowering them to build stronger, more equitable communities. Since 1985, the Foundation has been a trusted leader in advancing social and economic change for women and girls in Texas. One of the world’s largest women’s foundations with more than $36 million in assets, the Foundation raises funding from a broad base of donors, including individuals, foundations and corporations. These resources support more than $6.3 million in investments that advance economic security and leadership for Texas women and girls through groundbreaking research, advocacy, grants and programs. The Foundation’s statewide research on issues affecting women and girls provides decision-makers and lawmakers with critical data to inform policies, practices and programs in the state. Its grantmaking and innovative programs support solutions that help Texas women and girls thrive. In addition, Texas Women’s Foundation is an acknowledged leader and advocate in the gender lens investing movement and has deployed 100% of its assets – endowments, operating investments and donor-advised funds – in a gendered impact portfolio that yields strong financial returns and measurable social benefits to women and girls. For more information, visit www.txwf.org, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram or donate now.