Hestia Women's Giving Circle celebrates 20th anniversary

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PETOSKEY — When the Hestia Women's Giving Circle was first founded in Northern Michigan in 2005, they had fewer than 15 members. Twenty years later, their membership is nearing 90 and they have awarded more than $900,000 in grant funding.
According to their website, Hestia's founding members were driven by a desire 'to support local organizations serving women and girls.'
'I was working at Planned Parenthood at the time and a number of us who were associated with Planned Parenthood became acquainted with the concept of giving circles, and specifically women's giving circles,' said founding member Martha Lancaster. 'So we looked at forming one for this community. It took a little while to get going, and we eventually settled on the model that we have now.'
Giving circles operate in a way where members pool their resources to support various charitable causes, sometimes focusing on a specific issue.
'We wanted to specifically fund programs that benefited women and girls locally and with a special emphasis on protecting reproductive freedom,' Lancaster said.
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More: Hestia Women's Giving Circle seeks applications for grant cycle
Over the years, their grant funding has benefitted local nonprofits in ways both big and small, ranging from contributing to the Women's Resource Center of Northern Michigan's Empowering Bright Futures capital project to helping send girls on the Petoskey Youth Advisory Council to a statewide conference.
'Sometimes it can be a small $1,500 grant or as large as a $15,000 grant,' said chair Karen Strough-Donnelly. 'But it just depends on what the focus is and the priorities we have as an organization.'
Strough-Donnelly is fairly new to Hestia. She attended her first meeting about four years ago.
'That's where I started learning so much more about our community and the things that the community needed, especially for women and girls, and really believe in the concept behind what we're doing,' she said. 'Our dues money is what funds these grants, so it only comes from dues money. There is no administrative monies to run what we do.'
This year, the group plans to award 20 grants from around 30 applications.
'The other thing I'm really proud about is our grant process,' Lancaster said. 'We do a really thoughtful look at the applicants. We ask for data, especially if they were funded before we ask for a report on how they used the funds in the past. We contact them and ask more questions and make sure they know what they're doing.'
With 20 years and nearly $1 million worth of grants behind them, Hestia is looking to the future. They recently completed a strategic planning process to focus on ways to recruit new members and continue to grow the impact they can have in the community.
'We're working hard to try and get the word out,' said Strough-Donnelly. 'The more members we can get, the more dues money we can collect and the more we can give.'
Those interested in learning more about Hestia can attend their annual member reception and grant presentations from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18 at Pond Hill Farm. They can also find information at hestiacircle.org or on the group's social media.
— Contact Jillian Fellows at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Hestia Women's Giving Circle celebrates 20th anniversary in 2025