Rebecca Powers on Impact Philanthropy

In 2003, Rebecca Powers lost her brother and, as a result, founded Impact Austin, a collective giving organization that brings women and their financial resources together to make a profound impact in Central Texas. To date, the organization has put $7.4M to work helping the underserved. Rebecca has received multiple awards recognizing her leadership and speaks nationally inspiring women to connect their capacity to give with their confidence to do it well. She also mentors women in cities across the US as they form their own collectives.

In this episode, we discuss when philanthropy came to be something Rebecca wanted to leverage and focus on (6:16), if she was bitter her brother didn’t go to the doctor sooner to prevent his demise (8:21), the polarity between her anger and inspiration (9:58), the role of faith in her life (11:41), the relationship between faith and philanthropy (13:45), the communal aspect of Impact Austin (16:00), how she went about building Impact Austin (17:24), what she had created and done before Impact Austin (20:02), why she distinguishes between giving to church and philanthropy (22:11), contributions (23:28), how to attract young members (26:05), doing well so you can do good (33:09), why Impact Austin is just for women (34:27), if there are ever people who would prefer to give and donate on their own (38:07), what she’s learned about herself and about leadership while leading this organization (39:17), the challenges she faced when taking on a leadership role (42:35), newsletters (45:44), when she decided she may not be the best person to run things from a systems and organizations standpoint (46:55), what gives her joy now (48:21), writing her book (49:56), her book “Trust Your Cape” (51:57), the city of Austin (55:45), and how she influences people across the country (57:24).

I strongly encourage you to check out Rebecca’s content on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as visiting the Impact Austin website here! Additionally, feel free to send her an email: [email protected].

Thank you so much to Rebecca for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian