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Each month the Dallas Sports Commission is recognizing a local organization in the Dallas region that is committed to enriching the lives of young people through education, sports, and health and wellness initiatives. These Community Champions are making a positive impact locally, and during Black History Month, the Dallas Sports Commission is excited to feature The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation as February’s Community Champion.

Organized in 2017, the mission of The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation is to honor, sustain, and expand the legacy of African American women’s philanthropy by funding organizations and initiatives that positively impact the AfricanAmerican community in North Texas.

The Village was borne out of a desire to harness the collective giving power and influence of African American women philanthropists, and in recognition of the need to provide opportunities for like-minded African American women to form connections that enhance their civic leadership activities.

Members focus their collective resources on local community organizations that are led by African Americans and/or serve the needs of African American communities throughout North Texas. In addition to providing financial support to selected organizations, The Village membership seeks to elevate awareness of issues, initiatives, and efforts that affect or support African Americans living and working in North Texas.

Rather than making “one-off” individual gifts to community organizations, The Village Giving Circle empowers its members to combine their resources and award large, high-impact, strategically-selected grants to organizations and initiatives benefiting African-Americans. In 2022, The Village provided $186,000 in grants to local organizations, two of which serve our local youth through sports – G.O.L.F. 3:16 and I AM a Golfer Foundation.

G.O.L.F. 3:16 is a faith-based organization located in Frisco, TX, formed to provide services and resources to at-risk youth and their families in efforts to enrich, improve, and empower their quality of life. G.O.L.F. 3:16 provides positive programs that promotes healthy lifestyles which assist youth in becoming self-sufficient, anchored, and well-rounded members of society.

G.O.L.F. 3:16 (God Offers Love & Forgiveness) innovatively uses the game of golf to introduce youth to a relationship with God and instill positive life-skills such as stability, good citizenship, responsibility, morality, and character. The program bridges the gap across all age groups by having them interact and engage in the game of golf while learning transferable skills for the game of life and developing an appreciation for God.

Like G.O.L.F. 3:16, the I AM a Golfer Foundation received valuable funding in 2022 from The Village. I AM a Golfer Foundation was established in 2018 with the mission to be a catalyst for community renewal and transformation in South Dallas through the programming, preservation, and promotion of the historic Cedar Crest Golf Course. IAMGF’s belief is that the promotion of the sport and activity to diverse and historically underserved communities will have an impact beyond the course and into the daily lives of those reached by its initiatives.

Since inception, IAMGF has engaged over 450 area youth in instructional programming, created and hosted 71 paid internship positions for area students, and awarded more than $95,000 in college and higher education scholarships. Additionally, IAMGF has advocated for and assisted with more than $1M in improvements at Cedar Crest and annually conducts the Dallas Amateur Championship, Friends of Cedar Crest Golf Classic, and other events designed to bring increased awareness to the historic course and community.

“The support of The Village Giving Circle means the world to our organization the I AM a Golfer Foundation,” said Chuck Walker, I AM a Golfer Foundation’s executive Director. “Equally important as the monetary support from The Village Giving Circle is our ability to show participants in our programs where the support comes from and that it is people who look like them who care and have a heart for giving back and helping the next generation succeed.

“The modeling being displayed by the members of The Village Giving Circle is beyond inspiring and will undoubtedly create a virtuous, uplifting new cycle and pattern that will grow upon itself and positively impact African American communities for generations to come. We are beyond grateful and cannot say thank you enough to each of the members and supporters of The Village Giving Circle for their commitment to our young people, our community, and to organizations like ours working to make a difference each day.”

To learn more about joining or domating to The Village, please email communications@villagegivingcircle.org.