Past Grant Recipients
2025 – $15,500 Cornerstones of Care
2024 – $30,000 Rediscover (Childhood Mental Health)
2024 – $17,065 Children of Homicide Victims
2023 – $30,000 Peace Partnership
2023 – $10,000 Foster Light
2022 – $30,000 Hillcrest Transitional Housing
2022 – $18,000 Mothers Refuge
2021 – $30,000 Drumm Foundation
2021 – $20,000 Pro Deo
2020 – $30,000 Restoration House KC
2020 – $18,500 Veronica’s Voice
2020 – $18,500 Lion’s Beauty Queens
2019 – $30,000 Zero Reasons Why/ReDiscover
2019 – $19,000 Speak Up
2018 – $30,000 In the Name of Grace
2018 – $22,000 Peace Partnership
2017 – $30,000 Mother’s Refuge
2017 – $16,000 Rachel House
2016 – $30,000 Community Service League
2015 – $30,000 Pro Deo
2014 – $22,000 Midwest Foster Care & Adoption
2013 – $20,000 ReDiscover
2012 – $21,000 St. Mary’s Manor
2011 – $21,000 Drumm Farm
2010 – $25,000 Hillcrest Transitional Housing
Who we are
The Eastland Giving Circle (EGC) is a group of ordinary women of all ages dedicated to making extraordinary impact in Eastern Jackson County MO through philanthropy. Since our founding in 2010, we’ve supported nonprofit organizations that assist our neighbors in need. To date the EGC has awarded over $600,000 in grants, made possible by the generosity of our hundreds of members to date. Operated entirely by volunteers, we have no paid staff and are governed by a volunteer board. To manage our EGC Community Grants Fund, we partner with Truman Heartland Community Foundation.
What we do
A giving circle is an elegantly simple concept … we combine annual donations from our members and award large grants to local worthy causes. By pooling our resources, we can create a more significant impact. The EGC organizes several fun events and meetings throughout the year, providing opportunities for members to connect, socialize and build relationships. These events often serve as a platform to educate members about the challenges facing our community and introduce them to organizations actively addressing these issues. While we love to bring our members together, attendance at events is not required and some members choose to simply support our efforts through their membership gift and participation in voting on our grant finalists.
How we do it
An Elegantly Simple Concept … we combine annual donations from our members and give large grants to local worthy causes. By pooling our resources to create one large gift, we can make a greater impact.
Our 2026 focus is Adults and Youth with Disabilities and/or Special Needs.
To become a member, a donation of $305.00 per year is requested, with $300 of this amount directed towards our grants for the year, while the remaining funds helps to cover administrative fees.
Each year in the fall, our Grant Committee reviews and scores applications and identifies three finalists for the grants and three potential focus areas for the coming year. Any member in good standing may serve on the committee, and all active members are then invited to vote on both the grant recipient and the focus area for the next year.
In early November, following the membership vote, an annual Grant reception and celebration is held to award the Grant recipients. Our goal for each year is to award at least one primary grant of $30,000, along with a secondary grant awarded to the runner up in the grants voting.
For 2026 our focus is Adults and Youth with Disabilities and/or Special Needs. The following link will go live on August 1st for nonprofits to apply via the Truman Heartland Community Foundation grants portal.
Grant application available August 3, 2026.
How to join
To join, you can access our fund page HERE at Truman Heartland Community Foundation.
To pay by check, make check of $305 payable to Eastland Giving Circle and send to: Eastland Giving Circle c/o Truman Heartland Community Foundation, 4200 Little Blue Parkway, Suite 340, Independence, MO 64057.
If you’d like to attend upcoming events to learn more about us before becoming a member, please email eastlandgivingcircle@gmail.com to be added to our email mailing list.
Board
The 2026 board includes: Jean Bookasta, Carry Dooley, Erin Dorrian, Maria Fleming, Kathryn Harvel, Helen Hatridge, Marcia McKinney, Trina Mackey, Jane Stepp
Contact us
Contact us with your questions, ideas, or thoughts at eastlandgivingcircle@gmail.com.
We’d love to hear from you! Contact us with your questions, ideas, or thoughts at eastlandgivingcircle@gmail.com. As we are a completely volunteer organization, please allow 72 hours for a response.