Our Board has selected Austin, Texas for the next national convening of Philanos affiliates, friends and partners - PowerUP! Texas.  Our reasons were many, but they fit into two broad categories – one that is anchored in our values (heart), and another based on logic (head).

These are our heartfelt reasons: 

• We are a national network that advances and empowers women’s collective giving to strengthen communities, especially underserved ones. 
• Our Philanos values are: Inclusion, Learning, Trust and Collaboration. The order in which they are listed is important because our work does not happen in isolation.  We need to create the right culture and bonds.
• It starts with building individual relationships based in empathy and trust, which blossom into organizational partnerships – which can lead to collaboration and change.

We are inviting our Philanos members and conference attendees to: 

• Lean into Allyship – each of us has freedoms and privileges, and we are going to stand with our Texas colleagues as they support vulnerable groups – women and children who have a right to essential health care, and a diverse population statewide which is 60% people of color and has the 10^th highest poverty rate in the country.

• Engage in Courageous Conversations – to learn from each other and find areas of consensus where we can collaborate for progress.

• Support and Lift up Each Other – we need everyone to pull together to achieve our collective goals.

We have been preparing for this – re-examining our mission and values, developing new competencies and building coalitions. Now is the time to exercise our courage and live our values.

There are also logical and financial reasons:

• We move our conference to different regions of the country every other year –the last two have been in Seattle (West coast), Baltimore (East coast), and it is time to hold one in a central location, like Austin.
• We look for a region with multiple engaged, willing and sizable circles for our collaborative hosting model, which will increase attendance and sponsorships, and where the national conference will have an enduring impact.
• We select a host city which is accessible, welcoming and offers many cultural attractions.
• Texas is one of the 16 under-resourced states in the South Central and Mountain West regions for which we received a generous, multi-year Fidelity Charitable Catalyst Fund grant to bring more philanthropic attention and funds. 

We can think of no greater attention we can bestow than to bring our national conference right here.

We hope you will join us for our PowerUP! Texas National Conference in Austin from Feb 8-10, 2026!

The Philanos Board of Directors