Glorifying God Through Philanthropy Goal of Group

Under the patronage of St. Katherine Drexel, a new Women’s Giving Circle has been launched by the Diocese of Baton Rouge with its mantra “pray, give, bless.”

Through faith sharing, collaboration and collective giving, the Women’s Giving Circle seeks to promote philanthropy that glorifies God, empowers women and compels action. The goal is to minister to the needs within the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Members can partner with Women’s Giving Circle for $550 annually, and those wishing to sponsor another member can join for $1,100 annually.

Bonnie Mart, co-founder, was with her sister on a church tour of New Orleans in 2018 when her sister told her about a Women’s Giving Circle in New Orleans. She explained how the women pooled their monies together and voted on how they wanted to distribute those monies. 

Mart joined the New Orleans group in 2019. When the pandemic hit, they were not able to gather. In 2020, she was going to write her check when she paused and wondered whether there was one in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. She discovered that groups existed in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux but none in Baton Rouge. 

“At that point I thought, ‘Lord do you want me to do this?’ ” said Mart.

She talked about this with her good friend and co-founder Donna St. Cyr, who said, “Not only should you do this, I will be your ‘wingman.’ ”

They met with the founders from New Orleans and Houma-Thibodaux and realized, “God called us to this ministry and he’s calling other people to this ministry, so it’s his and not ours.”

They met with Gwen Fairchild, director of the Office of Stewardship for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. 

“Without Gwen we couldn’t do any of this, because we needed someone to host the Giving Circle. Once the diocese was open to being our host we just moved forward,” said Mart.

The idea behind the Women’s Giving Circle is to allow women to pray and fellowship together and to increase their impact by having everyone join their resources together. 

“It’s the idea that my little money can do a little bit, but all of our monies together can do a big something,” said St. Cyr. “I love the impact that we have as we vote as a group on who we want to bless each year.”

The Giving Circle has three meetings a year, each beginning with a Mass. Because “women like to socialize and eat” they will also do that.

At the first meeting in February, which will be the inaugural meeting for the group, members will vote to “narrow down” a list of non-profits that have been researched by a grant committee. While the non-profits don’t have to be Catholic, their mission does have to be “Catholic” in mission. 

At the second meeting in March, the members will hear from representatives of the non-profits on the pared-down list about what they do and what their needs are and make their selection.

At the May meeting, in which Bishop Michael G. Duca is scheduled to celebrate Mass, the group will present the pooled money to their selected non-profit. 

The Giving Circle will focus on families in need. St. Cyr and Mart are excited to have St. Katharine Drexel as their patron saint. They noted that St. Katharine modeled a life of prayer, faithful stewardship and service to the impoverished and under-served. 

Although she came from a family of wealth and prestige, she surrendered all material possessions to pursue her love of God and fellow man. She is known for founding schools that educate the native American and African American communities, including Xavier University in New Orleans.

Mart said the women’s group is a good way for its members to learn about non-profits and to reach out to the younger generation.

She and St. Cyr emphasized “it’s a woman thing” to be involved and to know their money is being spent meaningfully. The Women’s Circle also seeks to have women of diverse backgrounds “from all corners of the diocese.”

“We are a diocese of diversity,” said Mart.

St. Cyr agreed.

“The body of Christ is diverse,” said St. Cyr. “Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. You grow when you experience people outside of your own culture and identity.”

 Visit Women's Giving Circle Page