Full Circle News

AAWGT is excited to share the results of the vote by our members to determine which nonprofits should receive 2025 grant awards. This year’s 55-member Grants Committee was challenged with the task of thoughtfully considering a record number of worthy proposals from local nonprofits. Thanks to contributions from our members (380+ currently), we were able to award grants totaling $226,316, the largest annual amount in our history. Since our founding in 2006, we have provided over $2.1M to nonprofits to help improve the quality of life for underserved women and families in Anne Arundel County.

Our CONGRATULATIONS to 2025’s grantees:

Annapolis Immigration Justice Network: Legal Assistance for Vulnerable Immigrants in Anne Arundel County - $25,000 – To provide financial assistance for legal representation for five immigrant women and/or families with female heads of households and ongoing legal support for over 300 clients per year.

Anne Arundel County Court Appointed Special Advocates: Operations - $25,000 – Support of their advocacy for children in the foster care system.

Asbury Church Assistance Network: Food Pantry - $25,000 – Provide healthy food choices to low-income/underserved families in Anne Arundel County.

Charting Careers: Advancing Positive Outcomes for Scholars and Families - $25,000 – Support youth and their families in a holistic manner as they set and achieve goals, increase their self-sufficiency, and work toward bright futures.

Journey to Joy Recovery House/Joy Reigns Lutheran Church: Journey to Joy Recovery House Life Skills Program - $14,018 – Provide an affordable sober living home in our county where women can reunite with their children while continuing their recovery journey.

Kindness Grows Here: Anne Arundel County “Kid Kindness Grants” - $4,298 – Provide micro-grants and support to teams of local students who work with an adult sponsor to plan and carry out projects that spread kindness and belonging.

Little Yellow Bird Foundation: Dental Services for Homeless and Underserved Residents in Anne Arundel County - $25,000 – Support at least 100 underserved county women and families who need dental services and emergency care.

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church: Breakfast Club - $8,000 – Alleviate food insecurity, promote education, and restore dignity to families facing hardship.

OIC of Anne Arundel County: Career Pathways - $25,000 – Help fund the Career Pathways program, which provides quality education and training services that enable economically disadvantaged and unemployed people of all races and backgrounds to become productive, more fulfilled members of society.

PlayAnnapolis, Inc.: Equitable Access to Recreation - $25,000 – Funding to increase equitable access to sports for underserved youth, focusing on Title I schools, Spanish speakers, and female athletes.

Seafarers Foundation, Inc.: Summer Youth Program - $25,000 – Enhance the safety and sustainability of swimming lessons for underserved children during their Summer Youth Program.

This process, rooted in trust-based philanthropy, reflects our shared commitment to impactful, lasting change in our community. Thank you for helping direct these vital resources where they’re needed most.

We very much look forward to partnering with these amazing nonprofits as the year goes forward!

Tuesday, September 30, 2025
5:30 - 7:30 pm
The Doordan Institute, Belcher Pavilion, Luminus Health
2000 Medical Parkway, 7th Floor, Annapolis

This event is free and everyone is welcome!

Please join us at Grants Showcase — a signature, countywide event for AAWGT friends and members! This is impact in action! We invite you to come meet and hear from our grantees. They will share their programs and their impact in our community. Light refreshments will be served.

Meet Alexandra Hostetter, who joined AAWGT and its Young Philanthropist Program in January 2025.

“After moving back from Colorado, and wanting to get more involved in the community, a former colleague recommended that I check out AAWGT. What drew me into the organization is its clear mission and hyper-local focus. Both are compelling and impactful. I’ve worked in philanthropy and partnership-building for 17+ years and have seen the good, bad, ugly, and everything in between. In my experience, longstanding change happens at the local level when it’s driven by people who really understand the issue’s challenges and opportunities and are supported by the community around them. I looked up AAWGT and was really impressed, so I showed up one day, and here I am!”

Alexandra is one of the first members of the new Young Philanthropist Program of AAWGT. “So far, we’ve been brainstorming about how to grow a pipeline of younger members that could build additional sustainability within AAWGT. And because YPP priorities are aligned with those of the Marketing and Communications Committee, I threw my hat into that ring as well. By communicating what we do, who we are, how we partner with the community, and the impact we have, we can attract more members, which ultimately means more support for the community.

When asked her early impressions of AAWGT, Alexandra mentions two words: kind and smart. “I joined AAWGT not knowing anybody. From the very beginning, I experienced nothing but kindness, whether from the mentor reaching out personally to see whether I wanted to get coffee together or just jumping into conversations at AAWGT events. I’ve heard so many insightful comments and thoughtful observations from members who seem eager to connect, which is wonderful and rare to find in a group. The diversity of backgrounds brings a lot of richness, too. I leave every event having learned something new and/or feeling really energized by new ideas.”

Alexandra has been working in environmental protection for 17 years and currently is the senior director of development and partnerships at Big Life Foundation. She notes that AAWGT and Big Life are similar in mission in that they both help enable local communities to solve local challenges. Big Life partners with communities in East Africa to protect wildlife, including some of the world’s most iconic species, such as elephants, lions, and rhinos, as well as smaller species. “I’m fortunate in that I get to travel to Kenya at least once a year to connect with people who do amazing work in a very different part of the world.”

Prior to Big Life, Alexandra worked at USAID and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, with a focus on strategic philanthropy and creative partnerships. Both she and her husband, George Hatcher, grew up on the Eastern Shore and went to school in Easton. After spending the most recent few years living in Colorado, they moved to Annapolis and now live in the St. Margarets area. George is a vice president at the foreign policy think tank, The Atlantic Council, and they have two young daughters (age 4½ and 1½). “In my ‘spare time,’ I love to be outside boating, hiking, and camping. I’m an avid reader and writer, preferably doing those things out-of-doors, and I love black coffee and red wine!”

Welcome Alexandra!