About

GivingCity is the guide to doing good in Austin. On the website and online magazine, we offer actionable community content with the goal of connecting more Central Texans to philanthropy and improving communication and collaboration across the community.

Through stories, profiles, first-person essays, and in-depth features we offer volunteers, donors, philanthropists, nonprofit professionals, and anyone interested in civic engagement the information — and inspiration — they need to do good.

The magazine will publish quarterly — October, January, April and July — and will be distributed to almost 10,000 readers in Austin. We are supported by donations to the Austin Community Foundation and by advertising. Our readers include many of the most engaged, active and philanthropic people in Austin.

Please let us know how we’re doing! If you have a story idea or want to learn more about advertising, please send an email to me at  monica@givingcity.com.

 

FAQs

Who publishes GivingCity?

GivingCity Austin was created by Monica Maldonado Williams and Torquil Dewar in 2007. In 2010, the Austin Community Foundation adopted GivingCity Austin, and beginning with an issue in October 2010, it publishes GivingCity Austin quarterly and distribute it as a service to Central Texas.

Though ACF is the publisher, the content of GivingCity Austin will continue to cover the entire Austin philanthropic community, not just ACF funds and donors. We believe this is the only way we can accomplish GivingCity Austin’s and ACF’s shared mission of building and supporting a culture of generosity in Austin.

Who designs GivingCity Austin?

Our art director is Torquil Dewar of October Custom Publishing, an Austin magazine design and production agency in Austin. Let them make a magazine for you—but don’t get in the way of GivingCity’s production schedule, okay?

Who is the audience?

GivingCity Austin is created for anyone interested in making Austin a better place to live. Our readership includes nonprofits, volunteers, donors, funders, young professionals, and community leaders and philanthropists — but we especially want to reach out to those new to philanthropy and Austin, and invite them to pitch in.

Why an online magazine?

Publishing online eliminates the cost of printing and paper distribution, but there are other notable advantages.

You can subscribe to the magazine for FREE via email or RSS, or you can Like or Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. And thanks to these same social media tools, you can share links to the issue — and even individual pages — and get them excited about local philanthropy, too.

That means an issue of GivingCity Austin won’t just sit on a counter or desk somewhere. Plus, our readers tell us they turn to it over and over again — all they need is the link.

How do I read this magazine?

To read one of the first four issues of GivingCity, just click on the download link or a magazine cover, wait a few seconds, and the PDF of the entire magazine appears in your browser. Navigate it just as you would a PDF.

To read Issue #5 and above, just click on the cover. The issue opens in a ISSUU, an online magazine reader, and has even more of the functions than a PDF.

Why don’t we just make it a Web site?

I hear you. But here’s why we’re doing the digital magazine thing.

We love the Web, don’t get me wrong. But it’s so data oriented and ugly. In fact, the Web can feel like one big file cabinet – yours for the browsing, yes, but kind of overwhelming and impersonal.

A magazine stores lots of data, too, but it’s data that’s been sorted, edited and designed to keep you engaged. Web sites are designed to keep you clicking and to get more clicks. Magazines are designed to surprise and delight. And I know that sounds goofy, but think about how excited you are when you receive the latest issue of your favorite magazine in the mailbox. That’s what we’re trying to give you.

Can I write for GivingCity Austin?

We love to hear from potential contributors. Send me an email along with a little about your work, and we’ll talk!

SEE THE GIVINGCITY AUSTIN CONTRIBUTOR’S AGREEMENT FOR MORE INFORMATION.

How can I submit a story idea?

Please see the Contact GivingCity page.

How can we support GivingCity Austin?

There are lots of ways to support our work.

1. Reading and sharing the magazine is the best way, as is connecting with us on our social media networks.
2. Become an issue Sponsor or Advertiser. We’d love to partner with you on ways to make the most of your investment.
3. Donate to the GivingCity Austin Fund at the Austin Community Foundation.

Who is Monica Maldonado Williams?

Williams is founding editor of GivingCity Austin, a magazine about local philanthropy on a mission to build and support our community’s growing culture of giving. Founded in 2007, the magazine began as a blog, then an online publication and with the next issue will add a print component as well. As an online publication, the magazine’s growth and distribution can be attributed directly to social media, with Monica using Twitter and Facebook since 2007 to share the content. While GivingCity had always been a “side project,” for Monica, in 2010 it was adopted by the Austin Community Foundation, which now supports GivingCity’s content and distribution.

Currently, Monica is the communications director for the Austin Community Foundation where her role is to develop and implement communications strategies and tactics to advance the mission of the foundation. Monica has worked full-time since 1997 and has experience as a magazine editor, consumer website manager, copywriter, communications director and freelance writer. She lives in Austin with her husband and two young children.