A decade of giving began with a simple question: What can we do? 

Orchid Giving Circle co-founders Thear Suzuki and Cynthia Yung met at civic events in Dallas, Texas in the early 2010s, where they bonded over a mutual love for their community and the desire to give back. However, both women noticed something missing in Texas’ philanthropy world. 

“Thear asked Cynthia, ‘Where are all the Asian women leaders in Dallas? What can we do?’” remembers Mylinh Luong, a founding member and the current Chair of Orchid Giving Circle. Those simple questions led to the formation of a collective giving group with almost a decade of giving under its belt. 

“That sparked the conversations, and from there we started recruiting friends and like-minded sisters,” says Luong. “We shared with them about wanting to put together a giving circle, but we didn’t really know where to start.” 

Luong is no stranger to the power of collective giving. When Luong’s family arrived in the US, they found their first steps in a new life supported by the kindness of strangers. 

“I am a refugee,” says Luong. “I came here with my family from war-torn Vietnam on a boat to Richmond, Virginia, that was sponsored by a Catholic organization forty-plus years ago.” This sponsorship informed Luong’s earliest ideas about collective giving. “When you have the heart to give back and to help, you don’t always have to see the face. Someone in the Catholic community supported our family without seeing what we looked like.”

This mentality carries through in Orchid Giving Circle. Led by Asian women, Orchid supports the Asian-American community in north Texas through grants and community events. In the last nine years, they’ve raised $1.6 million and offered grants to more than 40 organizations around the state. In 2023 alone, Orchid members raised a record $376,688 and awarded grants to 22 nonprofits local to northern Texas. 

“It’s the largest we’ve ever been able to fundraise,” says Luong. “In giving back we wanted to focus on women and girls in Asian-American communities. We support those nonprofits that are doing the work, that are in the trenches.”

Orchid’s giving structure follows a unique model. Each member commits to $2,500 in funding per year, and those funds can be personal donations or results of a member’s fundraising efforts. Orchid also hosts an organization-wide fundraiser in the form of an annual leadership forum, “a leadership program for up-and-coming midlevel managers who want to elevate their power,” says Luong. “We want to support women leaders who work in nonprofits, who are doing the work. They may not be serving the Asian-American community [directly], but we want to support these Asian women who are doing the work.”

Orchid has grown from its original 21 members – or “sisters,” as they’re known in Orchid – to nearly five times that size in their latest grant cycle.

 “Today we have 95 sisters who believe in the work we are doing and how we’re giving back to the community,” says Luong. 

Luong attributes much of Orchid’s success to a long history of relationship-building. For other organizations looking to follow in Orchid’s footsteps, Luong recommends a focus on friendship and sisterhood. 

“The message is that you don’t have to do it by yourself,” she says. “You don’t have to do it alone. You can do it with sisters who have aligned values. You can leverage their relationships with the corporate world.” 

“The magic formula is just heart,” she adds. “Philanthropy is the work of the heart. We all have the same values when it comes to lifting up our community. [Our grantees] are in the trenches. This is our small part in helping them do the work they’re doing. We’re so honored and feel so blessed that we’re able to support them in our own small ways.”

Giving circle members are not the only people Luong can offer advice. Orchid succeeded in great part due to its partnership with its host institution, Texas Women’s Foundation (TWF). The guidance, support, and camaraderie they found in TWF’s team helped them take Orchid from an idea between a handful of friends to the million-dollar fund it is today – and TWF has benefited from the partnership too.

“What’s important for foundations to realize is that giving circles are part of…what makes a foundation special,” says Luong. “Foundations don’t always have [diversity and relationships] as part of their plans. A giving circle adds a lot of value to foundations. We come with the heart and the [desire] to give back to the community. That is what makes us special.” 

And after a decade and more than a million dollars in funding, Orchid’s success speaks for itself. In addition to their partnerships with TWF, Orchid has extensive relationships with corporate leaders and other foundations in Texas. They are close friends and supporters of Dallas giving circles like HERitage Giving Fund, Village Giving Circle, and the Latina Giving Circle. 

“I tell our team we’ve got street cred now!” says Luong. “[People] know what Orchid Giving Circle is and the work we’re doing. I love the fact that whoever comes to the giving circle knows they are welcome with open arms.” 

Orchid fosters a deep connection with their community by offering public events, like their November 2023 grantee gathering. The event, open to the public, spotlighted the work of Orchid’s 22 nonprofit partners from the year’s giving cycle. Events like the annual leadership forum also offer opportunities for Orchid’s members to work closely with grantee partners in a spirit of open collaboration, something very important to Luong herself. 

“I’m just so amazed by the traction we’re making,” she says. In 2024, Orchid Giving Circle looks forward to a shift in leadership as a new executive team steps forward. Luong herself will be passing her Chair seat to Vice Chair Kim Cummings

Decades after her family’s experience with the kindness of strangers, Luong finds her life driven by generosity. 

“Fast forward 37 years later, and I’m part of a giving circle that gave back to a Fort Worth Catholic charity,” she says. In 2017, Orchid awarded a $15,000 grant to an organization that helps the new wave of refugees coming to Texas from places like Burma and Afghanistan.

“That, to me, has been a full journey,” says Luong. “I think about that, and I think about the work that we do, and how impactful it is. If you have the heart to give, and if you have the will to do so…then it is as easy as just getting with your girlfriends and saying, ‘What can we do, and how can we give back?’” 

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To learn more about Orchid Giving Circle, visit their website at www.orchidgivingcircle.com. You can also find them on Instagram @theorchidgivingcircle and on Facebook at @OrchidGivingCircle. 

Philanthropy Together aims to democratize and diversify philanthropy by uplifting stories of collective giving groups like the Orchid Giving Circle. Learn more.