Author: Donna Callejon

Who says social change is slow? I blinked and nine powerful, inspiring years went by.

Posted on by Donna Callejon

I blinked and nine years went by.

Okay, my eyes were open most of the time, but it is truly hard to believe that it has been nine years since my first Washington Area Women’s Foundation board meeting in 2000.

As I roll off The Women’s Foundation’s board – and onto the Board of the global Women’s Funding Network – I look back with a feeling of privilege and pride and still envision the promise yet to be realized by this dynamic organization and community.

When former president of The Women’s Foundation, Anne Mosle, asked Jane Fox-Johnson and me to join the board, we were both enthusiastic, but cautious. 

I told Anne, “Sure, I will join your board, but I will not ask anyone for money.”

What a difference a decade makes.

As she predicted, it soon became second nature to want to invite others into The Women’s Foundation’s big tent, because I was confident that our work was both effective and necessary. 

From Community Bridges in Montgomery County, to Tahirih Justice Center in northern Virginia, to FAIR Fund in D.C., The Women’s Foundation has had the privilege to support more than 100 organizations through grants, technical support, convenings and more. 

And, in the course of doing so, has established itself as an anchor in the Washington metropolitan area.

As I prepared for my final board meeting and reflected on where we are today, I found myself drawn back to the values and attributes that have made The Women’s Foundation unique and special.  When I reflected on our  “first principles,” and remembered that the common denominator of our success and growth has been our intense and purposeful attention to them, the core values that came to mind were:

  • In Washington, it is easy to define “diversity” merely on racial terms. But our commitment has always been, and will always be, to inclusion in its broadest – and constantly changing – sense. We can always make the tent bigger, but come to the Leadership Luncheon on October 20th and you’ll see what I mean in one room;
  • Collaboration – sometimes with unlikely allies – and true partnerships have been hallmarks of our work. We call our grantees “Grantee Partners” and we mean it.  From a philosophical standpoint, we believe we find better solutions through partnerships. And in this tough economic time, leverage is a key and necessary element of our impact;
  • I lost track somewhere around 2004 of the number of times people shook their heads and said, “But how can you do that, you are such a small organization?”  But from day one – and with Anne and Marjorie’s steadfast leadership, and now with Phyllis and the current team – one of the most exciting aspects of being part of The Women’s Foundation has been a willingness to step into uncharted territory, experiment wisely, and create breakthroughs because of it.  I hope this never changes;
  • Honoring the past and those who paved the way for this stage of our work has always been a core component of who we are. From our founders to former board and staff leaders, to the early funders who took a chance on us – inspiring women and men have provided outstanding leadership.  I thank them personally and say it has been an absolute honor to work side by side with you to make a difference for women and girls in our region; and,
  • Finally – and for those of you who know me – humor and fun have been integral to the spirit and, I believe, success of Washington Area Women’s Foundation. We take our work extremely seriously, but we can’t take ourselves the same way. Some of my strongest memories are of laughing with girls at one of our Grantee Partner’s programs…and dancing with my fellow board members at our retreats.

It has been an awesome privilege to call myself a member of this board – and I am excited to remain part of this community as it continues on its amazing journey.

Donna Callejon served on The Women’s Foundation’s board of directors from 2000-2009.  As of July 2009, she is a board member of the Women’s Funding Network and also serves on the boards of Nonprofit Village in Maryland and GlobalGivingUK.  In her professional life, she is the Chief Business Officer of GlobalGiving.

The inspiring independent women of Prince George's County.

Posted on by Donna Callejon

I spent a few hours yesterday in Prince George’s County, Maryland, helping to facilitate a Voice and Vision session for Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Although I’ve been on the board for seven years, I have been focused on pretty much everything except our programmatic work in an intense way. Don’t get me wrong, I can recite the stats and progress and impact and all that good stuff.

Like that the DC metro area is a "tale of two cities," with the highest paid and most highly educated women in America.  We’re the fastest growing city for women entrepreneurs, and we’ve got a woman presidential candidate living in our midst.

BUT, we’ve also got the highest rate in the country of new incidences of HIV in women, and 1 in 3 kids lives in poverty –more than 75 percent in households headed by single women. 

See, I didn’t even have to check my notes (or our research) to lay that out.

But yesterday, instead of talking about it conceptually, I was with some women in Prince George’s County who, themselves, have come through the fire and are now doing amazing work to help lift struggling women out of poverty, away from destructive behaviors and relationships, and to independence.

Deborah Avens runs a non-profit called Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. Kim Rhim runs one called Training Source.  (Both are Grantee Partners of The Women’s Foundation.)

These women are doing God’s work for sure — against a fair number of odds and in an area that is somewhat forgotten in a metropolitan area where many people don’t really know the geography and demographics of their hometown.

Prince George’s County is the ultimate tale of two counties. While folks there don’t like to hear it said this way, these women – and others who were there – most definitely framed up the "inside the beltway" vs. "outside the beltway" dynamics of this county, which is the most affluent minority-majority (aka majority black) "municipality" in the world.

I feel lucky and proud to work with The Women’s Foundation and with women like Deborah and Kim.  They inspire me to keep investing in the future of independence – financial and otherwise – for women in our community.

Donna Callejon serves on The Women’s Foundation’s Board of Directors, and is Chief Operating Officer of Global Giving.  This blog was originally posted here before we subsequently stole it.  (With permission, of course.)

Thanks, Anne, for making D.C. a better place for us all!

Posted on by Donna Callejon

 A Message from Donna Callejon, Board Chair , The Women’s Foundation 

As Board Chair of The Women’s Foundation, I am honored to share with the The Women’s Foundation community, that our very own Anne Mosle has been selected as a 2006 Washingtonian of The Year.  Read the story here! 
Anne is being recognized for her singular vision, inspiring leadership and profound commitment to meeting the needs of women and girls in the D.C. metropolitan area. This honor is a terrific affirmation of what we all have known for so long: that Anne’s leadership has been a key component in the success of The Women’s Foundation and our partners, making the D.C. region better for all of us… one woman, one girl and one family at a time.
 
As Anne is always the first to say, The Women’s Foundation’s success is due to the many grantee partners, donors, staff, board members and friends who share in our mission:  to both build a powerful wave of philanthropy and better serve the needs of low-income women and girls. Under Anne’s leadership each of us has had the opportunity to connect with the work of the foundation while sharing in a vision of the kind of community we can create when we invest – and give – together. 
 
Please join me in congratulating Anne by sharing your own stories of Anne’s inspiring leadership by commenting on this blog! 
 
The Women’s Foundation also extends its sincere congratulations to this year’s other Washingtonians of the Year: Vivian G. Bass, Jacquelyn Davis, Ricardo Drumond, Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Natwar M. Gandhi, Jean Guiffré, Terrence D. Jones, James Larranaga, Joseph Mornini, Charlene R. Nunley, Earl A. Powell III, Andrea Roane, Zainab Salbi, W. Christopher Smith Jr. and Keely Thompson Jr.

60% to the $50,000 challenge

Posted on by Donna Callejon

Friends, I am pleased to say that one week after the Leadership Luncheon we are rapidly approaching utilizing the full $50,000 match provided by our angel, Charlotte Perret. Thank you to those who have given – gifts have ranged from $10 to $5,000. board_laurie_emrich.jpgSpecial kudos to Women’s Foundation Board member Laurie Emrich, who has added another match to those contributions made by people who were her guests at the event.

WE LOVE OUR BOARD’S COMMITMENT!

We’ve got 13 days to get to the full $50,000. Let’s do it! Give Now.

What Muhammad Yunus knows and we aim to prove in the Washington Area

Posted on by Donna Callejon

Today the world heard that Yunus (as he is known in the international development world) has been honored with the Nobel prize. What Muhammad Yunus knows, and what has been the backbone of the work of Grameen and all of its emulators, is that it’s the WOMEN who start their businesses, pay back their loans at nearly flawless rates, and go on to improve not just their own lives…but those of many in their communities. Washington Area Women’s Foundation congratulates Yunus, and all the women who have taken advantage of Grameen’s programs.

Don’t forget about our $50K Leadership Challenge matching grant (We ARE NEARLY HALFWAY THERE!). Every dollar you give today has twice as much impact. Help us continue to demonstrate – here in our nation’s capital – that as a community we “get” what Yunus and others have known for years – that “when women thrive, everyone thrives.” Give now.

RIDING THE WAVE OF THE LEADERSHIP LUNCH

Posted on by Donna Callejon

WOW. WOW. WOW. What a day we had yesterday! THANK YOU!

Over 200 people attended the morning briefing and 1200 packed the ballroom for the lunch. We are on a high at the Foundation and hope you all are too. Don’t lose the vibe: check out the full set of unedited pictures, provided by our awesome photographic partner, Michael Colella.

YOU ALL LOOK BEAUTIFUL. And in our typical combination of substance and style, how about Patty Stonesifer, Ann Fudge and Judy Woodruff???

We are well on our way to meeting the $50,000 challenge announced yesterday, with over $13,000 received “in the moment.” Please spread the word about the challenge – and enourage people to give through our new secure site.

Check in here for more updates.

Welcome and Thanks!

Posted on by Donna Callejon

Let me add my voice of welcome to Anne’s. I’m Donna Callejon and Chair the Board of Directors of the Washington Area Women’s Foundation. Whew, it’s been quite a couple of months for the team at the Foundation – Thanks to all of you who joined us at the annual Leadership Luncheon. Our team has been getting ready for this signature event, refining our metrics around Stepping Stones, bringing together donors, grantees and partners for a variety of convenings, and relaunching this website.

In my “day job” I work in the web philanthropy world, and so I am thrilled to be one of many faces and voices of The Women’s Foundation posting on this blog. To have the kind of vibrant community committed to investing in women and girls we need to be active – offline every day, and online every day. This is not your grandmother’s women’s foundation! Let me tell you about some of the women who make up The Women’s Foundation.

Lisa Ross, Senior Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, was a founding member of The Women’s Foundation board. While her hair is less “big” than it was in the past (that’s a picture of her from a few years back on the right), her commitment hasn’t wavered. She’s a rock star in the strategy and communications world and she rocks. Nancy Navarro was one of our first Grantee Partners. She co-founded Centro Familia. Nancy is now a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education, serving the 180,000 kids in that district.

Marjorie Sims, currently Vice President of Programs and Operations at the Foundation, was a founding Board member….and then she left us for LA for a few years. And when she said she’d come back as a senior member of the team, we could NOT have been more over the moon. She is a star – a thinker, a doer, a leader.

Cathy Isaacson is a relative newcomer to The Women’s Foundation, but she has made her mark quickly. A lawyer who returned to Washington just a few years ago, Cathy jumped in, became part of our Development Committee, and joined the Board two years ago. Cathy is always asking the best questions, making the best connections, and living and breathing The Women’s Foundation – whether in Washington, or on the road.

Let’s talk about Linda Butler. She is the Leadership Luncheon video. Now this is what we are all about. Linda is a single mom who broke free of the bounds of a dysfunctional family, and from frustration and poverty, working with Grantee Partner Northern Virginia Family Service’s Training Futures program. Linda now is a shining example of what is possible. And that’s what we are all about.

Finally, let me highlight Charlotte Perret. Charlotte, the quiet philanthropist. She’s the one who provided an angel gift of $50,000 – and all donations made by people who attended the lunch (or their friends) in the next month, will generate 2 times their contribution…thanks to Charlotte. Matching Angel. That’s sweet.

Come back and visit, tell us your story, give us your feedback. We are open for business on this website and we are all about this – the POWER of Giving Together.