Author: marjorie

Words of inspiration from WFN for your Friday!

Posted on by marjorie

I couldn’t help but pass along some of the words of inspiration I gathered at last week’s Women’s Funding Network Conference.  I thought these might be a great way to brighten up a rainy Friday and to wish everyone an awesome weekend!

Words of wisdom and inspiration:

"Know that you have women in the halls of Congress committed to moving millions…billions of dollars to improve the lives of women and girls."

"Repeat after me… a simple act… a world of good."–Angela Bassett

"I wasn’t trying to start a movement; I just wanted to plant trees."–Dr. Wangari Maathai

"The best criticism of the bad is a practice of the good."

"Provide grants that build wealth and worth."

"Foundations are really good at overwhelming people with data…. too much information; we need to meet people where they are."

"All things that are measured are not of value, and all things of value are not measured."

"The right to live with dignity applies to everyone."

"For real change, you need Optimism + Strategy + Communications Tools."

Happy Friday everyone! 

That luncheon rocked!

Posted on by marjorie

Hi all!  This is Marjorie and Deb here, and we couldn’t wait to share our reactions to yesterday with everyone!

Wow, talk about change!  Having experienced yesterday’s Leadership Luncheon, we can’t believe how much things have changed—how much bigger it is, how packed that room was with women and men supporting our region’s women and girls, the amount of money ($1 MILLION!!!) we’re able to commit, together, to building our community! 

And yet, so much has stayed the same—the power of the inspiration within that room, the wisdom of our speakers and leaders within our community of philanthropists, the buzz and energy of more than 1,500 people talking about changing lives, changing themselves, and how they feel about being a part of The Power of Giving Together—about really doing something in our community!

What a rush!

As the board chair and interim president of The Women’s Foundation, we want to thank everyone who attended the luncheon yesterday for your support, for thinking seriously about the power of empowering our women and girls, for putting your dollars and your time and your talent behind the work we’re doing, and for joining us to celebrate how far we’ve come, and for your commitment to support how much further we can go, together!

For those of you who weren’t able to attend, we hope you’ll still join us on the powerful wave of philanthropy that was ignited yesterday yet again, and get involved in the work we’re doing together!

There are three ways that anyone can get involved—whether you already know The Women’s Foundation or are just getting started. To learn more, click here, and join The Power of Giving Together!

And thanks again to all of you who made yesterday such a powerful success! We continue to be inspired by all you do, and will carry that spirit with us as we move forward, onward and upward in our work on behalf of and with the women and girls in our area!

The future is wide open, and with you all, we’re running full speed into it!

With all our best wishes and thanks,

Deb Gandy and Marjorie Sims
Board Chair       Interim President

THEARC for Everybody

Posted on by marjorie

Yesterday, I had my second visit to the THEARC (The Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus), which is the new home of the Washington Middle School for Girls (WMSG) one of our Grantee Partners.

Anne Mosle, our fearless leader, and Barb Strom Thompson, who Co-Chairs the Rainmakers’ Giving Circle, also participated in the visit to meet with some of the WMSG students. Visiting with the WMSG students was pure pleasure. They are bright, articulate, engaged, and very honest. Most of them come from difficult family circumstances, but you would never know it by their spirit for learning and the goals that they have set for themselves. Yet, when looking at the neighbor that surrounds THEARC, you’re reminded that the girls are very much “at-risk.”

During the visit, a group of girls treated us to an a cappella rendition of their current favorite song they called “I Don’t Want to be a Murderer.” The passion with which the girls sang the song was the same passion that any young girl in any part of our region would sing a popular song. But, why where they singing a song about murder? Well to my surprise, the name of the song really is Unfaithful and it is a song about a conflicted young woman. I’m still not thrilled about the song’s message, however I am so glad that that WMSG allows the young girls to sing ‘their’ songs with passion while providing a creative learning space.

I wish that I had time to visit WMSG and THEARC everyday. It is a perfect reflection of what happens when vision, philanthropy, and political will sync up. I’m looking forward to THEARC 2.0 emerge in our region.

Women Deserve a Critical Mass

Posted on by marjorie

David Broder’s recent column in the Washington Post made me flash back to the final days of the 103rd Congress. I was working for the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues and there was a strong interest in demonstrating that the 22 women elected to Congress during 1992 or “Year of the Women” had made an important difference in the types of bills that were introduced and passed. The Women’s Caucus did some analysis and learned that there were an unprecedented number of bills – introduced as well as passed by the 103rd Congress – focused on issues important to women and families.

That analysis, done 12 years ago by the Women’s Caucus, was an important illustration that not only do women in office make a difference, but the number of women in office makes an even bigger difference. We can thank Pat Schroeder and Olympia Snowe, who were the Women’s Caucus Co-Chairs then, for that first-ever documentation.

The Women’s Foundation reported similar findings in our 2003 report – A Portrait of Women & Girls in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The report also includes an ambitious set of recommendations for investing in women and girls in our region. One recommendation, in particular, urges that there be stronger investments in women’s leadership at all levels.

With the general elections three weeks away, transition teams are being assembled across the Washington region and a quiet debate among women’s advocates is happening. Some are questioning whether it is still important for us to put together a slate of women who are qualified to serve in cabinet positions and on local boards and commissions. It is puzzling after all these years of us knowing that the number of women makes a critical difference that questions are being raised.

Should we develop a slate of only women prospects? Yes! Advocates for women should identify and promote well-qualified women for key appointed offices. Not all will make it, but no newly elected or re-elected mayor, county executive, state office holder, or member of congress should be able to say that a qualified woman wasn’t identified for every key post.