Our Foundation

Stepping Stones Research Update – May 2009

Posted on by Liza Getsinger

As part of our ongoing commitment – in partnership with The Urban Institute – to providing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones, please find below a summary of recent research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families.

This research is summarized and complied for The Women’s Foundation by Liza Getsinger of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News
The Urban Institute looks at the likelihood that nonelderly individuals in families with children experience substantial drops in family income and recoveries from such drops. (Intro) (Full Text)

Jobs and Business Ownership News
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research looks at wage differences between men and women across several different occupations. (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education News
ChildTrends shows research findings on the link between program quality and children’s outcomes among state and federal government invested programs in early care and education. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News
The Kaiser Family Foundation explores how problems obtaining oral health and dental care disproportionately affect low-income and minority children. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research
The Urban Institute documents the extent to which foreclosures in Washington D.C. have occurred in renter-occupied homes and apartments, and outlines several policy options for helping renters during this difficult period. (Abstract) (Full Text)

We're celebrating $1.1 million in grantmaking this year!

Posted on by Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat

As school lets out for the summer, there are many proud moments to celebrate, whether it’s a graduation milestone, a decent report card or the beginning of something new.

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we’re celebrating meeting an ambitious goal: maintaining our grantmaking as we close out the fiscal year!  With our most recent approval of grants, we hit our goal of granting $1.1 million to nonprofits working to improve the lives of women and girls in our region.

Our Stepping Stones grants support critical work in the areas of financial education, job training and early care and education, all of which provide the essential tools and support needed to assist low-income women and their families during these tough economic times.

Organizations like Community Tax Aid, Doorways for Women and Families, and Manna, Inc. will continue their work with low-income, women-headed families by providing them with the financial education and tax prep assistance needed to start them on a path of economic success.

SOME and Year Up are providing the job training that is essential to putting women on a career pathway.

Food stamps are an important work support and play a critical role in moving a women and her family out of poverty.  DC Hunger Solutions will continue its advocacy work to ensure that eligible women and their children are receiving food stamps.

Another key work support is access to quality child care. Montgomery College Foundation, Prince George’s Child Resource Center and WETA will work to improve the quality of early care and education.

Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations face a myriad of challenges and navigating complex systems can be overwhelming. The Human Services Coalition of Prince George’s County will work to improve public policies so they enhance, rather than hinder, the effectiveness of the work nonprofits do on behalf of low-income, women-headed families in Prince George’s County.

Through our Open Door Capacity Fund, we’re funding capacity building work that aims to shore up the long-term sustainability of organizations. This work is essential to ensuring that these organizations have the necessary resources to address key organizational and operational improvements, while maintaining the much-needed services they provide to our region’s at-risk women and girls.

Please take a moment to review our most recent grants and take pride knowing that together we’re making a difference in the lives of women and girls in our community.

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is the Vice President, Programs at The Women’s Foundation.

Congratulations to the Catalogue for Philanthropy Greater Washington's 2009-2010 Class!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

Every year, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington chooses our region’s best, brightest and most promising nonprofits to feature. 

The list is a prestigious one given that organizations are vetted by a diverse, knowledgeable group of stakeholders throughout the community who know our region, its issues and the organizations and work that is making a difference–much like the volunteer committees and giving circles that participate in The Women’s Foundation’s grantmaking processes.

Not only is The Women’s Foundation proud to have a number of staff members who volunteer on the review committee, but each year, we are always thrilled to see our own Grantee Partners make the list!

Last year, there was a lot of overlap, and this year is no different.  Today, when the Catalogue of Philanthropy: Greater Washington Class of 2009-2010 was announced, we were proud to note the following Grantee Partners listed:

Centro Familia, which engages immigrant families in early care and education
Urban Alliance Foundation, which facilitates year-long professional internship opportunities for at-risk youth
ASHA for Women, which empowers South Asian women to live free of abuse
Through the Kitchen Door International, which provides life and employment skills training that changes trainees’ lives
Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE), which provides legal, economic, counseling and educational services for domestic violence victims
Pregnancy Aid Center, which provides prenatal and health care for women and newborns in need
Doorways for Women and Families, which provides shelter and services for homeless families and domestic violence survivors
Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition, a transitional and supportive housing program serving homeless and low-income people
Tahirih Justice Center, which protects immigrant women and girls who are fleeing gender-based violence
Computer C.O.R.E., which provides job-readiness training in computer and life skills for low-income adults
Jubilee Jobs, which provides compassionate, skilled job placement and ongoing support
STRIVE DC, an employment program transforming the lives of disadvantaged people in Washington, D.C.

The Women’s Foundation is proud to partner with these organizations doing outstanding work on behalf of our region’s women and girls, and congratulates them and all of the 2009-2010 Catalogue Class, which represents the effective, innovative work The Women’s Foundation is proud to support throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

I'm proud to be helping make sure young women don't inherit a "place by the window."

Posted on by Lauren Yothers

“She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.”

The above is from The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
 
I remember reading The House on Mango Street in high school.  It was required, but it turned out to be one of the books that has stuck with me over the years. I find Esperanza’s story to resonate with growing up as a women in the Washington D.C. metro area.  She describes many of the challenges that continue to face young women – discrimination, violence, isolation, and sexuality.

I think of this quote in particular because I, too, am looking out of the window.  Although it is a gray day, I’m neither sad nor anxious.

In fact, I am quite excited to be looking out this window here at Washington Area Women’s Foundation. My “place by the window” is actually a desk in an organization that is helping women overcome challenges and empower themselves.

As I think of Esperanza, a name which means “hope,” I read some of the stories of women who have been helped by The Women’s Foundation.  I read about SECRETS, a program run by DAARA that provides a safe place and counseling for young girls much like Esperanza.

I read about women who, thanks to programs that The Women’s Foundation helps fund, are able to become what they want to be.

I am a new intern at The Women’s Foundation and I am excited to be helping to ensure that young women do not inherit a “place by the window.”

Lauren Yothers is a summer intern at The Women’s Foundation.  A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Lauren is a senior at the University of Miami majoring in Latin American studies and minoring in Spanish, Portuguese and environmental science.  Her career interests include nongovernmental organizations, socio-environmental problems, and human rights issues.

Annual report is a reminder of the "priceless" value of our pro bono partners.

Posted on by Phyllis Caldwell

I’m looking at our latest annual report, which is hot off the presses. It tells our story succinctly and poignantly—both in words and photos.

Looking at it is a reminder not only of all that The Women’s Foundation accomplished last year, but of the tremendous support we get from a number of pro bono companies that make those accomplishments possible.

So, in the spirit of annual report season, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge those who contribute to our work through their generous pro bono help.

The following companies have truly made a difference in the success and impact of The Women’s Foundation in ways that are visible and some that are behind the scenes. In many ways, we are who we are because of their contributions, because their support is what enables us to tell our story, and the stories of the women and girls we serve.

So, without further ado, our sincerest thanks to the following pro bono partners:

AXIS Communications, which designed the branding platform and Power10 campaign that have contributed so much to our messaging and ability to tell the story of our impact.

The Bivings Group, which designs and currently maintains our Web site, including the online votes we’ve held for the past two years.

Colella Photography, which provides photography of countless events, Grantee Partners and everything in between for our reports, luncheons, Web site and every other marketing piece we have.

EFX Media, which has diligently provided support in graphic design and video production for our reports, Leadership Luncheons and everything in between for years.

Rosenthal Partners, which came on board this year to design our latest annual report and continues to support us.

These companies are a true representation of what it means to work in partnership with nonprofits to improve your community, together. Their support is crucial to our work, now, more than ever.

And we’d encourage you, if you’re seeking services in these areas, to consider working with them. Not only are they outstanding professionals, but they’re invested in helping build a stronger region for all of us.  And as we all know, that’s good business.

Phyllis Caldwell is President of The Women’s Foundation.

I officially consider President Obama a "Guy Who Gets It."

Posted on by Lena Peterson

This morning as I was rushing out the house, I caught 10 minutes of President Obama’s speech at the University of Cairo.  As the sixth point in his address, the President talked about the importance and benefits of investing in women and girls. 

Our president has already shown himself to be a domestic champion of women’s issues by creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. 

Now, he continues to trumpet the significance of supporting women and girls by making it one of his key platforms in international discussions. 

Here at The Women’s Foundation, I think that officially makes the President “A Guy Who Gets It”.  Maybe he’d be interested in a t-shirt like the one Rick Ballard wore proudly on stage at last year’s Leadership Luncheon.

Lena Peterson is the Office Assistant at The Women’s Foundation.

2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing audio and presentations now available!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

We’re pleased to announce that the audio and presentations from the 2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing are now available online, thanks to our partner and co-sponsor, The Urban Institute.

This year’s briefing focused on the realities facing low-income women and their families in the current recession, as well as strategies to help them cope. 

Speakers at this year’s briefing included Heather Boushey from the Center for American Progress, Ed Lazere with the DC Fiscal Policy Institute, Marty Schwartz with Vehicles for Change and more.

The briefing was also live-Tweeted @TheWomensFndtn with hashtag #SSRB.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

CARECEN: The gift of communications from The Women's Foundation.

Posted on by Hilary Burger

Thanks to the support and collaboration of Washington Area Women’s Foundation, the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) has moved quickly ahead in the area of communications capacity over the past year.

CARECEN provides direct housing counseling and legal services, as well as citizenship education and community economic development to 8,000 area Latino residents per year, while also reaching thousands more through outreach efforts.

An Open Door Capacity Fund grant in 2008-2009 provided a key source of support needed to allow CARECEN to focus on communications as a priority.  In May 2008, CARECEN met with Lisa Kays, The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications, to talk about emerging strategies for enhancing communications in nonprofit organizations, and CARECEN also participated in the highly informative July 2008 workshop on “Communications and New Media” put on by The Women’s Foundation. 

Over the past year, Mi-Young Kim, an extraordinarily dedicated volunteer skilled at Web site design, worked closely with Ana Negoescu, Director of the Citizenship Program, to redesign our Web site.

CARECEN also embraced e-communications, and starting in February 2009 launched a monthly e-newsletter for a community of 1,000+ friends and supporters, including more than 100 volunteers who contribute annually to the organization.

With artwork by Salvadoran-American artist Hugo Bonilla, the new Website is designed to reflect the community CARECEN serves, consistent with the organization’s mission and cultural heritage.  Still a work in progress, it aims to help people understand the historical roots of CARECEN as a community-based organization dedicated to serving the Latino immigrant community.  It also encourages interested constituents to participate in educational activities and advocacy efforts.  In addition to providing the opportunity to recognize and honor our community partners, sponsors and supporters, the site focuses on helping members, volunteers, and friends stay updated on CARECEN as well as key issues such as immigration reform.

In the area of fundraising, in addition to the Website, CARECEN is also adopting Web2.0 generation tools such as Facebook and Change.org as a way of engaging new supporters and facilitating awareness of CARECEN, not to mention the ability to recognize and thank donors.

These low-cost communications and outreach strategies, and the ability to assemble lists of supporters with simple tools such as Constant Contact, help in building visibility of the work of community-based organizations like CARECEN. 

Still, our challenges continue, particularly in the realm of bilingual communications, given that Spanish is the first language for the majority of our constituents. 

Also, we cannot forget that many Latino area residents, particularly adults, lack easy access to the Internet, a fundamental tool in accessing employment and services, and in resolving basic financial issues.

Latina women, a vital force in our community, are active participants in CARECEN programs and activities.  Women are frequently leaders in local tenant associations, and are often the first in their families to pursue citizenship.

The support of The Women’s Foundation helps to provide more opportunities for empowering women, strengthening families, and building communities in our region.

Hilary Burger is Director of Development at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Stepping Stones Research Briefing sneak peek: Want to know more about how unions help women workers?

Posted on by John Schmitt

Over the last three decades, women have substantially increased their importance in the unionized workforce. Women currently make up about 45 percent of all unionized workers. If recent trends continue, women will be the majority of organized labor by 2020.

These increases have not only been good for unions – they have also been good for women workers.

In a recent report, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) documents that unions substantially raise the pay and benefits of women workers. According to the report, all else being equal, unions boost the wages of the average woman by about 11 percent (about $2.00 per hour).

The effects of unionization are even bigger on health insurance and pension benefits. Women in unions are 19 percentage points more likely than their non-union counterparts to have health insurance and about 25 percentage points more likely to have a pension.

Want to learn more?

Then join me when I present and discuss the findings of this report at The Women’s Foundation’s 2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing on Wednesday, May 20 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Katharine Graham Conference Center of the Urban Institute at 2100 M Street, NW on the 5th Floor.

Please RSVP here.  

Then help us spread the word.  We have an Event, "2009 Stepping Stones Research Briefing," on Facebook.  We’re also on Twitter @TheWomensFndtn. 

John Schmitt is a senior economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C.

Follow The Women's Foundation on Twitter!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

The Women’s Foundation is now on Twitter!  We’ll be providing updates on our work, strategies, impact and success stories via @TheWomensFndtn. 

If you’re on Twitter, please find us, follow and join the conversation!

We’re looking forward to using Twitter as a way to share more information about our work and more often, as well as to engage in a genuine dialogue with members of our community.

Join us, as we all work, together, to explore the ideas and strategies that are changing the lives of women and girls in the Washington metro area! 

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.