Philanthropy

The Daily Rundown — The Latest News Affecting Women & Girls in Our Region

Posted on by Mariah Craven

Photo Credit: Editor B via Creative Commons

In today’s rundown: Solutions for the high cost of child care.  |  Promising new legislation that will invest in community colleges.  |  The impact of women’s philanthropy.

— For some local parents, the cost of quality child care can account for up to 60 percent of their annual incomes.  While subsidies do exist to help offset the costs, they’re often not enough.  Hyesook Chung, executive director of D.C. Action for Children talks about options.  Click here to listen to what she has to say.

— President Obama spoke to students at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria where Jill Biden teaches English.  The president was there to discuss new legislation that will revamp the federal student loan program and invest billions of dollars into community colleges around the country.  Click here for details.

— The Women’s Foundation Grantee Partner Borromeo Housing Inc. is featured in this video story about women’s philanthropy and its impact worldwide.  Borromeo Housing operates Elizabeth House, the program featured in the piece.  Elizabeth House is an education-first residential program for homeless adolescent mothers.

Got something to say?  Leave a comment below.  Or join us at www.Facebook.com/TheWomensFoundation.

Photo credit: Editor B via Creative Commons

D.C. Government Slashes Funding for Some of the City's Most Vulnerable Women

Posted on by Kris Thompson

Days after the District made the shocking announcement that $20 million had been cut from the homeless services budget for the 2010 fiscal year, advocates and organizations that provide shelter for the homeless are still reeling. One of The Women’s Foundation grantee partners is reaching out for help – as winter approaches and the organizations that assist the homeless face a crisis.

Calvary Women’s Services was notified Monday, September 28, by The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP) that contract funding for Calvary would be cut by nearly $75,000 beginning October 1st.  These funds support safe housing and other services for 150 homeless women each year.  TCP is an independent, non-profit corporation that coordinates DC’s Continuum of Care homeless services.

Calvary is one of many social service providers notified of cuts to their existing contracts. Emergency, transitional and supported permanent housing programs were all targeted as the city attempted to close an ever-widening budget gap.  The impact of these cuts on the overall homeless services system is going to be severe, with some housing programs reducing their services and others likely closing programs. 

Although these cuts may provide some immediate relief to the city’s budget problems, the real impact of the cuts will be felt by those in need of safe housing and support services.  Women who have already lost their jobs in this economic crisis will have fewer services and housing options available to them. These cuts will make women who are already at-risk much more likely to end up living on the streets or in unsafe situations.

The women who come to programs like Calvary are survivors of violence, women struggling with mental illness, and women working to overcome addictions.  At Calvary we make sure they have access to all of the services they need to address these challenges – in addition to providing a safe place to live.

We know that programs like ours work.  Every five days a woman moves out of Calvary and into her own home.

We have always relied on the support of both public funding and private donations to make our programs possible.  In the past, supporters have helped us close gaps like this one, and I am hopeful that the community will step up once again.  But I am also concerned that this gap may be too wide for our generous donors to close.

The coming months will be challenging ones for organizations like Calvary, as we try to find ways to continue to provide women in this community with critical, life changing services.  More so, they will be challenging months for women who need services like ours, as they face closed doors and reduced services at programs across the city.

 You can make a difference.  Support Calvary – or another agency facing these cuts – today. 

 Volunteer, donate or learn more at www.calvaryservices.org.

Kris Thompson is the Executive Director of Calvary Women’s Services, recognized as a 2009 Leadership Awardee by The Women’s Foundation.  Learn more about them on their Web site or on Facebook.

WPI releases personal reflections from giving circle founders, including African American Women's Giving Circle!

Posted on by Andrea Pactor

Personal reflections from women founders of the early giving circles are included in a new booklet just released by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Among the 18 interviews in Women’s Giving Circles: Reflections from the Founders is Lynn McNair’s story of her involvement with the African American Women’s Giving Circle at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

Check out all the stories and learn more about Lynn’s personal experiences with the giving circle here.  These stories complement existing information about giving circles and add a personal connection to this vibrant form of giving.

Andrea Pactor is Associate Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.  She has worked with the Women’s Philanthropy Institute for four years and helps to further understanding of women’s philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination.

829 posts later, a bittersweet farewell. #inspired #transformed

Posted on by Lisa Kays

November 22, 2006, when I posted my first post to this blog, seems like a lifetime ago (not in a bad way).  And I know now that anyone who says that a job is just a job has never worked at The Women’s Foundation.

For when I was handed the reigns of this blog, and given the responsibility of managing The Women’s Foundation’s communications and marketing, I had no idea that what I was truly being handed was a genuine community–a community committed to changing our region by investing in women and girls.

I know, I know–it sounds like a marketing pitch. A line. A brand. A lot of nonprofit mission mumbo jumbo. 

But I guarantee you, I’m not a good enough salesperson to be able to sell something I don’t believe in.  Just ask my mother. 

Have you seen my gameface?  No. 

Because I don’t have one.

But in this position, I’ll admit, I did get a marketing platform, a brand, to draw upon.  And it made my life easier–not because it was a brand, but because it was true. 

So, on my last day as The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications, I thought I’d unveil a bit about the brilliant tool that Susan Hasten and her colleagues at AXIS Communications put into my hands a few months after I came on board, and prove to you that it is, in fact, who we are here at The Women’s Foundation.

At least from my perspective.

For more than two years, the post-in note on my computer has had four words that have defined not only my work, but The Women’s Foundation.  Writing and speaking and thinking to and from them has not been a challenge.  For they speak for and to who we are. 

Here’s how:

Community
The Women’s Foundation is, indeed, a community.  I have been honored to get to see it work from a number of perspectives.  And so have you. 

Our donors give not only from their bank accounts, but of their time and talent to change our community.  From Rainmakers to members of the African American Women’s Giving Circle to 1K Club members to Washington 100 members to the folks at Hobo International who donate the handbag centerpieces at our annual luncheon, our donors are thoughtful, smart, savvy, and commited to social change. 

They want to roll up their sleeves and get involved and they do.

Michael Colella has been taking the pictures that have enabled us to demonstrate the power of our work for years, as a volunteer, 100 percent of the time.  His commitment to our work and our mission extend beyond what I can convey here.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I’m not sure even that would do it.  And in the meantime, he’s kept me laughing even when we were working way after hours and ready to throw up our hands the night before the luncheon.

The Bivings Group, which developed and helps manage TheWomensFoundation.org (pro bono mind you), helped me figure out how to blog effectively, grow this site, and made our online votes and tons of other online initiatives possible.  Their knowledge, patience with me ("I can’t get the photo to upload!") and dedication to our work has astounded me every step of the way.

Jennifer Cortner (a board member and chair of our communications committee) and her colleagues at EFX Media have worked tirelessly to bring our work to life on video, while Jennifer has served as a mentor, teacher and friend to me as I made my way through video posting, luncheon production, and print layout (Wayne, Jessica, and Roberto, thanks for not killing me over those Community Update layouts). 

And now we have RP3, which has stepped in to support our print publications, luncheon theming and countless other aspects of our work (again, pro bono).  They are creative, committed and their understanding of and ability to reflect our mission and work back to us with their beautiful layouts, design and concept ideas has done nothing but floored me since I first met Beth and Kristi.

And, of course, there is The Hatcher Group, which supports our media outreach.  From Angie–who has taught me more about media, writing op-eds, press releases and just generally getting the word out, while also being a tremendous mentor and friend, to Josh–who came in and showed me everything I ever needed to know about social media in two hours or less, their impact on our work cannot be overstated.  They are constantly thinking about how they can help us promote our work and the interests of women and girls thorughout our community and it has been a true pleasure to work with them. 

And in addition, a few years ago, they said, "We’d like to work with your Grantee Partners (at no extra charge), to help them with their media capacity."  Ever since, we’ve picked a few partners each year to work one-on-one with them, resulting in stories like this one on The Art League and one on Fair Fund in the Washington Post–among many other positive outcomes that emerged from their work.

Then there is the staff of The Women’s Foundation: my colleagues and, now, good friends.  My colleagues are smart, hard working, mission-oriented people for whom I have the greatest respect.  They are also kind, funny and good-hearted.  Some of them microwave Tootsie Rolls, but hey, we all have our issues. 

In any case, it has been a pleasure to work with them, and to coax them into the crazy online world that is the blogosphere, Twitter and Facebook.  They have been patient with my antics, and eventually downright supportive.  Some, we could say, took that ball and ran with it (Gwen) in ways that even I hadn’t fathomed, and have made significant contributions to the thinking and dialogue around issues impacting women and girls in our community.  (Even if it was "age-inappropriate.")

A few samples of their posts can be found here, here, here, here, and, here, and pretty much all over the place.  Their writing, thinking and work daily makes me proud to have worked alongside them. 

It has been a priviledge to know and work with these committed women and men and to see this side of my community. 

Many, many times I have been asked how The Women’s Foundation has managed to have such superb media coverage, outreach and publications, and my answer is always that it’s because we have an extensive network of true partners standing behind us, committed to our work, our message and our mission. 

It is these people, and those I am sure I am forgetting to name, who, very honestly, have given The Women’s Foundation its voice in our region.

Connect
Broadly, this refers to The Women’s Foundation’s ability to connect Grantee Partners with resources, women to other women to make their community activism and giving more effective, and to make connections between the women and girls who need support and those who can help provide it.

In my work though, it has meant building connections through the online, offline and various worlds of communications.  And it’s been great, great fun.

Starting when Donna Callejon, our former board member and social media guru and mentor to me, said, "You have to go on Facebook." 

"Ugh, really?"

And so we did.  425 Cause members later, I’d say we’re pretty connected.  (Not to mention that I’ve reconnected with almost my entire high school debate team, but that’s another story.)

Then it was Twitter. 

"Seriously?" 

But 605+ Followers later, she may have been onto something.

Then she said, "Can we please take ourselves less seriously sometimes?  I know our work is serious, but do we always have to be?"

We listened, and tried out this and this.

Then she said, "And can the blogs please be shorter?" 

Mostly, we ignored her on this point. #verbose

Inspire
And here is where I get to talk about our Grantee Partners and the women and girls whose lives they transform each and every day.  Lives like Linda Butler and Christine Walker and the women and girls served by Polaris Project and other local organizations fighting human trafficking.

Their stories are endless, and so is their impact.  It will go on for generations, ebbing through individual lives, families and communities. 

In my work, I have had the privledge of learning about and telling their stories, over and over. 

It has been an honor to do this, and inspiring beyond words (Yes, even for me). 

In telling the stories of how our Grantee Partners are changing lives through jobs in construction, rehabilitation after prison, and helping prevent and help women and girls gain freedom after being trafficked, among countless others, I knew that I was only doing half of my job. 

That as part of The Women’s Foundation’s mission to raise the voices of women and girls, that we had to also raise theirs.

I was inspired to start office hours around communications and marketing, to learn about their needs and stories and challenges and to try to help ways to foster awareness of their work despite small budgets, lean staffs and workloads that were spiralling further and further out of control as the recession deepened. 

And from that, I was astounded to see that despite these challenges, their voices rose.

They started blogs, like this one, this one and this one.  They started Facebook pages and then began to Tweet, here, here and here.

Just to name a few.

Transform
And in that process, I was truly and genuinely changed. 

I went from being content writing and talking about this work to wanting to do it. 

I was inspired by more of our Grantee Partners than you can name, and not a small group of donors and members of the larger community around The Women’s Foundation, but it was the day that I wrote this that I knew that the next step for me would be to go into direct service. 

So I applied to graduate school and will begin a full-time Master’s program in social work this fall. 

And thus, 829 posts later, I find myself saying a very bittersweet farewell, to a community that has connected me to the leaders and visionaries and philanthropists that have inspired me to make a change. 

Personally and professionally.

So as you can see, it is much more than a branding platform. 

It is who we are.  It is truly, and genuinely, what we do.

As of close of business today, Lisa Kays is no longer the Director of Communications at The Women’s Foundation, but is honored to have been for the past (nearly) three years.  She is currently a full-time student pursuing a Master’s degree in social work.

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.

We'll give you a purse, you'll help us make change for women and girls!

Posted on by Lisa Kays

You know how they say you should be the change you wish to see in the world?

Well, now you can make the change you want to see in the world for women and girls!

And, becoming a change agent for our region’s women and girls will only cost you your spare change!

How?

Through The Power of Giving Together, The Women’s Foundation combines gifts of all sizes to make larger gifts that really make a difference for women and girls in our community.
So, while your spare change may not seem like a lot, when we combine it with everyone else’s, it is!

And, it will help fuel our work, which helps make make financial literacy, better jobs, health and safety, and affordable, quality child care and early education a reality for our region’s women and girls.

So, click here to ask us for your free change purse.

We’ll send it to you, you’ll fill it up and then mail us a check or make a gift online for the amount of change you gathered.

Then, we’ll combine it with the gifts of others to change the lives of our region’s women and girls!

And you can keep the purse as a reminder of how you helped make change for our region’s women and girls!

If you have any questions or would like to request a number of change purses for a group activity, feel free to contact me at lkays@wawf.org or 202.347.7737 ext. 202.

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

Giving circle reminds me that "we are they"…

Posted on by WAWF

There is something about being with a group of women and sharing the collective spirit of a common purpose that turns delight into magic and conversation into revelation.

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending a recruitment event of the African American Women’s Giving Circle. Though a little warm outside, the heat was no match for the cool conversation and comfort of good company.

Held at the home of Claudia Thorne, one of the circle’s co-chairs, the meeting reminded me more of a neighborhood cookout than a recruitment event!  The pot-luck table was spread with all manner of sumptuous foods from catfish and chicken to lasagna and Thai noodles – a temptation to even the most disciplined of “weight watchers.”

More than 20 women gathered together on the screened porch – old friends, new friends, and Grantee Partners– a.k.a., friends in the making.

Out on the lawn, a brother and sister duo from the Cultural Academy for Excellence (CAFÉ) Positive Vibrations Youth Orchestra regaled us all with their steel pans.

If that had been all there was to the day, it would still have been a perfect way to spend an afternoon!

But again, there is something about being with a group of women and sharing in the spirit of a common purpose that turns delight into magic and conversation into revelation.

This was my revelation.

We are all challenged about how to make adjustments to our spending and saving habits to insulate the best we can from the effects of the economy.  And often, one of the first ways we do that is by pulling back on our philanthropic giving.  Because for most of us, giving is a “luxury,” something we do when we are in a place of abundance.

As a donor myself, I have to admit that I have been tempted to “rethink” my giving in order to feel more “secure” in otherwise uncertain times.

But yesterday, as I sat and listened to the stories of appreciation and gratitude, from the Grantee Partners attending the event, the voices and visions of so many of our Grantee Partners and the communities they serve, echoed in my head.

The grants made to the organizations in our community working on behalf of women and girls are anything but luxuries.

The work being done by these organizations, and so many like them, often on already shoe-string budgets, are the heart and life blood of our communities.

They cannot be separated from us or our priorities, even when resources are tight.

Sandy Jibrell, one of the founding members of the AAWGC and member of The Women’s Foundation’s board of directors, spoke about her motivation for participating in the giving circle for what is now her fourth year.  And while I know that I will not capture the eloquence and passion with which she spoke, the message is still an important one:

We are one community. When a woman is able to care for her family and see her children succeed, we all succeed. When that woman stumbles, and those children slip through the cracks, we all lose. Because we are they.

From the time he was on the campaign trail, President Obama talked about not being able to separate what was happening on Wall Street from what was happening on Main Street.  And maybe we all agreed in spirit, but perhaps Main Street and Wall Street were just too far away to feel the real weight of that sentiment.

As we sat on that porch in Cheverly, Maryland, we felt the inextricable tie to Prince George’s County (where CAFÉ is located), to Anacostia (where Ascensions, another AAWGC Grantee Partner, is located), to NE Washington, D.C. and all of the other places that have been touched by grants from the AAWGC.

The ties that bind us to these organizations and these communities are not defined by a proposal or a grant period.  And ultimately, their impact is not about a set of metrics or a report.

It is about how all of us will either rise together or fall together.  Because we are they.

Their survival is our survival. Their challenges are our challenges. Their successes are our successes.

And in times of economic crisis, it is more important than ever to make sure that these organizations have the critical support they need to continue doing what they do.

So when people ask me if I am sure that this is a good time to be recruiting for giving circles, or soliciting donors, my response is, absolutely!

Now, more than ever. And I say that not as a member of The Women’s Foundation staff, but as a donor and someone who knows more than ever that we are they.

So I thank this group of dynamic women for the wonderful food, the good company, and the very important revelation.

Nicole Cozier is The Women’s Foundation’s Philanthropic Education Officer.

$1.1 million in grants: We couldn't do it without you!

Posted on by Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat

Have you ever noticed that when someone wins a Grammy or an Oscar, they always thank the myriad of people who have supported them along the way?  Sometimes they go on a bit too long and the music begins to play, but they almost always utter, “I just want to thank my mom.”

Well, that’s how I’m feeling this week.

We’ve just announced that The Women’s Foundation hit our goal of granting $1.1 million this year to organizations working to improve the lives of women and girls—a major milestone in this economy.

And we certainly didn’t do it alone!

There are countless individuals, organizations, foundations, and corporations who helped us along the way.

So here are my thank you’s (and please don’t play the music until I finish):

  • Our donors, who fuel this important work and enable us to make our dreams a reality;
  • Our volunteers, who spent hours of their time reading proposals, conducting site visits and agonizing over the final decisions;
  • Our current and former board members, who have extraordinary vision and commitment to our mission;
  • Our staff, who poured over hundreds of proposals and had the difficult task of sometimes saying no;
  • Our Grantee Partners, who are on the frontlines every day striving to improve the lives of women and girls; and,
  • Of course, my mother, who inspires me each and every day.

Thank you!  We couldn’t do it without you!

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

Grantmaking for women and girls is gaining, but still hasn't caught up.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

And, on the heels of our announcement of $400,000 in new grants and more information on how women are increasingly impacting philanthropy,The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that grants for women and girls are growing faster than other foundation giving.

The Chronicle writes, "Giving by grant makers who specifically focus on helping women and girls has grown more rapidly in recent years than giving by all foundations, according to a new study released today by the Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network."

Sweet.

Though there is still a lot of work to be done.  As The Chronicle reports, "As a share of all foundation grant making, grants to benefit women and girls reached a high of 7.4 percent in 2000 and 2003 and has hovered between 5 and 6 percent since 1990."

7.4 percent.  As the high.

Given that we’re still half of the population, that isn’t nearly enough.

Still, progress is progress. 

And while this is a reminder of how far we have yet to go, it’s also an inspiring tribute to how far we’ve come, and how possible change is.

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

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.