Women

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending July 20, 2009)

Posted on by The Spotlight and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty. 

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.   

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.  

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.    

Here’s this week’s news: 

  • An editorial in The Wall Street Journal argues that the least-skilled groups, including “welfare moms,” will be hurt the most by an upcoming minimum wage hike.
  • A domestic violence shelter that offers safe haven for women with nowhere else to go reopened thanks to funding from a local philanthropy group and the United Way, as reported by The Chicago Tribune.
  • Women living in New Orleans participated in protests demanding that the Housing Authority of New Orleans provide them with long-anticipated housing vouchers, according to a Times-Picayune article.
  • The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interviews Judy Bannon, a woman who has campaigned to ensure that low-income mothers are able to provide their children with a safe place to sleep.
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer profiles the mostly female volunteers who feed the hungry and homeless through a cooking contest sponsored by the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger.
  • The Washington Post covers the critical situation in D.C. hospitals, which are seeing increasing numbers of patients, including several low-income women profiled by the article, going to emergency rooms to receive primary care.

To learn more about Spotlight visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.  

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team 

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

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.

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending July 10, 2009)

Posted on by The Spotlight and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty.

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty.

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit TheWomensFoundation.org for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Monday.

Here’s this week’s news:

• A scholarship program designed to help single mothers out of poverty plans to shift their fund-raising efforts into overdrive after learning that the Massachusetts state budget eliminates their public funding, as reported by The Boston Globe.

• Traditionally male-dominated industries are experiencing a much bigger hit in the recession than female-dominated industries, causing women to suffer much lower unemployment rates nationally, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

• A New York Times report on the surge of families who are becoming homeless as the school year ends includes interviews with several mothers struggling to find housing for themselves and their children.

• The Boston Globe reports that the number of female service members who have become homeless after leaving the military has jumped dramatically in recent years, according to new government estimates.

• A Los Angeles Times article on a new summer program for children in inner-city Los Angeles includes an interview with a mother who credits a similar program with her children’s safety and success.

• The New York Times covers a story about two elderly women who promote recycling at General Grant Houses, a sprawling Harlem public housing development.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

DCAF: Taking abortion activism to the Internet.

Posted on by Allison Mitchell

If there’s a time to tackle the virtual frontier, it’s now.

DC Abortion Fund is a grassroots nonprofit that is 100 percent volunteer-run that provides financial assistance to low-income women who are seeking abortions but cannot afford the full cost of the procedure.  The dedicated people that keep the confidential hotline running do it on their lunch breaks and at dinnertime. 

I sit at my desk each day and have one Twitter profile up for my job and another one up for DCAF.

With a budget of under $60,000 each year, I look for every free or low-cost option out there to raise DCAF’s profile in the community.  This keeps about 95 percent of our funds free to increase women’s access to reproductive healthcare.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are growing bigger every day and are now a major vehicle for 20 and 30-something people to get news and information.  But I don’t want to stop there. These social networking sites are easy-to-use and create a space for every person to be an advocate for DCAF – through a tweet, reposting a link, joining a Cause or RSVPing to an event.

Others see what you’re doing and join in – it’s the essence of grassroots organizing.

DCAF is plugged in and communicates with everyone through our Website, our E-news, and our Facebook page – everyone except our clients.  The women we serve have cut off their cable, pawned Christmas presents and skipped their electricity bills for months to keep a roof over their heads.  Our clients are not looking for DCAF in the online world; they hear about us from friends and family, or get referred to us by our partner clinics.

In years past, DCAF advised clients to sell things – a TV, a bike – anything that could give them an extra $20.  But in these tough economic times, they sold everything they could months ago.  They are in debt.  They are often out of work.  Many have kids and are struggling to keep food on the table.  They turn to us because the idea of increasing the size of their family during this recession is simply not a reality.

To those who have access to the Internet superhighway, join our networks and follow DCAF on Twitter and Facebook.  It’s the best way for nonprofits like us to have a conversation with you. 

And become an activist – an Internet activist – and harness the power you have through your computer or Blackberry.

It has never been clearer; we are only as strong as the community that supports us.  The opportunity to plug in is there for all of us reading this blog and we must open the door. 

It’s knocking!

Visit our Website and sign-up for the newsletter.
Join our Facebook Cause (DC Abortion Fund) or Fan Page (DCAF).
Follow us on Twitter.

Allison Mitchell is a member of DC Abortion Fund’s board of directors.  DC Abortion Fund is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

Weekly Round-Up: News and Analysis on Women and Poverty (Week ending July 3, 2009)

Posted on by The Spotlight and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, a national foundation-led initiative, is excited to collaborate with The Women’s Foundation to bring you the latest news and analysis on women and poverty.

Spotlight is the go-to site for news and ideas about fighting poverty. 

For daily updates and links to past articles, check out “Women and Poverty.” It’s a new section of our site with a comprehensive collection of recent news and analysis on women and poverty. 

Along with these daily updates, continue to visit the Washington Area Women’s Foundation for our weekly rundown of the top news stories on women and poverty every Friday.  

Here’s this week’s news:

  • In an interview with the Washington Post, Secretary of Labor Linda Solis states that many minimum-wage workers are single mothers, and that they cannot fairly be expected to raise a family on the federal minimum wage.
  • A USA Today article discussing the critical role of a pregnant mother’s health in her child’s development highlights a Washington, D.C. clinic for healthy births with a clientele including a number of low-income mothers-to-be.
  • The New York Times interviews several low-income women who will be benefitting from an increase in New York State welfare benefits.
  • In a piece profiling a program offering college experience to the homeless, the New York Times profiles several homeless single mothers juggling class and child care.
  • In its coverage of cuts to summer school programs, the New York Times interviews several low-income girls who will be losing summer classes as well as their mothers, who are concerned that their children are losing enriching programs.
  • In an article detailing summer school feeding programs, the Washington Post notes the benefits to a low-income girl and the relief experienced by her mother.
  • The Macon Telegraph reports on a woman whose house, which also is home to her 97-year-old mother, will be insulated by stimulus weatherization funds for low-income and disabled homeowners.

To learn more about Spotlight, visit www.spotlightonpoverty.org.  To sign up for our weekly updates with the latest news, opinion and research from around the country, click here.

The Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Team

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity is a foundation-led, non-partisan initiative aimed at ensuring that our political leaders take significant actions to reduce poverty and increase opportunity in the United States. We bring together diverse perspectives from the political, policy, advocacy and foundation communities to engage in an ongoing dialogue focused on finding genuine solutions to the economic hardship confronting millions of Americans.

Stepping Stones Research Update – June 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 provides statistics on the work effort, earnings, health care access and other characteristics of low-income families. (Abstract) (Full Text)

 Jobs and Business Ownership News

The Brookings Institution investigates the accessibility of middle-wage jobs — good paying jobs for the less-educated workers — for those without bachelor’s degrees in 204 metropolitan areas. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Child Care and Early Education

The National Institute for Early Education Research examines the journeys of six states — Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Illinois, New York, and West Virginia — in achieving a plan for preschool for all. (Intro) (Full Text)

Health and Safety News

The Urban Institute explores the unique experiences of women exiting prison, focusing on a representative sample of 142 women who were released from Texas prisons and state jails in 2005 and returned to Houston communities. (Intro) (Full Text)

Other News and Research

The Urban Institute provides comprehensive data indicators and analysis on the state of older youth (age 12-24) in the District and examines  the role of area nonprofits that work with young people, their families, and neighborhoods. (Abstract) (Full Text)

Playing on girls' sports teams is part of why I can hold my own on a guys' team now.

Posted on by SaraEllen Strongman

This morning I got up at 5:10 a.m. and drove to the Potomac river to hang out with a bunch of boys.

I’m a coxswain for Thompson Boat Club’s U-23 Men’s Development Camp, a summer rowing program for college rowers.

Male rowers. Big, tall boys.

So what am I, a young woman, doing on a team with young men?

Coxswains need to be small and light and it’s a lot easier to find small, light girls than it is to find small, light boys on a college campus, which is how I ended up coxing for Columbia University’s heavyweight men’s program.

It’s an interesting situation to be in. 

I’m in charge of steering the boat and often running practice, calling drills, and executing strategy during races. 

But I’m as much as a foot shorter than some of the rowers in my boat. 

And I’m a girl. 

But my gender is never an issue for my teammates. I’m their coxswain and they trust and respect me as another one of their teammates.

That isn’t to say that it’s always easy.

Coxing is hard.  I have good practices and bad practices just like anyone else on my team.  And, although it is a strange experience being a woman on a men’s team, I love it. 

It’s like having 20 brothers.

Lisa recently wrote a blog post about Title IX and athletic opportunities for girls, which got me thinking about my own experiences.  I was a four-year varsity athlete in high school where I played field hockey and rowed.

Being on a team with other young women was a lot of fun, great for my self-esteem, my discipline, and for building leadership skills.  I think that part of the reason I’m able to hold my own among guys who weigh twice as much as me is because of the skills I learned while playing on all-female sports teams.

While my experiences don’t necessarily mirror those of other female athletes, (And, for the record, I do consider myself an athlete; I regularly run and lift weights in addition to coxing.), I think they have been equally important and empowering. 

A year after the U.S. women’s 8+ won a gold medal in Beijing, and a month after the University of Washington Huskies (whose coxswains are all female) swept the IRA national championship men’s heavyweight 8+ events, I can’t help but feel optimistic about women’s athletics and the future of women and feminism in general.

SaraEllen Strongman is a summer intern at The Women’s Foundation. Raised in Bethesda, Maryland, Sara is a junior at Columbia University majoring in women’s and gender studies. In addition to rowing, she likes to read, run, and do yoga.

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.

A young feminist describes her personal philanthropic power.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

As a follow-on to today’s earlier post on how women are increasingly driving charitable giving, I couldn’t help but also post this link to a Feministing post by Miriam, on her own personal giving.

I was grabbed by Miriam’s description of her own personal giving not only because she describes her motivations honestly (the economy, being involved with nonprofits), but also because she explains how her own perception of philanthropy has changed from including just the uber-wealthy to encompassing regular people just like her.

Miriam writes, "When I used to think of philanthropy, I’d think of really really rich people giving huge sums of money. The culture of giving has changed, thanks to online donation programs and groups like MoveOn.org or the Obama campaign, who encouraged people to give even small amounts understanding that if many people did, it would make a big impact."

Pretty much exactly what we aim to do through The Power of Giving Together. 

How refreshing to have it described so eloquently by a young feminist out there doing her own thoughtful, philanthropic thing.

Thanks for the inspiration, Miriam.

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

Women increasingly in the driver's seat when it comes to charitable giving.

Posted on by Lisa Kays

The In Good Company blog took some time yesterday to explore how women are impacting the world of philanthropy, with some interesting findings I thought I’d share to get the week started:

First, In Good Company reports, last year, anonymous donations were made to at least 20 universities.  All were earmarked for scholarships for women and minorities and were all given to schools whose presidents are currently women.  Mysteriously cool.  Speculation is that these donations are coming from a woman, or group of women, which is great.

But I still have to ask–why anonymously?  Why not proudly attach names to these empowering gifts for women?

Then, did you know that single women are more likely to give more than single men? 

Fascinating, given that still, single, women-headed households are far more likely to be living in poverty, and that women are still earning less than men. 

So I guess it makes sense then that when women are married, they influence their husbands to give more than they would if left to their own devices. 

We’ve seen how a few of those stories might be happening among our donors.

So, married or single, it seems the increasing reality is that women are giving more, influencing giving more and generally changing the philanthropic landscape as we know it. 

To get plugged into this powerful movement in the Washington metropolitan area, learn more about our work here.  Elsewhere?  Find your local women’s fund through the Women’s Funding Network.

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