Welcome to the July Newsletter. This month, the newsletter and our First Friday Conversation will focuse on how women's funds can gain visibility through our partnership with Spotlight on Poverty.
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Introducing Wednesday Wake-Up Calls - Spotlight on Poverty
As of Wednesday, July 1, we have moved our monthly membership calls from Friday to Wednesday. We hope this time will be more convenient for you and more of you will be able to join our Wednesday Wake-Up calls!
We're kicking off our July call by spotlighting the benefits of our partnership with the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity Website [1]. Many of you know Women's Funding Network sponsors the Women and Poverty [2] section of the site. During our call we will hear from Helina Teklehaimanot and Amy Saltzman, both with Hatcher Group, which represents Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity. Helina and Amy will detail the site's audience as well as opportunities for women's funds to gain visibility through the site. During the call we will also outline the guidelines for submitting commentary to the site.
Find more information on the July Wednesday Wake-Up Call (formerly First Friday Call) [3] on our website - Join us Wednesday, July 1, from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Pacific/10:30-11:30 Eastern. RSVP and request more information by e-mailing Nancy [4] at Women's Funding Network.
Free Member Services for July
For more information on our upcoming member learning opportunities, please go to the Member Services Calendar [5] on our website.
Distance Learning Webinar: Budgeting in Challenging Times [6] - Thursday, July 9, 2009 - 8:00 - 9:00AM, PST - This Webinar centers on best practices in scenario planning and updated forecasting techniques for this difficult fund-raising and investment climate. Facilitated by Elizabeth Schaffer, Chief Financial Officer, Women's Funding Network. For more information and to RSVP to this webinar, please contact us by e-mail [7].
Launching and Executing an Effective Development Plan [8] - Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 8:00 - 9:00AM, PST - Presented by Elizabeth Seja Min, Seja Min & Associates. For more information and to RSVP to this call, please contact us by e-mail [7].
Upcoming Executive Director Retreats
Retreat for Leaders of Large and Mature Funds - Monday November 9, 2009 - Wednesday November 11, 2009. The retreat is geared towards executives administering organizations in Smart Growth stage 6. These leaders are typically managing larger staffs and maintaining budgets over $1.5M and making grants over $1M a year.
Retreats provide a unique space for peers to gather for reflection, networking, skill-building and visioning. Click here for more information [9], and for additional information about participation criteria and logistics contact Amy Zucchero at azucchero@wfnet.org.
Upcoming Donor Retreats at El Sueño del Corazón in Abiquiu, New Mexcio
Hosted by Helen LaKelly Hunt at her hacienda in Abiquiu, New Mexico, Chris Grumm with the Women's Funding Network is pleased to ask you to save the date for these two upcoming donor retreat weekends.
Donor retreats offer an excellent opportunity for donors to come together with their peers for the purpose of examining and excelling their philanthropy. Designed for individual donors giving $25,000 and more annually, we invite you to attend or refer the women in your network who would enjoy taking part in the retreat. Space is limited.
The retreat will be October 2 to 4, 2009 and January 22 to 24, 2010. Inquiries and RSVPs to Megan Cayler, 415.441.0706 or mcayler@wfnet.org [10].
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Introducing our New Board of Directors for 2009 to 2012
The Women's Funding Network would like to congratulate our incoming Board Directors who will begin serving their first term on July 1, 2009.
Mia Herndon - Executive Director, Third Wave Foundation
Gretchen McComb - President & CEO, The Women's Foundation of Colorado
Nicky McIntyre - Executive Director, Mama Cash
Judy Patrick - President & CEO, The Women's Foundation of California
Lee Roper-Batker - President & CEO, Women's Foundation of Minnesota
Donna Callejon - Chief Operating Officer, Global Giving
Cecilia Boone - Former Board Chair, Dallas Women's Foundation
Jim Bildner - General Partner, New Horizons Partners, LLC
Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi - Executive Director, African Women's Development Fund
Kayrita Anderson - CEO, Harold and Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation
To read short biographies of our new board members, check Our Board webpage [11] on the 1st of July, when their term officially begins.
Women's Funding Network is proud to announce the new Board of Directors Executive Committee for 2009 - 2010.
Co-Chairs - Ana Oliveira & Cristina Regalado
Vice-Chair - Jacki Zehner
Secretary - Ayesha Mattu
Treasurer - Virginia Price
Nominations - Connie Robinson
At-Large - Natalia Karbowska
At-Large - Janet Riccio
We would also like to thank the following departing board members for their valued leadership and dedication over the years. Their expertise and passion will be missed, but we look forward to continuing a partnership with all of them in new ways. Thank you!
Sara Gould - Executive Director, Ms. Foundation for Women
Emilienne de Leon - Executive Director, SEMILLAS
Barbara Dobkin - Founder, Dobkin Family Foundation
Marla Williams - Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen LLP
Ellen Sprenger - Strategist, Spring Strategies
Tuti Scott - Former Executive Director, The Women's Sports Foundation
DeDe Esque - Former Executive Director, The Nokomis Foundation
Ruby Bright - Executive Director, Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis
New Report on Women's Funds Released
On Monday, June 22, the Women's Funding Network and the Foundation Center released a report, titled Accelerating Change for Women & Girls: The Role of Women's Funds [12]. The report documents and highlights the recent trend increased targeted giving towards women and girls by women.
"The report finds that in recent years funding for women and girls by the broader foundation community has grown at a faster rate than foundation giving on the whole, although as a share of overall foundation giving, it has remained below 7.5 percent for over a decade-and-a-half. Giving by women's funds in particular has grown even more rapidly."
Click here for the full report [13] and you can find the executive summary [12] on the Women's Funding Network Website. To receive a hard copy of the report, please contact Marcel at mreynolds@womensfundingnetwork.org [14]. Thank you to all of the funds who participated in the research for the report.
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Lifetime Award Call for Nominations
In 2009 Lifetime launched Remarkable Women, a new, weekly on-air series of vignettes that spotlights extraordinary women who inspire and empower others to make a difference in their communities, from First Lady Michelle Obama to such unsung heroes as Rebecca Singer, a remarkable nurse serving Doctors Without Borders. The vignettes are also fully featured on myLifetime.com with action items the encourage involvement in the community.
Do you have a "remarkable woman" in your midst that you would like to nominate for the campaign since it is a way to bring attention to your organization as well, if they are directly involved with you. Lifetime is looking for creative stories and diverse backgrounds including women making a difference in ways we've never thought of before.
Read through Livetime's online archives of the vignettes [15] for your reference. To nominate a remarkable woman, send an email to Amanda Crumley [16], Lifetime's VP of Advocacy and Public Affairs.
News Coverage, Job Openings and Upcoming Events at Women's Funds
The Women's Funding Network communications team has instituted a daily round-up email of pertinent news coverage of the issues that women's funds work on. If you would like to receive the daily round-up by email, please email Marcel at mreynolds@womensfundingnetwork.org [14]. You can also find the daily news digest on our website [17] and The She Change [18].
For news highlights, opinions, and updates on the work of women's fund, follow our blog, The She Change [18]. If you would like to write for The She Change, please send an email with your blog post to Marcel, at mreynolds@womensfundingnetwork.org. For more news on women's funds, please go to our News Page [17].
Learn about events you can support and attend by going to our Events Page [19] at the Women's Funding Network site. Go to the Jobs Page [20] at the Women's Funding Network site to see the latest job openings at member funds.
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Stay connected online at www.womensfundingnetwork.org [21]
Follow us on Twitter [22] | Join us on Facebook [23] | Read our Blog The She Change [18]
