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Words of Wisdom from Tyeshia "Ty" Wilson of Philanthropy Together & The HERitage Giving Fund3/13/2024
Happy Women's History Month & International Women's Day!
We had a fabulous night on March 6 at WGC's 2024 Annual Celebration & Pink Party! It was wonderful to have so many of us together exactly 48 hours ago at Howard Community College to discuss how philanthropy can, and is, supporting women's rights. View photos from the event here WGC Chair Jennifer Bodensiek declared that the state of the WGC is strong, highlighted the role that WGC is playing nationally in growing the women's collective giving movement, and underscored our impact the last 22 years:
This, is the power of our giving circle. Jennifer also reviewed the WGC's State of Women and Girls in Howard County, and how we continue to utilize the data to inform our grantmaking and partner in the community. She highlighted basic statistics that drive our work, including that:
Despite all of this - less than 2% of all charitable giving goes to programs that support women and girls. WGC Advisory Board Member Alison Canning provided an overview of our recent efforts to address this, and highlighted our long-standing partnership with Howard Community College, which included discussing 5 ways we have provided funding support:
You can learn more here WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz highlighted 5 recent trends in women's philanthropy from the Women's Philanthropy Institute, that included:
You can learn more here And, she discussed how WGC is focusing on women's rights through collaboration with our donors, nonprofit, and community partners. She then introduced our Special Guest Speaker Tyeshia "Ty" Wilson of Philanthropy Together and the HERitage Giving Fund, who highlighted how giving circles across the country are supporting women's rights - you can listen to Ty's words of wisdom here. WGC Advisory Board Member Lee Draminski introduced our powerhouse panel and Advisory Board Member Laura Bacon did a wonderful job facilitating an inspirational and important conversation about how philanthropy can, and is supporting women's rights - with WGC Advisory Board Chair Jennifer Bodensiek, former Maryland Women's Commissioner Melissa Curtin, Howard County Women's Commissioner Kashonna Marrow, and Director of the Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity Yolanda Sonnier. They provided insightful and inspirational commentary based on their personal, professional, and lived experiences, answering 3 key questions:
And, we pledged to continue the conversation - stay tuned for additional opportunities. We honored past WGC Chair Alison Canning for Women's History Month, and we enjoyed delicious food from Chef Jamila, non-alcoholic drinks from Beth Harbinson and Sobar, and women-made wine from The Wine Bin. WGC Advisory Board Member Kashonna Marrow ended the celebration with information on how to give and get involved in the WGC. After the Annual Celebration, many of you asked how you can get or remain involved in our collective work. Here are 10 ways to engage in the coming months:
Many thanks to all of our sponsors so far this year, those who attended the event, and to everyone who supports the WGC and all that you do to support women's rights in Howard County. While it is Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day, there is not just one time to celebrate women’s successes and discuss solutions to ongoing challenges. We must continue to do this each and every day, and the Women’s Giving Circle will be here to be your partner in supporting women and girls, and women's rights in Howard County. We are truly stronger together! Remarks by WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz at the WGC's March 6, 2024 Annual Celebration & Pink Party As we get ready to hear from our incredible panel on the topic of how philanthropy can and is supporting women’s rights, I want to help frame the conversation by highlighting 5 key trends we are seeing right now in women’s philanthropy. Several weeks ago, our friends and partners at the Womens’ Philanthropy Institute (WPI) of Indiana University hosted a webinar to look into a crystal ball and discuss what members of the giving community believe is coming our way in the coming year. Here are the five key trends they identified:
The Women’s Giving Circle will continue to obtain important research, use data, build partnerships, and strengthen relationships to fund women and girls, and to support women’s rights. We thank our partners at the Women's Philanthropy Institute for their important research that informs our work. Remarks by WGC Advisory Board Member Alison Canning at WGC's March 6, 2024 Annual Celebration & Pink Party: I am so proud of the long-standing and growing partnership between the WGC and Howard Community College. We all know that educating women and girls can create a ripple effect of greater good that holds the key to unlocking brighter futures and empowers women to reach their full potential. Education gives women a pathway to learn the power of choice: how to advocate for themselves and think about how they want to live their lives, what they want to do, and who their role models are. Providing women with access to education, training, and resources enables them to challenge traditional gender roles and break down barriers Our State of Women and Girls in Howard County underscores what we know - that poverty rates are higher for Howard County women if their educational attainment is a high school graduate or less. Once women attain bachelor's degrees or higher educational degrees, the poverty rate for Howard County women becomes lower. 5 Ways We’ve Partnered I want to share 5 ways that the WGC has partnered with HCC and has served as “a lifeline” to women at HCC through the years:
Our data tells us that:
We know that there is a link between period poverty and gender education gaps … and we have partnered with HCC to provide an opportunity for students to donate products if they can, and to take products if they need to. Here’s a snapshot of what’s happened this past year:
Thank you all for donating products today in our new boxes that will support students at HCC. In fact, rather than purchasing marketing “swag” for this event, we have chosen to invest that money in these new, sturdier, more visible boxes for our 2024 Feminine Hygiene Product Drive. They are making their debut today and you will start to see them around town at all library branches, at CA gyms, and at local businesses like The 3rd, Vectorworks and Bra-la-la. And, we’ve raised over $6,000 to provide to our partners to purchase products for their clients, and we invite you all to continue participating by donating products and donating money as we continue to grow this important effort. We appreciate our long-standing partnership with Howard Community College!
women supporting women. Happy Galentine's Day! Galentine's Day is the day before Valentines Day, that is dedicated to women celebrating women, and embracing the sisterhood among the women in our lives. Today we celebrate all of you. You are the women engaged in the important work of the WGC that supports women and girls in our community throughout the year. I talk to women frequently who are excited to be a part of the Women's Giving Circle and want to get a bit more engaged in our efforts. Here are 3 ways to get involved in the WGC today: 1. WGC's March 6, 2024 Annual Celebration - We are excited to host our 2024 Annual Celebration & Pink Party on Wednesday, March 6 from 5:30 - 7:30 at Howard Community College. Join us to discuss "How Philanthropy Can Support Women's Rights" and to hear about the latest WGC efforts. Learn more and sponsor and/or buy tickets here 2. WGC's 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities - It takes a special individual, organization or business to understand the value of investing in women and girls by sponsoring the WGC throughout 2024! Sponsorship includes tickets to our signature event: WGC's Annual Celebration & Pink Party on March 6, 2024 and recognition at other WGC events throughout the year. Learn more and sponsor here 3. WGC's 2024 Big Give - The Big Give 2024 is designed for women who want to learn more about grantmaking to women and girls in our community and will be a fun, fast-paced, "pop-up" giving circle learning and giving experience. Learn more and sign-up here And, we have multiple ongoing opportunities to get involved in the WGC throughout the year including giving a gift today to the WGC this Galentines/Valentines Day "In Her Honor", supporting the WGC's Feminine Hygiene Product Drive, the WGC Emergency Response Network, and the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" profile series. These opportunities to get involved in the Women's Giving Circle all support women and girls in Howard County. This, is the power of a giving circle. Please contact WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz with any questions and sign up to join us below. Looking forward to seeing you on March 6! Jennifer Bodensiek WGC Advisory Board Chair wgcchair@wgchowardcounty.org READ THE FULL ENEWSLETTER HERE
The Women's Giving Circle is proud to amplify the voices and stories of women givers in our community through our regular series "Our Giving, Our Stories". This month we are profiling Jacqueline (Jackie) Scott, JD, ML in honor of Black History Month. When did you start giving to issues that are important to you? "My faith, a sense of humility, and a sense of responsibility to give back. My faith grounds and guides me. I maintain a level of humility in all that I am and all that I do, recognizing that each of us are a small part of something much bigger, yet we each have a responsibility to do our part. If doors were not opened for me, if someone had not taken the time to truly “see me”, I would not have been able to accomplish half of what I have today. I am passionately driven by, and compelled by a sense of responsibility to, and for, others." Jackie's current philanthropic focus is on: The Getting Ahead Program; The Howard County Chamber Women's Leadership Initiative; Leadership Howard County Read Jackie's full profile here Learn more about the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories", WGC's ongoing series of giving profiles designed to celebrate women's philanthropy and amplify the voices of women and girls in Howard County. Nominate a woman today! We are always accepting the names of women throughout the year who may be profiled for their inspiring philanthropic leadership. WGC was in the house at a recent "Community Conversation" to hear about the Horizon Foundation's new strategic direction. The Horizon Foundation has been engaging with the community to develop their new strategic plan over the course of the last year and they revealed their new strategic vision that represents their new direction to work towards a Howard County free from systemic inequities, where all people can live abundant and healthy lives. As we learned, we all want to live in a Howard County where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to reach their best health and well-being. But there are barriers built in front of us that create unequal opportunity and threaten freedom and prosperity. The Horizon Foundation intends to work side-by-side with the community to build power and advocate for policy changes that matter. As we heard: Together we can help achieve better health for everyone in Howard County and greater Maryland.
WGC 2023 Grants:
new year, new opportunities. Read the full eNewsletter here Happy New Year! We are excited for the year ahead and the opportunities we have to bring us all together to learn, share, connect, and pool our dollars to support women and girls in our community. Here's 3 ways to get involved in the WGC today: 1. WGC's March 6, 2024 Annual Celebration - We are excited to host our 2024 Annual Celebration & Pink Party on Wednesday, March 6 from 5:30 - 7:30 at Howard Community College. Join us to discuss "How Philanthropy Can Support Women's Rights" and to hear about the latest WGC efforts. Learn more and sponsor and/or buy tickets here 2. WGC's 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities - It takes a special individual, organization or business to understand the value of investing in women and girls by sponsoring the WGC throughout 2024! Sponsorship includes tickets to our signature event: WGC's Annual Celebration & Pink Party on March 6, 2024 and recognition at other WGC events throughout the year. Learn more and sponsor here 3. WGC's 2024 Big Give - The Big Give 2024 is designed for women who want to learn more about grantmaking to women and girls in our community and will be a fun, fast-paced, "pop-up" giving circle learning and giving experience. Learn more and sign-up here And, we have multiple ongoing opportunities to get involved in the WGC this year including the WGC's Feminine Hygiene Product Drive, the WGC Emergency Response Network, and the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" profile series. These opportunities to get involved in the Women's Giving Circle all support women and girls in Howard County. Learn more below. This, is the power of a giving circle. Please contact WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz with any questions and sign up to join us below. See you soon! Jennifer Bodensiek WGC Advisory Board Chair wgcchair@wgchowardcounty.org www.wgchowardcounty.org It takes a special individual, organization or business to understand the value of investing in women and girls by sponsoring the WGC throughout 2024! Sponsorship includes tickets to our signature event: WGC's Annual Celebration & Pink Party on March 6, 2024 - during Women's History Month, and recognition at other WGC events throughout the year. Thank you to our 2024 Sponsors to date! WGC 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities
2024 WGC Big Give Membership Overview
2024 WGC Big Give Members Are:
2024 WGC Big Give Membership Sign-Up:
WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz joined the Board of Directors of Maryland Philanthropy Network (MPN) for a funders' reception at the Community Foundation of Howard County to welcome new President and CEO, Danista E. Hunte. Danista joined the MPN team in October 2023 bringing with her a wealth of experience spanning over three decades in the philanthropic and non-profit sector. WGC is a member of MPN and a fund of the Community Foundation of Howard County, and we were excited to meet and build relationships with other MPN funder members, and to welcome Danista and hear her vision for MPN.
The National Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is a nationwide effort to transform the federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. into a day of community service that help solve social problems. This is something the WGC believes in! WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz delivered feminine hygiene products to the Howard County Food Bank for MLK Day of Service - from the WGC Advisory Board and our amazing partners at CA, The 3rd, and WKD Karate4Girls Thank you to all of our donors and partners for giving and volunteering today, and thank you Officer Harry Dunn for your help and support today, and every day. #mlkday2024 #MLKDayofService The Women's Giving Circle is proud to amplify the voices and stories of women givers in our community through our regular series "Our Giving, Our Stories". This month we are profiling Claudia Marion Allen in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: When did you start giving to issues that are important to you? "In Middle School I started volunteering at nursing homes, homeless shelters, clothing drives, and even volunteered bagging groceries and carrying them out for the elderly at a local grocery store. I have never stopped volunteering since!" Claudia's current philanthropic focus is on: Maryland Humanities, ADRA, and Adventist Peace Fellowship. Read Claudia's full profile here. Learn more about the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories", WGC's ongoing series of giving profiles designed to celebrate women's philanthropy and amplify the voices of women and girls in Howard County. Nominate a woman today! We are always accepting the names of women throughout the year who may be profiled for their inspiring philanthropic leadership.
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