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WGC OF HOWARD COUNTY
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    • WGC Mission, Vision, Values, Goals
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    • WGC Herstory
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    • WGC's 4 Distinct Ways to Give >
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        • WGC In Her Honor >
          • In Honor and Memory of WGC Supporter Jackie Melonas
        • WGC Core Support
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        • Thank You 2023 Sponsors!
        • Thank You 2022 Sponsors!
      • WGC Legacy Member
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        • WGC Big Give $1,200 Individual Donation
        • WGC Big Give $1,200 Team Donation
        • WGC Big Give Process and Grantmaking Guidelines
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    • WGC Barb Van Winkle Leadership Fund
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    • WGC's 2023 Annual Celebration & Pink Party!
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    • WGC's 20 Years, 20 Stories >
      • #16 - Our Giving, Our Stories
      • #17 - State of Women and Girls in Howard County
      • #18 - Local Funding Partnerships
      • #19 - First Executive Director
      • #20 - Celebrating 20 Years of Impact!
    • WGC's 20 Years in Photos - A Snapshot
    • WGC's State of Women and Girls in Howard County
    • WGC's Our Giving, Our Stories Series >
      • 2022 OGOS Black Philanthropy Month
      • 2021-2020 OGOS Black Philanthropy Month
      • 2023-2021 OGOS Monthly Profiles >
        • OGOS Nominations
    • WGC's (S)hero Mosaic
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Find all the good we are up to on our blog.

20 Years, 20 Stories - #2: WGC Advisory Board Chairs & Members

3/28/2022

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This year, in 2022, the WGC is celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2022, through our grantmaking, fundraising, events, and through our storytelling! 

One way we are telling our story is by providing highlights of the past two decades through "WGC's 20 Years, 20 Stories." We are excited to publish stories of our impact through 20 stories - two per month - from March through December 2022. 

These 20 stories are among many that have made the WGC what it is today, and are representative of the efforts of hundreds of women choosing to pool our dollars to have a greater impact together than we might otherwise have alone.

​We have collectively supported numerous nonprofit partners who are focused on women and girls and have engaged many along the way to try and make a difference.
20 Years, 20 Stories - #2: WGC Advisory Board Chairs & Members
What makes those who serve on the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County’s Advisory Board so exceptional? Central to the Giving Circle model is donor empowerment: engaging and encouraging donors (as represented by the Advisory Board) to choose how to allocate funds. And who leads this process? 

The WGC Advisory Board Chairs & Members.

Their WGC Advisory Board Chair’s primary role is to maintain a keen focus on fulfilling the mission of the WGC: building a community of philanthropists and creating a permanent legacy to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County. They facilitate board meetings, exemplify strong leadership, and practice effective governance.
Read the full story here

​
#WGC20Years
#WGC20Years20Stories
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And the WGC Advisory Board is very much a working board, with Advisory Board Members supporting the Chair by turning ideas into actions and putting change into motion. 

Over the last 20 years, the WGC Advisory Board has welcomed a diverse group of women from all sectors of our community who work together to promote philanthropy in order to support programs focused on women and girls. We are so proud that through the years, the women who have served on the WGC Advisory Board have not only given time and talent, but also financial support to further the WGC’s mission.
“Each person will have their own unique path to philanthropy and there are many different ways to give. For me, as a long-time advocate for vulnerable children and victims of domestic violence, I felt a distinct responsibility to contribute to my local community, especially in ways to support women and girls. This is why I became a founding member of the WGC, and then stepped up to serve as Advisory Board Chair. For me, serving with this group of women who are decision makers sustained my passion to strengthen the lives of at risk women and girls in Howard County.” - Dorothy Harris
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WGC Co-Sponsors "Reading Human Rights" with the Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity

3/23/2022

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The WGC was honored to co-Sponsor "​Reading Human Rights​"​ with the Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity at the Howard County Library System Central Branch on March 22.

It was a wonderful evening where WGC Advisory Board Members Lynne Schaefer and Jade McDuffie McClary joined others for the event and provided remarks about Women's History Month and the work of the Women's Giving Circle.

Here's what they said:

Good evening. We are Lynne Schaefer and Jade McDuffie McClary, Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County Advisory Board members.

We are proud to co-sponsor tonight’s event with the Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity and the Howard County Library System.


We would like to give you some background on the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County. The Giving Circle was created to build a community of philanthropists and to establish a permanent legacy to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County.

  • We fund programs that benefit women and girls because not only is this a cause our members deeply believe in, but also because many of those programs have traditionally been underfunded.  The Women’s Giving Circle works to eliminate the significant funding gaps that already exist. 
  • We bring women together to learn about the issues and challenges affecting women and girls in Howard County and to pool our dollars to help address those issues. 
  • And, we are pooling our dollars to have a greater impact on these programs together than we might otherwise have alone.

The Circle has been doing this since 2002 and we are excited to be celebrating 20 years of impact in Howard County this year! Here’s a few numbers to illustrate what the Circle has done in those 20 years:

  • $1M in Grants - as of this year, we will have given just over $1M in grants to our nonprofit partners in Howard County that have programs that benefit women and girls, through over 250 grants.
  • $1.3 Endowment - our founders made the early decision to create an endowment so we would have funds to support women and girls in Howard County in perpetuity, and as of our 20th Anniversary, that endowment has grown to $1.3 million. We are one of the few giving circles in the country that have an endowment, let alone one of this size.
  • 1,600+ Donors - and we have over 1,600 unique donors who have given to the WGC in the last 20 years!

These numbers are a powerful illustration of how 20 years later, we have lived up to the mission created by our founders.

In recent years, we have enhanced our core values to better meet our mission by implementing a diversity, equity and inclusion lens to all of our work through a measurable action agenda, with a goal to ensure all WGC activities reflect the organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in practice, policy and governance.  We encourage you to check out the many ways these actions are showing up in our work.

This year we will give $200,000 in grants in honor of our 20th Anniversary year. This is more than we have ever given in one year and we are able to do this by providing an inclusive engagement platform that has 4 distinct ways for women to give to the WGC.

We invite anyone interested to get involved with the Women’s Giving Circle - and you can find information about what we are doing on our website at www.womensgivingcircle.org and on social media.

To provide some context a Giving Circle is a form of philanthropy where individuals with common interests come together as a group to pool their philanthropic dollars to have a greater impact together. Donors give funds collectively to issues and organizations that align with their interests. There are well over 1,000 giving circles in the United States and women make up the majority of members in about 70% of them. Collectively, an estimated 150,000 donors have given over $1.20 billion through giving circles to date. 

And as we celebrate Women’s History Month, you can see that one of the ways women are doing so is through their philanthropy. In fact, many believe that women’s philanthropy is one of the next phases of the women’s movement.

We know that history helps us learn who we are ... but when we don’t know our own history, our power and dreams are immediately diminished.

As we recognize women tonight, and continue to celebrate Women’s History Month in many forms here in Howard County, we are reminded that it is a time to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to United States history. From Abigail Adams to Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks, the timeline of women’s history milestones stretches back to the founding of the United States.

It's hard to picture that as recently as the 1970s, women’s history was virtually an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum or in general public consciousness, but it’s true.

In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month” and since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.

Recognizing the achievements of women in all facets of life – science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine – has a huge impact on the development of self-respect and new opportunities for girls and young women.

And, that’s what we are here to do tonight! We are honored to join you, thank you for inviting us. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to either of us tonight, and to learn more about the Women’s Giving Circle at www.womensgivingcircle.org and on social media.

Thank you!

Reading Human Rights is a monthly book discussion hosted by the Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity and Howard County Library System, where books that promote cultural awareness, diversity, equity are read and discussed.

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20 Years, 20 Stories - #1: WGC Founders

3/16/2022

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This year, in 2022, the WGC is celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2022, through our grantmaking, fundraising, events, and through our storytelling! 

One way we are telling our story is by providing highlights of the past two decades through "WGC's 20 Years, 20 Stories." We are excited to publish stories of our impact through 20 stories - two per month - from March through December 2022. 

These 20 stories are among many that have made the WGC what it is today, and are representative of the efforts of hundreds of women choosing to pool our dollars to have a greater impact together than we might otherwise have alone.

​We have collectively supported numerous nonprofit partners who are focused on women and girls and have engaged many along the way to try and make a difference.
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20 Years, 20 Stories - #1: WGC Founders
​It all began in the fall of 2000. Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz organized a meeting on behalf of the Maryland Philanthropy Network (formerly Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers) and asked Barbara Lawson, at that time the head of the organization that is now the Community Foundation of Howard County (CFHoCo) to invite local women to attend. 

  • “Buffy called me and said you know we're going to be doing this presentation in Baltimore and we're really wanting to gather together a group of women philanthropists that might be receptive to this idea of a different way of giving, and expanding on women's philanthropy - leveraging different ideas about how that could happen.” - Barbara Lawson

Yolanda Bruno, Jean Moon, and Linda Odum accepted that offer, and became fascinated by what they learned about the incredible power of collective giving inherent in the giving circle model.

Read the full story here
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WGC Emergency Response Network Request - $5,000 - Can You Help?

3/16/2022

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The Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County is requesting help in raising $5,000 through our Emergency Response Network (ERN) to support Afghan refugees in Howard County through our partners at Luminus.
 
Luminus, formerly FIRN, is supporting Afghans arriving in Maryland through direct and indirect support for arrivals. This funding will support those who are in Howard County, many of whom are women and children.
 
WGC will match the $5,000 to provide our partners at Luminus with at least $10,000, that will support:

  • Tutors/supplies for children
  • Women’s Groups addressing a trauma, domestic violence, therapy and other areas of need
  • Legal Services around asylum applications and know your rights presentations
  • The opening of the Columbia “Afghan Welcome Center”
  • Potential Health Clinic for families and prescriptions

​​On behalf of our partners at Luminus we are looking to raise $5,000 that we will match with $5,000 to support Afghan refugees in Howard County.
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Click Here to Help, Thank You

Can you help?
​

​Any amount is valued and appreciated.

Thank you!

Barb Van Winkle, WGC Chair
Candace Dodson-Reed & Alison Canning, WGC Grants Committee Chair & Vice-Chair
Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, WGC Executive Director
www.womensgivingcircle.org
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Equal Pay Day

3/15/2022

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March 15 is Equal Pay Day

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how much into the year women must work to earn what men earned the year before.

The pay gap is larger when comparing the wages of women of color to men. 

​This is unacceptable.

It’s time to close the wage gap and demand equal pay for equal work.

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Wow, What a Night!

3/8/2022

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WGC's March 8, 2022 Virtual Annual Celebration: Celebrating 20 Years of Impact

Wow - What a Night!

Thank you to all those who joined us tonight for the WGC's March 8, 2022 Virtual Annual Celebration on International Women's Day! 
 
We celebrated our 20th Anniversary year with Keynote Speaker Jeannie Infante Sager, Director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute, who discussed "Gaps and Growth in Philanthropic Support for Women and Girls".

And then we followed with a conversation on our new State of Women and Girls in Howard County with Jennifer Bodensiek, Candace Dodson-Reed and Sabina Taj.

​Finally, we provided highlights of our last 20 years, and discussed what we have planned ahead. 

After announcing that we are giving $200,000 in grants this year, we were proud to make a surprise announcement that we are giving our 10 Emergency Response Network partners $20,000 in grants - $2,000 each in honor of our 20th Anniversary! 

If you were unable to join us you can view our 20th Anniversary Tribute video here, view remarks from County Executive Calvin Ball here, and for fun, watch the video we made on our 10th Anniversary here.


If you are as inspired as we are to continue making a difference collectively, we hope you will get involved with all we have going on this 20th Anniversary year, including:
​
  • WGC's Coffee Chat on The State of Women and Girls in Howard County - Friday, April 22 at 8:30 am - Register here
  • WGC's Pink Party in the Park - Wednesday, June 15 at 5:30 pm - Learn more here
  • WGC's New Big Give! - Open until Tuesday, May 31, 2022 - Sign up here
  • WGC's Four Distinct Ways to Give - Learn more here
  • WGC's 20 Years, 20 Stories - Read here
  • WGC's 2022 Feminine Hygiene Product Drive - Give here
  • WGC's 2022 Our Giving, Our Stories - Read and nominate here

Thank you once again to our 60+ 20th Anniversary Year Sponsors - we appreciate your investment in the WGC, and thus women and girls in Howard County! We invite additional sponsors to join us now, and throughout the year - learn more here.

We truly believe that women’s philanthropy is shaping the future for women and girls through the power of collective giving. 
 
Thank you all for being a part of it. 

Sincerely,

Barb Van Winkle, WGC Advisory Board Chair
Jennifer Bodensiek and Candace Dodson-Reed, WGC 20th Anniversary Co-Chairs
​Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, WGC Executive Director​
​WGC 2022 Advisory Board​

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WGC Announces "The State of Women and Girls in Howard County"

3/8/2022

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March 8  - The Women's Giving Circle of Howard County has released The State of Women and Girls in Howard County on Tuesday, March 8 - International Women's Day - as part of the organization's 20th Anniversary Year in 2022.

The WGC has embarked on a journey to further understand the challenges and needs of women and girls in Howard County to better inform the organization’s grantmaking for the future.

Under the direction of Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County Advisory Board Chair Barb Van Winkle, Vice Chair Jennifer Bodensiek, Grants Committee co-Chair Candace Dodson-Reed, and Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, Sabina Taj and Shaista Keating
 were selected as the principal researchers for this project.

The State of Women and Girls in Howard County is a baseline compilation of data and a resource about women from statistics published by a range of federal, state, and county agencies as well as public, private, and nonprofit organizations. ​In particular, we are pleased to leverage and utilize information from the recently released Maryland Women: A Status Report by the Maryland Commission for Women.

The compilation of data highlights that, while women have been shattering glass ceilings, many disparities remain, including:
​
  • On average, women who work full time, year-round are paid only 82 cents for every dollar paid to men — and for women of color, the wage gap is even larger.
  • Women are struggling to get back to work and the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated long-simmering issues that women in particular face when it comes to managing work and family.
  • While there have been gains, women still hold less than a fifth of all corporate board seats in Maryland, and women of color represent only 2.8 percent of all corporate board seats across the state.
  • Women are more likely than men to live in poverty at all adult ages and female-lead households are at particular risk for poverty.
  • Working mothers require childcare for children of all ages and childcare costs represent a significant percent of working mothers' incomes. 

This baseline data is designed as a central resource that positions our community to effectively advocate on behalf of women and girls and positively impact legislation, policy, and countywide programming.  

“Our hope is that The State of Women and Girls in Howard County is a catalyst for a more focused effort to identify and close gaps in gender data in Howard County,” said Barb Van Winkle, WGC Advisory Board Chair. “And, that other giving circles and counties in Maryland may see an opportunity to utilize the important statewide data from the 2021 Maryland Women: A Status Report and compile baseline information on the status of women and girls per county throughout the state.​”

Further research is needed, especially with regard to how these disparities may have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County plans to update this baseline data with new information as it becomes available. 

The State of Women and Girls in Howard County can be found at: www.wgcstateofwomenandgirlsinhoco.org
The WGC extends its gratitude to our funders, collaborators, and partners.

                                                                                                        ##
​

The Women’s Giving Circle is building a community of philanthropists and creating a permanent legacy to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County. We bring women together to learn about issues impacting women and girls in our community, and pool our dollars to fund programs that address those issues so we can have a greater impact together than we might otherwise have alone www.womensgivingcircle.org

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3 Questions With ... Philanthropists Kim Flyr and Arlene Sheff in Honor of Women's History Month

3/1/2022

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What moves you to give your time, talent and financial resources?

"When my mother brought up the idea for the Response Network, it was based on her belief that women would identify and care about another woman’s story. In other words, women might be moved to help an individual when they might or might not give to a general fund.

​I have found that to be true in my own giving patterns. I am often moved to donate when I personally know someone who has asked me to support them, or when I see a more specific need. For example, if a friend’s mother has cancer, I might donate to American Cancer Society."

​ - Kim Flyr

Learn more about the WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories", a year-long series of giving profiles designed to celebrate women's philanthropy and amplify the voices of women and girls in Howard County.

​Double click the profile to the right to read it as a large PDF - enjoy!
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WGC's March 8, 2022 Virtual Annual Celebration - Join Us!

3/1/2022

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We are excited to celebrate our 20th Anniversary year at our upcoming WGC Virtual Annual Celebration on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 5:30 pm - International Women's Day, with Keynote Speaker Jeannie Infante Sager, Director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute, who will discuss "Gaps and Growth in Philanthropic Support for Women and Girls". 
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And, we'll host a conversation on "The State of Women and Girls in Howard County" as well as provide highlights of our last 20 years, and discuss what we have planned ahead. 

You can  purchase your ticket today - Individual tickets are now available for $100, and we have a student ticket price of $20.

​And, you can 
view sponsorship information here! Thank you to our sponsors to date!
* We would like everyone to be included. If you would like to attend our Virtual Annual Celebration and are in need of assistance in purchasing a ticket, please contact us.
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"Women’s philanthropy shapes the future for women and girls through the power of collective giving​." - Barb Van Winkle, Immediate Past Chair
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WGC is proud to be a fund of the
​Community Foundation of Howard County - cfhoco.org

EIN Number: 52-0937644
Find us on Guidestar Here
​​​WGC is a proud member of several local, regional and national philanthropic organizations 
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  • Home
  • About
    • WGC Mission, Vision, Values, Goals
    • WGC Advisory Board
    • WGC Committees
    • WGC 2023-2026 Strategic Plan
    • WGC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • WGC is a Fund of the Community Foundation of Howard County
    • WGC - 20 Years at a Glance
    • WGC Herstory
  • Give
    • WGC's 4 Distinct Ways to Give >
      • WGC Community Member >
        • WGC's 20th Anniversary
        • WGC In Her Honor >
          • In Honor and Memory of WGC Supporter Jackie Melonas
        • WGC Core Support
        • WGC Impact 2024
      • WGC Sponsor Member >
        • Thank You 2023 Sponsors!
        • Thank You 2022 Sponsors!
      • WGC Legacy Member
      • WGC Big Give Member >
        • WGC Big Give $1,200 Individual Donation
        • WGC Big Give $1,200 Team Donation
        • WGC Big Give Process and Grantmaking Guidelines
    • WGC Emergency Response Network
    • WGC Barb Van Winkle Leadership Fund
  • Grants
  • Events
    • WGC's 2023 Annual Celebration & Pink Party!
  • News
    • WGC's 20 Years, 20 Stories >
      • #16 - Our Giving, Our Stories
      • #17 - State of Women and Girls in Howard County
      • #18 - Local Funding Partnerships
      • #19 - First Executive Director
      • #20 - Celebrating 20 Years of Impact!
    • WGC's 20 Years in Photos - A Snapshot
    • WGC's State of Women and Girls in Howard County
    • WGC's Our Giving, Our Stories Series >
      • 2022 OGOS Black Philanthropy Month
      • 2021-2020 OGOS Black Philanthropy Month
      • 2023-2021 OGOS Monthly Profiles >
        • OGOS Nominations
    • WGC's (S)hero Mosaic
  • Blog
  • Contact