 wgc in the community. As we enjoy these final days of summer I want to reflect upon our efforts throughout August as we've celebrated Black Philanthropy Month. On August 1 we hosted WGC's 2024 Black Philanthropy Month Happy Hour, where we acknowledged this important month and honored four female philanthropists as part of WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" philanthropic profile series: Maureen Evans, Carla Gates, Rashida George, and Monique Washington-Jones. I hope you will take a look at their thoughts on giving, and those of the over 100 women we've profiled to date - they are inspirational! At this event we were excited to announce our partnership with the Horizon Foundation to fund a new report highlighting stories and wisdom from Black Women Nonprofit Leaders in Howard County. Together, we are collecting data and information and speaking with and listening to women in our community with the goal of highlighting what we learn and developing action steps for how we as funders, and how the broader community can provide support. For the Women’s Giving Circle, this effort will build upon the data we continue to collect as part of our State of Women and Girls in Howard County that informs our grantmaking. You can learn more here. Interested in getting more involved with the WGC? You can support our newly named WGC "Break the Cycle" Period Product Drive and WGC's Emergency Response Network - just two of WGC's ongoing opportunities to support women and girls in our community. And, if you have ever sponsored the WGC, or if you are interested in learning more about how to sponsor us throughout 2025, please plan to join us at our upcoming WGC Sponsor Thank You Happy Hour on October 22, 5:30 - 7:00 pm at the Community Foundation of Howard County's "WGC Porch". Learn more and register here. As you can see, there's a little something for everyone who wants to join with other women to make a greater difference together than we might otherwise make alone. This, is the power of a giving circle. We look forward to seeing you soon! In a month when we have celebrated both Black Philanthropy Month and Women's Equality Day, I thank you for all you do to support women and girls in our community. Please contact WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz with any questions and to learn more about how to get involved. Jennifer Bodensiek WGC Advisory Board Chair [email protected] www.wgchowardcounty.org 
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 By Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz
Executive Director, Women's Giving Circle of Howard County Investing in women and girls is crucial for a multitude of reasons that span economic, social, and health-related benefits. The percentage of charitable giving that specifically goes to women and girls is relatively small compared to overall philanthropic contributions. According to a report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, only about 1.9% of all charitable giving in the United States goes to organizations that focus explicitly on women and girls. This statistic highlights the need for greater awareness and targeted efforts to increase funding for causes that support women and girls, given the significant benefits such investments can yield in terms of economic growth, health, education, and social equity: 1. Economic Resilience:
2. Health and Well-being:
3. Educational Opportunities:
4. Community Stability:
5. Leadership Development:
Overall, funding women and girls is not just a matter of social justice, but a strategic investment in the future prosperity and well-being of societies worldwide. Here in Howard County, I hope you will consider supporting women and girls through the Women's Giving Circle of Howard County.
Join us! ___________________________________ - Multiple Variations of Prompts: "Why Fund Women and Girls" ChatGPT, OpenAI, August 5, 2024, chat.openai.com.
 At the Women's Giving Circle's Black Philanthropy Month 2024 Kick-Off Happy Hour on August 1, we were excited to announce our partnership with the Horizon Foundation to fund a new report highlighting stories and wisdom from Black Women Nonprofit Leaders in Howard County. The WGC's grantmaking is informed by the WGC’s State of Women and Girls in Howard County, our online baseline compilation of data about women and girls from statistics published by a range of federal, state, and county agencies as well as public, private, and nonprofit organizations. The State of Women and Girls in Howard County is a website that presents information on the state of women and girls in Howard County in six categories:
This data is helping WGC to better support women and girls in our community. And, we hope that others in the community will utilize this baseline data to enhance support for women and girls as well. At our Black Philanthropy Month Happy Hour, WGC Chair Jennifer Bodensiek said: "I am excited about our intentional support for Black women in our community. This year, we are joining forces with our long-time partners at The Horizon Foundation to look into the nonprofit leadership experiences for Black women in Howard County. Together, we are collecting data and information on challenges for Black women leaders across the country and how the funding community and others are working to support them. And, we are speaking with and listening to women here in our community. Our goal is to highlight what we learn, and develop some action steps for how we can provide support. For the Women’s Giving Circle, this effort will build upon the data we continue to collect as part of our State of Women and Girls in Howard County that we use to inform our grantmaking."  Nikki Highsmith Vernick, President and CEO of the Horizon Foundation joined us at the Happy Hour to say a few words about our partnership:
"Good evening. I am excited to be here and my gratitude to each of you for supporting Black Philanthropy month. The Horizon Foundation has a new strategic plan. For the first time in 27 years, we have changed our vision and mission.
We promise to work side-by-side with black women in our community. To be better allies. To be better funders. And, to be a more supportive community particularly to black women in non-profit leadership roles. We are working in partnership with the Women’s Giving Circle to fund a report highlighting stories and wisdom from Black Women Nonprofit Leaders in Howard County. We will be working closely with Tiffany Erbelding and Rashel Taylor, who are here today, to interview Black women who are:
The purpose of the report and interviews are to:
So, just a heads up that we could be calling upon you. Either by participating as an advisory member, an interviewee, or potentially as a reader and audience member when we release the report in late fall. Thank you in advance to all of you who share your wisdom with us. We are grateful." We are excited for this opportunity and will inform the community about our development efforts along the way - stay tuned! Questions: Contact WGC Executive Director Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz: [email protected]  We had a wonderful night celebrating women, community, and Black Philanthropy Month on August 1 at the Women's Giving Circle of Howard County's Black Philanthropy Month Happy Hour. The WGC is proud to continue our support for Black Philanthropy Month, which is observed every August. The primary aims of BPM are informing, involving, inspiring and investing in Black philanthropic leadership to strengthen African-American and African-descent giving in all its forms, for the benefit of our planet, our communities, our organizations and our lives. We were welcomed by WGC Events Committee Chair Jade McClary who provided an overview of WGC's efforts supporting Black Philanthropy Month, and WGC Chair Jennifer Bodensiek who provided an overview of WGC's efforts and grantmaking. And, we heard from Beverly White-Seals, President & CEO of The Community Foundation of Howard County, who provided a challenge to the audience to support neighbors after a recent crisis. As part of our grantmaking, we announced that WGC is partnering with The Horizon Foundation to fund a report highlighting stories and wisdom from Black Women Nonprofit Leaders in Howard County. Horizon Foundation President & CEO Nikki Highsmith Vernick joined us to announce this partnership and the focus of these conversations. Learn more here. We also heard from WGC's Feminine Hygiene Product Chair Paula Seabright about the growth of WGC's Feminine Hygiene Product Drive, and WGC's Membership and Development Committee Chair Kashonna Marrow about all the ways to give to and get involved in the WGC. And, Robin Stimson, WGC's "Our Giving, Our Stories" Chair led our celebration of 4 female philanthropists in our community: Maureen Evans, Carla Gates, Rashida George, and Monique Washington-Jones! Carla couldn't join us in person due to travel, but take a listen to the amazing message she sent to all of us from South Africa - below. Her beautiful, meaningful words resonated with all of us, and were certainly words that Maureen, Rashida, and Monique exemplify. Congratulations to these amazing women - thank you for all you do for our community.
We have recognized over 100 women to date and encourage you to read their profiles. We have so many incredible philanthropists in our community! We also recognized former WGC Advisory Board member and former WGC "Our Giving, Our Stories" Chair Malynda Madzel, who started this wonderful effort, and was recently honored nationally for her work to lift the stories and voices of women in our community through "Our Giving, Our Stories" - learn more here. It was a warm, wonderful evening of old and new friends, original founders and new donors, all having a greater impact together than we might otherwise have alone. That's the power of a giving circle ... and the excitement of the WGC. Thank you to everyone who brought feminine hygiene products to donate to our year-long WGC Feminine Hygiene Product Drive - we'll look forward to seeing you at our next event soon! Here are some links to information discussed at the event: |
"Women’s philanthropy shapes the future for women and girls through the power of collective giving." - Jennifer Woods, Chair
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