Celebrating our 2013 Grant Partners

One of our most inspiring gatherings each year is our Grants Celebration. Thanks to the financial support of our members, Women Give San Diego is granting $85,000 into our community to three vital community programs, supporting underserved women and girls in our community; The Southwestern College Micro-enterprise Family Childcare Program, Casa Cornelia and the Women's Resource Center. 

On March 6th our members gathered to celebrate, honor and learn more about our three grantees. This special event was purposefully held at the Women's Museum of California in Liberty Station whose mission is to educate and inspire present and future generations about the experiences and contributions of women collecting, preserving and interpreting the evidence of that experience. 

As members mingled, they also enjoyed delicious food graciously provided by Ganosh Gourmet. Owner, Wendy Sanger McGuire focuses her business on bringing home-made, health food to your home or office and  turning hunger into happiness. 

The program to introduce our new grant partners was filled with stories from women whose lives have been transformed by the programs that these organizations provide. As usual, you could have heard a pin drop in the room as our members listened to these stories with an open heart and tear-filled eyes.

In case you missed the program allow us to introduce to you our 2013 Grant Partners:

The Southwestern College Micro-enterprise Family Childcare Program creates economic self-sufficiency among socioeconomically disadvantaged Spanish-speaking women by providing no-cost certification courses on how to establish licensed childcare business in their own homes. Women Give support will ensure that approximately 30 women each semester (approximately 60 a year) are equipped for self-employment and entrepreneurship; their proven success also creates a ripple effect in the community, allowing other women with children to go to work.

Casa Cornelia provides pro bono legal services to indigent immigrant victims of human and civil rights violations, and to educate others regarding the impact of immigration law and policy on the public good. By removing barriers (poverty, abuse, fear) to quality legal representation, these women and their children are able to become independent of their abusive situation and enter the workforce and become engaged members of the community. Women Give funding will support approximately 
200 women and their families.


Based in North County, Women’s Resource Center’s Transition House provides a case-managed, supportive environment for victims of domestic violence and their children, where women are able to focus on employment training, budgeting, money management, life skills, counseling, on-site education, and other supportive services. Women Give support will ensure that approximately 50 and their children will move from shelter life to self-sufficiency in a safe, secure, stable living environment.

For more information on Women Give San Diego, our grant partners and community partners for this event please visit:

www.womengivesd.org

www.ganoshgourmet.com

www.WomensMuseumCa.org

Remembering June Tuttleman

It is with much sadness and heavy hearts we write to tell you that June Tuttleman, our dear friend and Women Give San Diego Founding President, passed away yesterday (Monday, October 29, 2012). June was comfortable, surrounded by family; she passed peacefully.

June was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme Stage IV in August 2011. She was truly an amazing brain warrior, maintaining a positive attitude, as she and her family pursued every possible treatment option. She beat the odds and was able to enjoy many family milestones including her daughter Sophie's graduation from NYU and her daughter Emma's 21st birthday!

As you know, June was the inspiration behind Women Give San Diego. Helping women was of paramount importance to June. She was deeply proud of what we have accomplished together - truly above and beyond any of her other remarkable philanthropic contributions.  We remain committed to carrying on June's legacy through our work to support women and girls in our community.

June also served in leadership roles for many organizations in San Diego and California, including the Women's Foundation of California, the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, the San Diego Jewish Women's Foundation, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, and the Vision of Children. She was the Founding President of the Jewish Women's Foundation of San Diego, the past President of the San Diego United Jewish Federation Women's Division, the President of the Tuttleman Family Foundation, and the CFO of the San Diego Community Mikvah and Education Center.  

This summer, June was recognized as a 2012 UCSD Alumni Honoree, receiving the very prestigious Distinguished Leadership Award.

We know you join us in sending our warmest personal regards and deepest sympathy to June's husband, Craig Lambert, daughters Sophie and Emma, and the entire Tuttleman Lambert families. We will all miss June terribly. We are most grateful for the opportunity to have become friends with June and work with her in founding Women Give San Diego. We remain committed to continuing June's legacy, in particular, developing the June Tuttleman Mentorship Program.

June's compassion yet tenacious spirit will continue to shine through the glorious impact members have today - and every day. Thank you for joining us in continuing June's legacy.  We will continue to share any additional information we receive.

Warmest personal regards,

Linda & Gayle

P.S. Cards can be sent to Craig Lambert, or Sophie and Emma Tuttleman at:

7791 Starlight Drive 

San Diego, CA  92037

Giving Like a Girl- Shared Blog from Bright Funds

Sharing a blog from Bright Funds, which speaks to presence and force of women in philanthropy.

Women are the conduits through which change is made.

Women are progressively becoming a visible force on the philanthropic landscape as they challenge both the way we view giving and the notion of how much is appropriate to give. A 20ll study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the University of Indiana suggests that women are 40 percent more likely to give to charities than their male counterparts. These gender studies in philanthropic giving indicate that Baby Boomers and older women give 156 percent more to charity than men.

In 2009, the Red Cross canvassed funding for its women’s program, the Tiffany Circle.  The first night of the campaign attracted  61 new members and raised a staggering $6 million in 30 seconds. Melanie Sabelhaus, a former administrator at the Small Business Administration who heads the Tiffany Circle, said “[N]ot one of the women picked up the phone and asked her husband.”

This growing autonomy among women presents a dynamic force within the economy. At the Women’s Philanthropy Institute Symposium in May 2009, Lisa Witter, the COO of Fenton Communications remarked, “When it comes to winning support or raising money for your cause, women are not a niche audience. They are the audience, because they vote, volunteer, and give to more organizations than men do.”

Witter indicated that savvy corporations, recognizing that women make 83 percent of all purchasing decisions, have begun to market directly to women. This deepening engagement with donation based works is changing the way nonprofits market to their potential donors.  “Non-profits can learn to do the same,” she said, “if marketers and nonprofits successfully reach women, they would get men on their side, too.”
In their book, Reinventing Fundraising: Realizing the Potential of Women’s Philanthropy,  Shawy-Hardy and Taylor note that this significant rise in female philanthropy requires  organizations to actively involve women.  The more women involved, the surer the campaign’s success.

So, why do women give more than men? One explanation accounts  that women score higher on traits such as empathy and caring, which are key motivators when contributing to philanthropy. Debra J. Mesch, director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute owed this trend to “women being socialized [as] the caregivers of their families and communities.”  While men attribute their motivations in giving as practical (by funding organizations which make political change and taking advantage of tax deductions) , women describe their motive as an emotional obligation to help those in need.

As women galvanize the philanthropic sectors of the economy, it is critical that non-profits get them involved at every level.  As Christine Grumm, president and C.E.O. of the Women’s Funding Network, expressed, “Women are the conduits through which change is made.”

At Bright Funds, we believe in investing in a better world.   Whether your motivations be to help others, improve the environment, or fight poverty, we challenge you to create the changes you wish to see.

Zoe Bernard, Contributing Editor

http://blog.brightfunds.org/post/30932806059/giving-like-a-girl

Membership Meeting Recap

Membership Meeting Recap

October 8, 2012

Hosted at Hera Hub

By Renee C. Herrell

Monday night’s Women Give Membership Meeting was a successful gathering of our new and seasoned members. A special thanks to Megan Lim and Amy Harmon for organizing the meeting and the agenda!

Linda Katz and Gayle Tauber gave an incredible oral history of Women Give San Diego beginning with Linda’s rendition of June Tuttleman’s inspiration to fund women and girls in San Diego.

“If we have economic stability for women and girls in California, we have health and education as well as a reduction in abuse. This levels the gender playing field.”

- Linda Katz

At first, June was hoping that there was already an organization in San Diego doing just this, but after meeting with other philanthropic groups funding women and girls in San Diego, she realized she was just going to have to start her own organization!

“There was a real gap in our community to provide economic stability for women and girls in San Diego and June wanted an organization to fill this gap.”

- Linda Katz

June decided to link arms with the Women’s Foundation of California and become a donor circle. She then commissioned Valerie Nash to research and write a report on the status of women and girls in San Diego. This report became the ‘road map’ for Women Give San Diego and the organization was born.

The mission of Women Give San Diego (WGSD) is to fund non-profit organizations in San Diego County that offer underserved women and girls the opportunity to become fully engaged in the prosperity of their local communities. We also advocate for public awareness of women’s economic issues and policy change at the local and state level. WGSD's model for change balances education, community collaboration and strategic and effective grantmaking.

Gayle Tauber continued the Women Give story and June’s passion to found Women Give San Diego.

“We are a village. There are no stars.”

- Gayle Tauber

When Linda, Gayle and June began to form Women Give, they did not want to create an organization of “old boomers.” One of the biggest challenges was to engage younger people in philanthropy – especially a giving circle. Gayle hosted a pivotal membership recruitment event in her home in May 2010. She utilized her networks and those of YNPN (Young Nonprofit Professional Network) to engage young people to attend the event and learn about membership. The youthful attendance was overwhelming!

And targeting younger professionals worked (along with the tiered membership levels). Members began telling friends because they believe in the work of Women Give. Today, there are 106 members of which 58 members are under the age of 40 years old.

To-date, Women Give has two grant cycles under its belt with $46,000 given in 2011 and $67,000 given in 2012. We expect to be able to give away close to $80,000 in 2013!!

 “We are a work in progress.”

- Gayle Tauber

JoAnne Berg, past Grants Chair, and Merle Brodie, current Grants Chair, gave an update on the grantmaking process. The committee (17 members!) read through 33 Letters of Intent and narrowed it down to 12 organizations they have asked for a full proposal (due November 9). The committee looks forward to reading through these proposals and conducting site visits with the top organizations.

“Based on the LOIs, there are very creative entrepreneurs in the nonprofit sector. I am really looking forward to seeing full proposals.”

- JoAnne Berg

The Grants Committee will host its next meeting on Monday, October 22 at 5:30 p.m. at Hera Hub. Sharyn Goodson from the Jewish Community Foundation will be hosting a training on how to conduct successful site visits with potential grant partners.

“I am a philanthropist.”

- Bunmi Esho

Shana Hazen and Bunmi Esho reported on the Women’s Foundation of California Conference held in September. They were able to meet and converse with many different donor circles who have varied focuses like raising scholarships for high school students to raising funds to support women after prison.

“This conference made me realize how unique the Women’s Foundation of California donor circles are and how much we can learn from each other.”

- Bunmi Esho

From this conference, Shana and Bunmi are inspired to host a mini-conference in San Diego for Women Give and our grant partners. They will be hosting a planning meeting on Monday, November 5 from 6-7:30 p.m. for anyone interested in helping.

The evening concluded with a speed dating rotation where each leadership team was able to brainstorm with members and engage them with their team’s efforts.

A final big thank you to Felena Hanson of Hera Hub for hosting us!!

From Welfare to Career Woman: The Grossmont College Office Professional Training Program

Stat: There are three single moms for every single dad in San Diego County.  And households led by single moms are twice as likely to live below the poverty line than households with single dads.

“My name is Deedee.  Before taking the Office Professional Training (OPT) program I was a single mother on welfare bouncing around from one dead-end job to another.  Taking the OPT program is one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I am happy to report that I am officially off welfare and have a wonderful and exciting new career in the insurance industry.  I was able to obtain my job because of all the training and education I received while I was a student in the OPT program.  The fact that the program comes at no cost to the students is a miracle in itself.” 

Education is a Game Changer: Barrio Logan College Institute

Stat: We’ve learned that education can be a game changer in someone’s life. Unfortunately, in Barrio Logan less than 3% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

“My name is Ariealla.  Can you imagine what it would be like to have your father think that college is only for your brother?  That your “career” is to learn how to keep house, get married and raise a family?  Or that your family doesn’t even want you to move away from home?  With the help of Barrio Logan College Institute, I was able to get support to discuss the challenges I’m facing at home.  After years in the program, I’m proud to say that I’m a Gates Millennium Scholar and I’ll be leaving to attend Franklin and Marshall University in Pennsylvania.  Not only getting a bachelors but having enough financial aid to get a doctorate in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.”

Putting Your Best (Well-Heeled) Foot Forward: Dress for Success San Diego

Stat: Women of color are especially vulnerable in San Diego County and are twice as likely to live in poverty than white women.

“My name is Lettice.  After my appointment at Dress for Success San Diego, I felt that I could accomplish anything. When I put on my outfit, my daughter paid me the highest compliment:  ‘Mom, you look like you could work for President Obama in the White House!’ I succeeded in my job interview, feel good about my new job, and feel blessed that God has structured a plan for me.”

“My name is Maria.  I went home and tried on my new outfits from Dress for Success San Diego for my family and they complimented me on how professional I looked.  I could not believe they were talking about me. Every interview I attended increased my confidence and self esteem. Within two months I was offered a job with benefits.”