Women Give San Diego at the Momentum Awards

Thanks to the generosity of Gayle Tauber, a group of founding members from Women Give San Diego headed north on the morning of Friday, May 7 to attend the Women's Foundation of California Momentum Awards. We took the carpool lane, of course, and enjoyed getting to know each other better on the ride up to LA and throughout the event. The hotel was elegant and the food delicious, but it was the speakers that wowed!

The honorees accomplishments are, indeed, momentous, but they weren't the only ones who left you awestruck - the women who introduced the award recipients were well-spoken, charismatic, and living reflections of the Women's Foundation of California’s vision.

Lateefah Simon was one such presenter; she was 15 and just released from juvenile hall when she became part of the Women's Foundation of California lifecycle. She entered one of the Foundation's grant partner programs, 4 years later was named the organization's Executive Director, and is now a recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" award and one of Oprah's "20 Most Powerful Women." Coming full circle, she's also a former board member of the Women's Foundation of California.

Lateefah was presenting her mentor, Aileen Adams, with a Momentum Award and she thanked Aileen for her contribution to Lateefah’s life path. As I looked around the table, Lateefah's words rang true for me as well, for we young women have wide open opportunities because of women like Aileen Adams and the women sitting around us at Gayle Tauber's Women Give San Diego table.

The other two Momentum Awards went to Connie Rice and Laura Chick. Connie, who admitted to being biased as a female chauvinist, reminded us that "we have to argue against our own [self] interests to defend the children who can't even safely walk to school." And Laura Chick insisted that "if you are not indignant then you are not paying attention ... and if you are not paying attention nothing changes." We were all rapt with attention absorbing the inspiring stories of women making a difference in their communities, and we did our part as well, helping with scholarships for women ready to turn education and experience into economic security and life change.

This was a unique opportunity for all of us who joined Gayle and I, as I am sure we all were, am thankful for the experience. It is a testimonial to the power of women joining together to affect change and elevate women’s lives in our community.

Many thanks to Megan Lim for this contribution to the Women Give San Diego blog! If you are interested in contributing a blog post please contact Emily Davis at edaconsulting@gmail.com.

Women and Philanthropy by Barbara Marcus

Many thanks to Barbara Marcus for this post!

Women and Philanthropy (The following information was taken from a session at the Women’s Funding Network Conference, April 2010)

It is very interesting to see what motivates and moves individuals to give to philanthropic causes. A study was conducted through Bank of America and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University to see trends and track those who are considered high-net-worth donors, those who have at least $200,000 in annual income and/or $1 million in investable assets , not including their home.

(To access the full 2008 Bank of America Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, visit https://www.bankofamerica.com/philanthropic)

The major reason donors said they give is for connection - personal fulfillment. They wanted to be able to affect change and know that they matter to the organization.

The study also looked at gender demographics and influences as well.

• Women own nearly 60% of wealth in the United States
• 80-90% of women will oversee household finances
• Women-owned businesses are the fastest growing subsector
• Women give two times more than men as a percentage of wealth
• Single women give the most
• Households with women increases the overall giving
• Women volunteer more

The Six C’s: Women’s Motivation for Giving

Create

• Women want to create new solutions to problems
• Women like to be entrepreneurial
  

Change

• Women give to make a difference versus preserving the status quo

Connect

• Women prefer to see the human face their gift affects
• Women seek to build partnerships
  

Commit

• Women commit to organizations whose vision they share
• Women volunteer where they give and vice versa
  

Collaborate

• Women prefer to work with others as part of a larger effort
• Women seek to avoid duplication, competition and waste
  

Celebrate

• Women celebrate their accomplishments, have fun together, and enjoy the deeper meaning and satisfaction of their philanthropy

The Gender Lens

Donors who seek change and impact ought to be funding women and girls….they just may not know it! Take any issue below and the case can be made as to why it is a women and girl issue.

• Poverty
• Violence
• Health
• Immigration
• Education

Women Give San Diego Membership Connection Event

Strengthening Our Community by Investing in
Underserved Women and Girls

Please join us for a Women Give San Diego Membership Connection Event on Wednesday, June 9th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the beautiful home of Gayle Tauber. Come and learn more about the progress we are making in the development of this exciting new initiative, while getting to know each other. You won't want to miss this special occasion!

This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about how we've progressed in our first year and to introduce your friends to Women Give San Diego:

• We will share our mission, our vision, our values.
• We will share how we focus on underserved women and girls to strengthen our community.
• We will share the opportunities for funding.
• We will invite you to join this process!

We challenge every member to invite three women who might be interested in joining Women Give San Diego. Invite your friends to learn more about the benefits of membership in Women Give San Diego, by visiting our website. The more members we have, the greater our impact will be on the economic self-sufficiency and security of women and girls in San Diego!

We look forward to seeing you on June 9th. Remember: BY3 (Bring Your 3 friends who you want to involve in WGSD)!

When: June 9th 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Who: Current and future WGSD members
Where: Home of Gayle Tauber, 2306 Vallecitos, La Jolla
RSVP: Facebook Fan Page or Linda Katz at lindalouisekatz@me.com

Membership Meeting: June 7th

Our next membership meeting will be held on June 7th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at AMN Healthcare in Carmel Valley. We will be meeting in the High Bluff Room at AMN. Their address is: 12400 High Bluff Drive, San Diego, CA 92130 (corner of High Bluff and El Camino Real in Carmel Valley).

We will be discussing progress of the subcommittees including the grants process and the event committing preparing for our June 9th recruitment event. If you are interested in learning more about or joining one of our committees please contact Jan Tuttleman for more information.

Please RSVP to Linda Katz (lindalouisekatz@me.com) or RSVP on our new Facebook Page event registration.

We look forward to seeing you there!

California's Budget Slams Women

From the Women's Foundation of California~

How the Other Half Fared: The Impact of the Great Recession and the Budget Crisis on California's Women and Their Families

The Great Recession has often been referred to as a “Mancession.” But three new policy briefs funded by the Women's Foundation of California and released by the California Budget Project reveal that women and their families continue to shoulder the burden of the economic downturn. Women are delaying retirement, single mothers are struggling to make ends meet while the very safety net programs that would support them are disappearing and married women are increasingly becoming sole breadwinners of their families.

The Women's Foundation of California partnered with the California Budget Project to research and write these briefs because we wanted the upcoming budget debates to be informed by the challenges facing women and their families. This is the first-ever gender analysis of the budget.

Download the policy briefs from the California Budget Project website. Click here to see what action you can take.