Women Give San Diego Grants Committee

Women Give San Diego Grants Committee

The Women Give San Diego Grants Committee had a busy time of it this last fall but with everyone’s commitment, along with impressive skill sets and hard work, we managed to review 36 applications. Lucky for us we are a large group so the whole process went smoothly and the work was shouldered by many. Jan took the leadership role this time out but she drew on everyone’s field of expertise. Anita Broughton and JoAnne Berg provided the group with wonderful spreadsheets for easy scoring and helped to ensure that each grant was graded against specific criteria. JoAnn Berg also reviewed all of the financial statements which was a huge timesaver for those of us that might blanche at that particular task. Sussana and Kitty, with their acute analysis and keen observations helped subtly guide us in our decision making. Joann, Amy and Sheona and others showed great skill in “active listening” that proved instrumental in moving the group towards consensus in a very fluid and natural way. Not to mention all of the tasty and healthy treats that Jan, Renee and others brought in to keep us going. Last but not least, I applaud the committee’s use of box.net which meant the applications were available online and hard copies were kept to a minimum.

I can only say that I wish all of my professional meetings went as smoothly as the grant committee meetings did. The group as a whole was very focused and driven to weed out the best groups that would move the WGSD mission forward. It was fun to observe all these wonderful women with amazing skill sets come together, listen to one another and then proceed to get the job done efficiently and effectively. Within the span of 5 meetings we managed to review 36 grants over the summer, meet with grantees and finally put forth the best prospects to the WGSD membership.

Once we had the field narrowed to our top seven picks, each organization was invited to come to a meeting to give a 10-15 minute presentation in mid-September to discuss why their particular organization was the best fit with WGSD. This allowed the committee to put faces to the proposals and allowed the grantees to personalize their proposals. Again the scoring sheets provided by Jan and Anita really helped keep the project on track. We were evaluated the presentations using the following criteria;

· Program Fit: do the programs contribute to the economic empowerment of underserved women and girls in a measurable way?

· Impact Fit: do the programs have a significant impact such as increasing the number served, creating leverage, is the model replicable elsewhere or is the approach innovative?

· Organization Fit: does the group meet our criteria for size, sector focus, outcome measurements, financial stability, leadership and organizational independence?

· WGSD Impact factor: Would the award make a meaningful difference in the success of the organization?

· WOW factor: what is our gut feeling about the project/ organization?

In October we conducted a site visit to the four selected organizations. This is where the process really got interesting. Here we are – armed with our prepared set of questions which of course went by the wayside once we are on site listening to the amazing “herstories” of women and girls that have overcome tremendous adversities in their lives. Some things just have to be fluid. Truly, I think we would all say that we were immensely moved and impacted by the women we met on the site visits. They were from such varied backgrounds, rising above horrendous barriers, yet incredibly motivated to change not just their own lives but the lives of other women and girls. Their stories were so moving, the women were so poised, so real, that all of us on the committee were touched to our core. It is amazing to see such care and compassion at work in our community.

Mid-November, the entire membership voted to select which grantees would received funding. The final grantees were:

• · Dress for Success http://www.dressforsuccess.org/ which assists low-income women with job acquisition, job retention, career building and life management. Funds for a career search computer lab. $10,000 grant.
• · Supportive Parents Information Network http://www.foundation4change.org/video-joni.htm promotes self-sufficiency through emergency loan funding, access to banking opportunities and advocacy. Funds for board development and general operating expenses. $10,000 grant.
• · Just in Time for Foster Youth jitfosteryouth.org and its Career Horizons for Young Women program, which supports young women in their transition from foster care to independent adulthood. $26,000 grant.

At the beginning of December, WGSD hosted a holiday party at member Nancy Spector’s home and highlighted each of the grantees. We were honored to have Don Wells (Executive Director), Jeanette Day (Founder) and one of the program recipients attend the party and speak about how JIT has made a real difference in our community. We look forward to working with our granting partners over the next year!

I highly recommend that you consider joining a WGSD committee. Believe me, the time commitment is much less than you think, the women you meet will inspire you and you will discover that one person truly can make a difference. I hope you will consider joining the grant committee for 2011. I really would hate to hog all the fun!!

-- Blog written by: Dana White, Grants Committee member