Wake County Women's Giving Network
Our 2011 Grants Awards Luncheon was a huge success!
The Network's fifth annual Grants Awards Luncheon was Tuesday, Nov. 8 at the Marriott City Center Hotel in downtown Raleigh.
Nearly 270 members and guests attended the event, which was highlighted by the award of $140,000 in grants to five area nonprofits. (See NCCF home page for all the details!)
Hats off to Grants Chair Pam Dowdy and her committee, Special Events Chair Noel Lichtin and her committee and Liza Roberts, Network Chair.
Click here for a slideshow of some scenes from our event! Also read the Philanthropy Journal's article on our event.
Women's Giving Network of Wake County selected as Urban Ministries' Community Partner of the Year!
The Network was named Community Partner of the Year at Urban Ministries' annual awards ceremoney in September. The program outlined the grants we have awarded Urban Ministries ($49,500 in 2009 for the Open Door Clinic and $50,000 in 2010 for the Helen Wright Center for homeless women.) The program noted that Urban Ministries "could not ask for a more committed, caring partner." Our giving circle was nominated by Tricia Phoenix, Urban Ministries board member. Thanks to Network President Liza Roberts for attending and accepting this tribute on our behalf.
Check out NCCF's Flickr feed for photos of Network's Spring events
Click here for slideshows from Network Chair Liza Roberts' social event and our Spring Issues Forum.
August newsletter is hot off the press!
Read the August 2011 newsletter here. Click to find out info about our fall luncheon, fun facts, a profile of member Pam Dowdy and so much more.
Read the April 2011 newsletter here.
Read the January 2011 issue here.
Annual issues forum and lunch a success!
About 50 members and guests attended our annual issues forum and lunch at the Royal in Raleigh on April 7.
“Sex Crimes in Our Community” was the topic for this year’s forum. Event speakers included Dr. Donna Bickford, executive director of the Women’s Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Lt. Chris Carrigan, who works in the sex crimes division of the Raleigh Police Department. Dr. Bickford provided a general overview and background of the issue, along with positive actions individuals can take. Lt. Carrigan shared the role law enforcement plays in combating human trafficking.
Hats off to the Education Committee, chaired by Dana Jennings! The committee is going to explore additional educational offerings this year, so stay tuned.
Network awards $130,000 to three local nonprofits
See scenes from this event on Flickr!
The Wake County Women’s Giving Network awarded $130,000 in November to three area nonprofits that support women and/or children, according to Noel Lichtin, chair of the local giving circle, which is a program of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF).
Receiving grants were Urban Ministries of Wake County, Read and Feed and SAFEchild. The awards were announced at the Network’s annual luncheon.
Urban Ministries will receive $50,000 for the Helen Wright Center for Women, which serves 250 homeless women annually, providing safety and security from the streets. The Helen Wright Center is the only shelter and transitional program in the county for women not diagnosed with substance abuse problems.
Read and Feed will receive $45,000 to purchase and operate a second mobile classroom, allowing the organization to expand its service to 350 more children per year. The program travels to Wake County neighborhoods four evenings a week, helping to improve reading deficiencies among disadvantaged children and their families and also provides nutritious meals.
SAFEchild will be awarded $35,000 for its Advocacy Center, a child and family friendly facility offering integrated services for 325 child victims of abuse and their non-offending parents. Collaborating service partners, such as law enforcement officers, child protection workers, legal advocates and medical and mental health professionals partner in one location to help children, eliminating or minimizing the need to marshal victims throughout various systems from facility to facility.
Network members voted on recipients in a competitive grants process. Grants Chair Claudia Kadis said the membership had a record number of quality programs serving critical needs for Wake County women and/or children. “Our members tell us the voting becomes more difficult each year, which speaks to both the high need and quality of the nonprofit programs in our area,” she said.
This year’s gifts from the Wake County Women’s Giving Network bring the total of grants given to area nonprofits to $424,000 in just four years. “To award $130,000 this year in this economy to programs serving such critical needs is certainly a sign of the Network’s increasing impact on local philanthropy,” said Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, president and CEO of the NCCF. The NCCF supports eight other women’s giving programs across the state and the Statewide Women’s Fund.
About us:
Our beginnings
The Women’s Giving Network of Wake County was established and launched in late 2006 by creative leaders whose primary objective was to bring women together to learn about the critical needs of Wake County and to address those needs through high-impact grants that could make a dramatic difference to nonprofit organizations serving women and/or children.
Mission and focus
The Women’s Giving Network of Wake County is a program designed to maximize women’s leadership in philanthropy by engaging and educating its membership, increasing charitable contributions and strengthening communities through the impact of collective giving.
We currently focus on initiatives that support women and/or children in Wake County.
Our approach
The Women’s Giving Network seeks membership among those who support our mission and agree to become participating members of the fund. Through a collaborative decision-making process involving all members, we provide grants to organizations and programs based on specific criteria established by members.
Membership and benefits
All members commit to contribute $1,200 annually for five consecutive years. Annual distributions include $1,000 for the annual grantmaking pool; $100 for administration; and $100 for the Statewide Women’s Fund held by the NCCF.
All members are entitled to one vote that determines the organization/s and program/s that will receive annual funding. Individual members have the opportunity to:
- Participate in an organization of women empowering and/or supporting other women
- Help women make strategic, informed decisions about philanthropy
- Attend Women’s Network special events and educational offerings
- Network with like-minded women who share similar values and enjoy the camaraderie that comes from associating with a cause-driven group
- Witness the power of collective support
Wake Women's Network creates collaborations
Past grants: Wake County Women’s Giving Network awards $125,000 in grants for 2009
The Women’s Giving Network of Wake County has awarded grants totaling $125,000 to Hospice of Wake County, Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood, Urban Ministries of Wake County and Wake Technical Community College Foundation, according to Noel Lichtin, president of the executive committee. Awards were made at the group’s annual grants luncheon where nationally acclaimed journalist Cokie Roberts served as keynote speaker.
“We had a number of deserving applicants, and the grants committee did an outstanding job of carefully reviewing proposals and conducting their due diligence so our membership could vote on our third-year recipients,” Lichtin said.
“All of these programs will make a significant impact in Wake County.”
Hospice received $25,500 to create an after-school support program for children of chronically ill parents. Lucy Daniels Center was awarded $25,000 to support a free mental health service for children from low-income families. Urban Ministries was granted $49,500 to provide access to health care in a “medical home” model for low-income, uninsured minority women. Wake Tech Community College Foundation’s award of $25,000 will be used for scholarships and other needs as foster-care youth make the transition from high school to higher education and independent living.
The Network has awarded $294,000 to Wake County initiatives supporting women and/or children since it began granting in 2007.
For information about joining the Network or applying for a 2010 grant, contact Jeanne Lawson, NCCF’s regional associate, at jlawson@nccommunityfoundation.org.
Contact:
For more information about the Women’s Giving Network of Wake County, contact Jeanne Lawson at jlawson@nccommunityfoundation.org
