This week marks the start of the second phase of work for the 2019 Pooled Fund Grant Committee. Proposals from our Top 25 are due this week, and the Grant Committee Work Groups will be reconvening to discuss how these proposals reflect work being done to increase equity and reduce disparities in communities throughout Washington…more
Since the beginning of January, members of the 2019 Pooled Fund Grant Committee have been reading and discussing 368 Letters of Inquiry submitted to Washington Women’s Foundation this past fall. Using new curriculum and updated resources, they thoughtfully reflected on the new grant criteria to make decisions about which organizations to invite to submit full…more
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that it’s already February – where did that first month go? When we reopened the office after the winter holiday, we started a new fiscal year with a new financial model. Specifically, we are now investing the full $2,500 annual contribution from each member into our collective work…more
Partners Asia received the 2018 International Partner Grant in a vote by a committee of more than 20 members, led by co-chairs Amy Corey and Patricia Kiyono. Partners Asia supports community initiatives to improve the lives of Myanmar’s most vulnerable. Many of these people are ethnic minorities living in unstable areas within Myanmar and along…more
Happy New Year! Thank you for renewing your financial commitment to Washington Women’s Foundation for our 24th year of grant making. We are looking forward to the first meeting of our 2019 Pooled Fund Grant Committee next week and are excited to see how our grant making might shift this year through the application of…more
Each year, the Foundation’s Member Engagement Committee selects a book for all members to read. This year, in alignment with our new grantmaking criteria of increasing equity and reducing disparities, they invite you to read So You Want to Talk About Race by local Seattle author Ijeoma Oluo. In this New York Times bestseller, Oluo explores the complex reality…more
Thank you to the many members who attended our Annual Meeting on October 31, 2018. It was the largest attendance we have had in the four years since I joined the Foundation staff, and I truly appreciated the engaging conversation. In this week’s e-newsletter you will find a copy of our 2017 Annual Report. At…more
A recent article by Dorian Burton and Brian Barnes published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review begins as follows: “Historical injustices – perpetuated by racial and cultural conflicts and exacerbated by a lack of empathy – are at the heart of America’s growing economic, social, and political inequalities. Nowhere is this gap of authentic empathy…more
Our Pooled Fund grant making cycle begins in September of each year, and our Letter of Inquiry process will open September 24. As you know, through our Pooled Fund, our members currently invest in the five areas which we believe are the foundational elements of a thriving community – Arts & Culture, Education, the Environment,…more
Can it really be the week before Labor Day? It seems like just yesterday we hosted our 2018 Grant Award Celebration, announcing the recipients of grants from our Pooled Fund as well as our commitment to establish new grant making criteria focused on increasing equity and reducing disparities for 2019. As I mentioned in my…more