Women's Giving Circle
WOMEN’S GIVING CIRCLE—A FUND OF THE MARSHFIELD AREA COMMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Doing together what none of us could do alone!
Deborah Janz - Giving Circle Chair
2009 Women's Giving Circle Grants
$1,000 Clark County Dept of Social Services,"Keeping Women & Children Warm"
$1,000 Memorial Medical Center, "Prenatal Vitamins"
$1,000 Personal Development Center, "Supervised Visitation & Exchange"
$300 Girl's Hockey Team Marshfield Senior High School
$300 Meals On Wheels Program at St. Joseph's Hospital
$300 Soup or Socks; money for women's femine products
What a difference a group of people can make! In just two years, our area's first Women's Giving Circle has awarded $7,255 to local programs and organizations benefitting women and children.
In May of 2008, the Women’s Giving Circle (WGC) gathered for the first time to learn how ordinary women could have extraordinary impact in their communities. Since that time, handbags that help have become a signature accessory!
What does a Giving Circle do? The concept is as simple as it is powerful. A Giving Circle is formed when individual come together and pool their dollars, decide where to give, and learn together about their community, its needs and issues, and philanthropy. So when women band together, so much can be accomplished, leading to a much greater impact. Who better to understand the strengths and challenges of women, than other women? Each member of the Women's Giving Circle makes an annual donation to join and each member gets to vote on how the funds are disbursed. In the first year the WGC had nearly 50 initial members. The members were diverse and passionate group that contributed over $7000. Request for Proposals were sent out in July. The WGC met as a group to review the proposals in September with about $3,300 available for making grants; or 45% of the entire year’s fund. (50% is placed in a Women’s Giving Circle Fund Endowment to establish long term funding and 5% goes to fund management expenses.) In October, in just five months, five organizations were awarded grants to help women and children in our community!
Doing together what none of us could do alone!
The basic question any Giving Circle member needs to ask is “Did my contribution result in meaningful change in the communities?” It’s all about impact. Impact in the lives of the members/donors; the grantees; the lives of the ultimate recipients; and in the larger community. Representatives from two of the organizations that received funding during the first year, the Personal Development Center and Kiddie Kaboose, shared information about how the WGC helped enhance their programs and most importantly, the ultimate recipients, the women and girls and families in the greater Marshfield area.
The Women’s Giving Circle grants did make a difference!
The membership drive for the Women’s Giving Circle 2010 has begun. Why should you renew your Women’s Giving Circle membership? Or, why join?
Today’s dismal headlines about the recession are enough to make us all put on the jammies, crawl into bed and put the quilts over the heads. Women are the first to suffer when an economic crisis hits. Many women are the primary caretakers for their families, providing food, shelter, clothing, child care, elder care and more. So when a woman loses her job, can’t afford groceries, gas or utilities, or goes without health care, her entire family struggles. In tough times, charity seems a luxury. The natural instinct is to hold on tight to what we have. It’s easy to convince ourselves to stop giving or to give less than we would normally. In fact, the reality is just the opposite. During these challenging economic times, women in the communities need the support more than ever. And the service organizations working with those hurting the most are stretched to the max. They are receiving less funding from government, corporations and individuals. To cope, these groups face tough choices and fear that ultimately they will serve fewer people.
This is where The Women’s Giving Circle can help. The power of giving together, toward a common goal, is a smart strategy enabling us to do more with less. The Women’s Giving Circle focuses on collective giving…on 
issues facing women, girls and children, including economic security, jobs, education, health and nutrition, parenting skills, substance-abuse counseling, affordable housing and day care, financial literacy, domestic violence prevention….the list goes on. So instead of giving up, please join The Women’s Giving Circle. As tough as these times may seem, we can’t hide under the covers.
The Women’s Giving Circle goal for 2010 is ambitious; it’s $25,000. We want to double the membership to 100 women! What if each one of the original members recruited one new member? What could the Women’s Giving Circle do for the community next year? The handbags that help will make a difference! Let’s fill up lots of handbags to address emergent needs, a bold new venture or a new solution to a time worn problem. These handbags will help mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and neighbors. Handbags that help make real change in real time. Together the group can make it happen!
Women individually may not all be wealthy, but we hold great wealth in common. We connect people who care with causes that matter.
You may join by calling (715)384-9029 or emailing macf@marshfieldareacommunityfoundation.org!
So what’s the next step? In July look for an announcement for a Request for Proposals from the Marshfield Area Community Foundation. These requests will be due in August. The Women’s Giving Circle will meet in September to review and recommend funding.
Please remember how women, together, can drive change and achieve impact with the handbags that help women, girls and families in the communities through the Women’s Giving Circle.
A Giving Circle leader from Austin once said, “The future is not some place we are going to, but a place we are creating. The paths to it are not found, they are made.”
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT – REQUEST FOR GRANT PROPOSALS - 2010
The Women’s Giving Circle is now accepting grant applications through the Marshfield Area Community Foundation.
The mission of the Women’s Giving Circle is to raise money and distribute contributions in the form of annual grants to projects that improve life for women and children in the Marshfield area. Grants awarded will range from $500 to $1,000. Applicants must be qualified as IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit or be classified as a governmental, educational, or religious charitable organization.
Proposals must address the needs of women and/or children in the Marshfield service area which is defined as an area roughly bounded by Neillsville to the west, Withee to the northwest, Abbotsford to the north, Stratford and Rozellville to the northeast, Milladore to the east, and Arpin to the south. Proposals may not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion.
The focus of the Women’s Giving Circle grant initiatives may include, but are not limited to: Women’s Issues, Women/Teen/Children’s Health, Parenting Skills, Child Abuse, Housing/Homelessness, Economic Independence, Marketable Skills/Job Training, Literacy, Prevention of Violence and Abuse, Assisting Low-Income Women with Children. Careful consideration will be given to the applicant’s mission statement and proposed use of volunteer involvement. The applicant should establish measurable goals and have an evaluation process for reviewing and promoting best practices, encourage cooperation among agencies without duplicating services, and demonstrate collaborative funding with other community resources. The applicant should also demonstrate how the positive outcomes of the program would be sustained.
The members of the Women’s Giving Circle will evaluate all proposals and submit recommendations to the Marshfield Area Community Foundation Board of Trustees at the September Board meeting. Funding announcements will be made in October.
All applicants must complete an application form and submit the required additional documentation no later than August 15, 2010. (A grant application for a Women's Giving Circle Grant, a Community Grant, or a Senior Citizen Grant may be downloaded by using the link below.)
WOMEN’S GIVING CIRCLE will meet to select grant recipientsin September.All Women's Giving Circle members are encouraged to attend and vote on grant requests. PLEASE WATCH FOR THE DATE!!
“Wine & Chocolate, Women & Giving” (Archival News)
The Women’s Giving Circle, a fund of the Marshfield Area Community Foundation will host its second annual membership gathering, “Wine & Chocolate, Women & Giving”, on Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. in the Marshfield Clinic East Wingfoyer. Members of the Women’s Giving Circle pool their donated money and decide collectively how to use that money to make a difference in their communities. All women in the greater Marshfield area are welcome to attend. For more information, or to RSVP by April 7, please contact the Marshfield Area Community Foundation office 384-9029.
