May was a special month for the Women's Fund as it allowed us to see how our work comes full circle.
Last month we completed our Girl-Power Giving Program with eight high-school-aged girls granting $10,000 provided by the J.J. Keller Foundation and sharing about each of their $200 mini-grants which you can read about below!
We also completed our annual Project Grant cycle providing $75,000 to 12 area nonprofits helping women and girls on their path to financial stability through education, life skills support, and mental wellness. You can learn more about the programs supported by clicking here. We're excited to share more about the impact they are making in the coming months.
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Finally, we attended the graduation of our Starting Point 2.0 graduates at Fox Valley Technical College where we could celebrate the program's impact on the students and hear the story of a previous Starting Point and ConnectHer Program graduate.
The summer is right around the corner and we're fueled and ready to continue to plan our biggest event of the year, the Women's Fund Luncheon on September 7. We are continually honored by your support of all we do at the Women's Fund. Thank you for choosing to Invest in Her.
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Girl-Powered Giving completed its 10th giving cycle where high school-aged girls were given access to $10,000 to grant to nonprofit organizations and $200 each to complete a mini grant thanks to the support of the J.J. Keller Foundation.
Together with Brenda Haines, co-owner of Blue Door Consulting, the girls were able to deep dive into what philanthropy is, what it means to give back to their community, issues girls in the Fox Valley are facing, and areas of importance to them to help identify where they’d want to make a difference.
For the second year in a row, mental health was chosen as the area of greatest need facing high school girls, specifically access to mental health services for low-income teens. The girls reviewed grant applications from nonprofits who were invited to apply and through consensus building they decided to grant the funding to two separate nonprofit organizations, Youth & Family Counselling at the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley and Girl Powered Voices: Outpatient Mental Health Support groups at Us 2 Behavioral Health.
Each girl was also given the opportunity to make an impact with a $200 mini-grant to make a difference in an area they are personally passionate about. The girls’ grant projects spanned a variety of interests from collecting donations for a local animal shelter, food and hygiene drives, making tie blankets for children in hospitals, and even hosting an activity day for low-income children.
The girls left Girl-Powered Giving empowered with the knowledge of how they can continue to make a difference to make a lasting impact in our community, becoming the next generation of thoughtful and effective givers.
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We couldn't be more excited for this year's Starting Point graduates!
On May 3, the group held their graduation where we heard from current graduates, leaders, and one previous graduate with an inspiring story.
We are so proud of what this group has accomplished and what they will continue to achieve.
To learn more about the program and how you can make a difference in the lives of young women and their families click here.
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We're excited to announce that our Women's Fund Luncheon speaker is President Laurie A. Carter of Lawrence University! You can learn more about her incredible journey on our website! We can't wait for you to hear her story and how she accomplished many firsts for herself personally but also professionally. Thank you to our speaker sponsor, U.S. Venture for their support!
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The Women’s Fund Luncheon has been a premier event in the Fox Valley for the past 23 years. Whether celebrating in-person or virtually, business and community leaders, philanthropists, and people who care about women and girls join us to create change! Luncheon partners receive visibility to a powerful, and engaged audience – and will demonstrate your support of women and girls.
We are grateful to Community First Credit Union for continuing as our Presenting Sponsor. Several partnership opportunities are available to fit your company’s needs. The Women’s Fund Luncheon attracts significant publicity and will increase your organization’s profile in the community as a supporter of issues important to females of all ages.
If you're interested in learning more about how your business can become a sponsor at our Luncheon, please contact Terri St. Lawrence!
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The Connection N.E.W. Mental Health Fox Cities "Mind Your Wellness" survey results and recommendations are out now!
The recommendations are based on findings from a 2021 survey distributed to 1,259 adults from Calumet, Outagamie, and Winnebago County.
Some of those recommendations include raising the minimum wage, increasing walk-in services for mental health care, speeding up the state licensure approval process for new therapists, and adopting social connectedness strategies. Those are just a few of the over 40 recommendations outlined in the report.
“We believe this report can serve as a road map for many organizations to support and inform new projects, strategic plans, and priorities aimed at impacting adult mental health and suicide-related behaviors,” said Sarah Bassing-Sutton, The Connection’s Community Suicide Prevention Coordinator, who authored the report.
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If you’re in the mood for a fresh, honest take on mental health and self-care, add MOOD to your podcast queue.
Every week, Lauren interviews a special guest to discuss the ins and outs of anxiety, heartbreak, social media, and other topics pertaining to mental health and womanhood in the digital age.
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“The Charitable Act” extends and expands the expired charitable deduction for those who do not itemize on tax returns so that anyone who donates is able to benefit from both the standard deduction and the charitable deduction. Specifically, this legislation would raise the previous $300/$600 cap on the non-itemizer deduction to one-third of the standard deduction, equal to roughly $4,500 for individuals and $9,000 for joint filers.
“Charitable giving has not kept up with inflation, let alone met increasing community needs. The Charitable Act proposes sound tax policy that would incentivize millions more taxpayers to give to their local community-based organizations, enabling people to feel more invested in, engaged with, and supportive of the collective success of their neighbors and community," said Tim Delaney, president, and CEO, National Council of Nonprofits via a statement.
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