I bid a fond farewell to my friend and colleague, Anne Mosle, one of the pioneers of women’s philanthropy here in greater Washington.

Over the past six years of Anne’s tenure, The Women’s Foundation has grown exponentially and touched the lives of tens of thousands of women and girls in our region. Thanks to her vision, energy, and persuasive force, The Women’s Foundation today is a clear standout among the 100 or so women’s and girls’ funds located throughout the United States and abroad.

The Meyer Foundation was pleased to provide early support to Anne and her colleagues as they worked to expand the circle of people committed to investing in the power of women and girls. We’ve been grateful to have Anne as a philanthropic colleague and collaborator—most recently as a co-investor with Meyer in the Hispanics in Philanthropy Funders’ Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities.

For these past six years, we’ve benefited from her wise counsel and her very important perspective on what it takes to develop greater Washington as a vibrant community that serves the needs of all its citizens.

While we’re sad to see her go, we also know that philanthropy will be very well served by her work at the Kellogg Foundation. Anne’s commitment will continue to inspire all of us as we follow her on her great new adventure!

Julie L. Rogers is president of the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation. 

When I first heard that Anne Mosle was leaving her leadership role at the Washington Area Women’s Foundation to go to the Kellogg Foundation, I felt very sad!  As a Grantee Partner, and someone who admires Anne so much, it was, and still is, incredibly challenging to wrap my head around the fact that not only is Anne leaving The Women’s Foundation, but the area as well! 

But, as I thought about it more, I have reluctantly begun to appreciate what a fantastic next step this is for Anne and honestly, for our nation!  So, Washington’s loss is truly, through the impact she will undoubtedly make at the Kellogg Foundation, our nation’s gain!

I first met Anne when she invited me to participate as a community member on an advisory group for The Portrait Project.  I remember my first meeting–walking into a room of diverse, talented women (I think there may have been a few brave men present as well!) who had gathered to focus on the research that eventually became the foundation for The Women’s Foundation’s Stepping Stones initiative. 

From that moment on I was an Anne Mosle fan and donor and supporter of The Women’s Foundation!  Today, we have all witnessed the power of The Portrait Project and what The Women’s Foundation has done to turn research into action! 

As a result of Anne’s relentless ability, energy and compassion, and her capacity to engage so many others to join her, she has turned this research effort–which could have become a document gathering dust like so many other documents sitting on our desks–into a powerful tool that provided the framework and vision for what has today grown into an annual million dollar effort impacting diverse women’s lives throughout our region!

Wow!

It is hard for me to even imagine how she did this–aggressively gathering an army of women and supportive men to bring to life her vision of improving the quality of life for the girls and women in our region. 

It is also important to note that The Portrait Project was one of the first research efforts in our region to ensure that the needs of Latino girls and women were documented.

Today, Anne and her great staff have enlisted an army of regional foot soldiers in nonprofit community organizations to carry out her charge through innovative, respectful programs and initiatives. The Latin American Youth Center has been fortunate to be one of The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partners in this work. 

The Women’s Foundation, its community of donors and Stepping Stones have brought a unique philanthropic vision and opportunity to us all!

Anne’s legacy inspires us all to work harder and do more, while generously giving of our time and money to ensure that girls and women have the opportunity to thrive in our region.  Anne has engaged us in her vision and while she tackles her new challenge, The Women’s Foundation’s work and our work is not done.  We must keep her vision in our hearts, minds, and our purses, through continued support of The Women’s Foundation and Stepping Stones.

Our greatest homage to Anne will be to keep The Women’s Foundation strong for years to come!

Anne, thank you for your years of dedication and passion – I will miss you!

Lori Kaplan is executive director of the Latin American Youth Center in Washington, D.C., a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation since 2003. 

I want to share some personal news with you.  This summer, I will be joining the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as the Vice President for Programs, Philanthropy and Volunteerism. It is a wonderful recognition of the impact and innovation of our collective work at Washington Area Women’s Foundation. But, it is also a little bittersweet for me as I will miss the Washington community deeply.

My time with The Women’s Foundation has been a fantastic adventure. Working with so many terrific women and men has been an incredible privilege. The opportunity to play a role in creating a foundation that is committed to social change and investing in women and girls in the local community of Washington, D.C. has been a joy, and an experience I plan to take to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and keep in my heart always.

It is hard to leave The Women’s Foundation; however, the foundation is extremely well positioned with a robust grantmaking program, strong fiscal outlook, highly engaged and committed Board of Directors, talented staff and a diverse circle of donors and partners.  When I reflect on the past six plus years, I do so with great pride and gratitude when I think about all we have accomplished together:

From the thousands of women whose lives have been changed, to our Board, staff, Grantee Partners and many donors and volunteers, The Women’s Foundation is in an ideal position to build on the success and impact we have achieved together.

The Board leadership of The Women’s Foundation has been and continues to be a core reason for our success. Moving forward, the Board is finalizing the formation of a search committee that will be co-chaired by founding board member Loribeth Weinstein and Rubie Coles, Associate Director of the Moriah Fund.  As with all that we do, the search committee will be reflective of our community, and its members will be announced in the coming weeks. Marjorie Sims, our Chief Operating Officer and also a founding Board Member, will assume the role of Interim President upon my departure on June 12. Lastly, I am delighted to report that The Women’s Foundation will receive a generous leadership transition grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Your commitment, wisdom and generosity will continue to inspire and motivate me, and, more importantly, will continue to have a transformative impact on women and girls in our community.

We have come a very long way – and it would not have happened without you. It has truly been an honor and an adventure.  Please stay in touch!

With warmest regards and heartfelt thanks, 

Anne Mosle

As financial literacy month marches forward and we continue to talk about the dollars and sense of financial literacy, particularly for women, today we turn our attention to the procrastination-inducing topic of retirement planning.

Yes, I know, you’re already thinking about reading this blog tomorrow.  But don’t. 

For it seems that while financial advisors are out there educating potential clients and encouraging them to sign up for retirement plans, a key group is missing out on this information, and, as a result, the savings plans that could determine their health, wealth and happiness in retirement, reports an article in today’s Women’s eNews called Money Advice Runs Low for Minority Women.

The article documents the work of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), Mother’s Voices of Georgia, The Older Women’s League (OWL) and Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment–a few of the organizations working on addressing the information gap regarding financial planning, investment and retirement for women, and particularly low-income minority women.

Their work is of great importance, considering that 12 percent of all elderly women 65 and older live in poverty, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.  Futher, they revealed in a March report that men age 50 and older are considerably more likely than women of the same age to receive pension and annuity income, and to receive higher yearly amounts of such income.  In 2005, 44 percent of men age 65 and older received annuity and-or pension income, with a mean amount of $16,933 a year.  Only 29 percent of women age 65 and older received annuity and-or pension income that year, with a mean pension income of $10,086.

Vicki Elisa, current board chair of Mother’s Voices of Georgia–which helps low-income women become financially empowered–explains in the article that, "Half of minority women older than 65 in the United States are living in poverty.  Those are my aunts, who at age 75 had to go to work at Wal-Mart because they didn’t have enough money in retirement to live in dignity."

Some of the particular barriers to retirement savings for women–and particularly low-income or minority women–according to the article, are: 

• Lack of information and knowledge regarding finances, debt and retirement options related to divorce or death of a spouse. 
• Banks and financial-planning firms have little interest in helping low-income women because they focus their marketing on those who can immediately buy a financial retirement product, such as an individual retirement account.
• Lack of financial literacy materials that take into account the needs and realities of low-income women.
• Women typically earn less than men, take time out of the work force to care for children and aging parents and live longer than men, making them more likely to require health insurance and larger savings–issues that are often compounded for low-income women.
• Low-income women, particularly single mothers, often cannot afford to take money from their paychecks to apply to their savings or retirement plans.
• Many nonprofits and advocacy organizations tend to focus on jobs training, pay equity or other more current issues–few are dedicated to working with women on financial planning and retirement-related education and support.

There is good news–a number of committed organizations have developed effective strategies for informing women about retirement options and the importance of planning, and are creating the tools to educate, inform and change behavior. 

• WISER conducts workshops about retirement and economic issues for low-income women.  Attendees learn about retirement savings, money management, debt and divorce, and the impact on minority women.  WISER also conducts extensive trainings on the basics of money management, investment, Social Security, pension, divorce and widowhood, and reducing credit card debt. 
• While taking the WISER training, Elisa of Mother’s Voices made the curriculum culturally relevant for women of color.  Mother’s Voices’ own educational program would later go on to win a 2006 Freddie Mac grassroots award for its economic literacy program aimed at low-income women.
• WISER publishes a quarterly newsletter and booklets to help women better understand their situation.
• The Older Women’s League sponsors a a project called The Color of Money that educates women of color about preparing for a secure retirement.

Much like retirement, which requires investment today for payoff later, investing in similar programs, initiatives and practices today could yield a much more productive, brighter, dignified future for women tomorrow. 

I’m very excited to report that In response to popular demand from our sister funds around the U.S., we’ll be hosting a briefing on Stepping Stones at the WFN Annual Conference in Seattle.  We’ll be taking it straight from the East Coast to the West Coast—from one Washington (D.C.) to another (State) and we hope you can join us!

We’re really looking forward to sharing our learnings from (and plans for) Stepping Stones.  If you’ll be at the conference, take a look at the briefing description and send us your R.S.V.P. (seating is limited!)–we can’t wait to meet and talk with you about this exciting initiative!

See you in Seattle!

As part of Huffington Post and iVillage’s new Mothers-Daughters Campaign, Melinda Gates spoke out yesterday about the important role women play in changing the world–and that she believes this is largely done these days by improving the lives of women. 

And how it’s crucial that women pass that spirit of giving in the interest of women on to their daughters. 

"It’s so important for women to encourage their daughters to become more engaged in the problems of people in need," Melinda says.  "We know that improving women’s health, by ensuring access to reproductive health services and developing tools to address the unique needs of women, is crucial for improving family health and the health of communities…Our global development work, which is focused on agriculture and financial services, has at its heart the goal of empowering the world’s poorest people - most of them women with young children.  Our daughters will play a crucial role in creating a world where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.  We should be encouraging and nurturing them to do that work well."

And we certainly know that to be true here at The Women’s Foundation, where the return on investment that Melinda speaks about when philanthropists invest in women is ever-present in our work, and in the work of our Grantee Partners. 

Where we know that the investments we’re making today are impacting, changing and improving the lives of the daughters who will follow us.      

While going through some of our photos yesterday, I came across this one, featuring the statement, "We are the leaders we have been waiting for."

This, and Melinda’s statement, got me thinking about the legacy of giving and engagement we will leave today’s girls and young women, and I can’t help but wonder what that will look like. 

I think had you asked my mother when she was growing up what she would have wished different for me, she would have said that she would want me to finish school with more than two career options (those presented to her had been teacher and nurse).

Mission accomplished.  When I graduated, I felt that the world was wide open, and stepped right in.

But I’m sure there were also disappointments.  I think she would have certainly changed many of the challenges she faced economically and in terms of legal and social supports as a single mother–many of which still exist today for women throughout the country (and world).  As a nurse (50-50 odds), I think she would have wanted a world where all women of my generation had access to health insurance, information and care–which is far from reality.  She would probably have hoped that the world would be safer for women of my generation than it is in terms of violence and domestic abuse.  And I think as a nurse and mother of two daughters in the nonprofit sector that she’d have a lot to say about that wage-gap that still afflicts us.   

With every passing generation it seems that women experience victories, while also maintaining many of the same challenges, and often, accepting new ones.

My peers and I see HIV/AIDS as a daily reality and concern–particularly given the many economic, social and power inequities that contribute to its increasing spread among women in minority populations and developing countries–which my mother couldn’t even have concieved as a threat for her daughters’ generation. 

I also worry about the increasing pressure on young women to grow up too fast in terms of their dress, behavior and lifestyle, while my mother probably celebrated how much more freedom her daughters and their girlfriends had in dress, lifestyle and everyday choices than she did.   

And so I ask, what would you wish to be different for your daughters, or the girls who will follow behind us to lead tomorrow?  What fights do you hope they won’t have to fight?  What challenges do you most hope they will view as a mere passing piece of history? 

What issues do you expect them to take on…as activists, as philanthropists, as advocates? 

What will it mean, to them, to serve their communities, countries, the world and women?

And how can we, as the women leading the way, best support them, best inform them, best educate them and best carve for them a pathway to their own leadership and vision? 

As part of our ongoing commitment–in partnership with The Urban Institute–to providing information and resources related to the goals of Stepping Stones, please find below summary of recent research on issues of economic security and financial independence for women and their families.

This research is summarized and compiled for The Women’s Foundation by Kerstin Gentsch of The Urban Institute, NeighborhoodInfo DC.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

Have Middle-Income Parents Improved Their Economic Status?
By Robert I. Lerman
Urban Institute
February 23, 2007

On April 7, Program Officer Nisha Patel discussed Stepping Stones with Jackie Guerra on The Jackie Guerra Show.  To tune in to hear the show, click here! 

Nisha shared the opportunities Stepping Stones provides to low-income women and families throughout our region, with a particular highlight on the YWCA’s Washington Area Women in the Trades (WAWIT) program focusing on access to nontraditional jobs for low-income women.

"Non-traditional occupations, or those that employ fewer than 25 percent women, pay wages that are 20 to 30 percent higher than jobs in the service sector and they are more likely to offer work supports, such as health benefits," explains the YWCA.  

Such work, which the YWCA does in collaboration with the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO and Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), fits perfectly into the strategy of Stepping Stones, a multi-year initiative to build the economic security and financial independence of low-income women and their families throughout our region. 

By funding Grantee Partners and programs (such as WAWIT) that contribute to the economic security of low-income women, Stepping Stones is generating a large return on the philanthropic investment behind it. 

The WAWIT program is a powerful demonstration of that return.  Through its work: 

• The greater Washington metropolitan area will have fewer families living in poverty and more families paying higher income and sales taxes. 
• Within four to six months these newly employed women will have earned income equal to the dollars expended on their training and within as little as five years will have contributed to the tax base a sum equal to the cost of the training. 
• Contractors will have a ready resource of skilled women to meet the demands of their workforce and ensure that their workforce reflects the diversity of the community.
• Area residents will have a compelling reason to support construction and revitalization projects that include a training program that directly benefits the area’s most needy families.
• In five years, over 3,000 women will be provided assistance and over 400 graduates will be prepared for high-skill/ high-wage jobs in the greater Washington metropolitan area.

Goodwill of Greater Washington, also a Grantee Partner, has boasted similar success with nontraditional training programs such as its female construction employment class. 

Yet more stories to think about as we continue to challenge and re-think the reasons behind the ever-present wage-gap and what we, as women working together, can do about it.

Helen LaKelly Hunt says women’s philanthropy rocks. 

Only she says it in more eloquent terms in a commentary this week in Women’s e-News called "Sharing the Wealth: Female Philanthropists Open Up." 

Helen is no stranger to philanthropy, feminism or women’s funds.  She is the founder of The Sister Fund and has been active with her sister, Swanee Hunt, founder of the Hunt Alternatives Fund, in starting and fostering women’s funds throughout the country.  Helen is also the author of Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance. 

Her story is very much one of how giving transforms not only those who receive, but the giver as well, much as Claudia Thorne has shared in her op-ed and on this blog and as has been discussed by Siobhan in our philanthropic education workshops. 

Helen explains in her commentary, "My imagination was set ablaze by the possibilities offered by women’s funds.  My sister Swanee and I both saw these emerging institutions as powerful vehicles for social change as they invited cross-race, cross-class alliances. Not only did grassroots women receive needed financial support and thus became stronger, but donors were transformed as well…While our goal was to empower other women, in the end, it is we who truly have been transformed." 

It is a refrain not at all uncommon in the halls of The Women’s Foundation, or in the other forums where I’ve had the priviledge of participating in women acting and giving on behalf of other women. 

And I have to ask, why does this refrain seem to be so much louder when women give on behalf of other women than it does when giving occurs in general?  Is this a real phenomenon or just a perceived one?  And if it is real, why does it occur? 

It reminds me faintly of the resounding chorus of the returned Peace Corps volunteer told, "I really admire what you did…that was so giving and altruistic," and will invariably dissmissively reply, "Not really, I got far more from it than I gave."

In the case of the volunteer, "what I got" speaks very much to the sense of self-worth, empowerment and confidence that comes from spending time in an environment where every assumption, every idea, every thought about who you think you (and your country, culture and society) are is called into question at least 50 times a day.

Instead of breaking you down, this experience allows you to really get at the heart of your core beliefs about yourself and to own, or disown, those you may have been charged with that no longer fit. 

The person who emerges is therefore stronger, with a sense of self that no longer relies on external assumptions for validation.

What were once accepted as universal truths are tested a social, cultural, economic or emotional assumptions that may or may not hold up under the illumination of a brighter sun in a strange land. 

And I have to wonder if this is perhaps at the heart of the empowerment of women’s funding and philanthropy–and its mutually transformative nature. 

Helen begins her article by expressing her disappointment at having learned that the women’s movement was largely funded by men in the beginning. 

But the movement has come a long way, and women are now holding more than 51 percent of all assets in the country–and are starting to seriously give in the interest of women and girls. 

And perhaps in so doing–in creating a space in which we are able to question and challenge assumptions about ourselves and our society–we have been able to challenge and, where appropriate, discard the biases that have been thrust upon us–and to emerge with a greater sense of our own confidence, empowerment and worth.

As individuals and as a collective. 

For on a large and small scale, women’s philanthropy challenges prior (and current) assumptions held about women:  That we couldn’t, or shouldn’t, manage (or make) money.  Or that investing in the education and training of women wouldn’t yield a significant return.  Or that our realm is the private confines of the home, rather than the public squares of community.

Whatever the assumption, perhaps our philanthropy is its antidote. 

Our way of asserting, through ever dollar granted and every policy changed, that we, as women standing together, are now realizing, acknowledging and investing in our own worth. 

There’s news in Foundation-land of late, as the Foundation Center released a new report this month, Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook, 2007 Edition. 

And the news is generally good.  In short:

• Giving by the nation’s 71,000 grantmaking foundations rose to $40.7 billion in 2006. 
• Independent and family foundations — which account for nearly nine out of ten foundations — raised their giving by 10.3 percent in 2006, representing their first double-digit increase since 2001.
• Corporate foundation giving grew a more modest 6 percent in 2006, following a 16.5 percent jump in 2005.
• Community foundations reported the fastest growth in giving, with funding up 13.2 percent in 2006.
• Foundation assets grew by 10 to 12 percent in 2006.
• Nearly 60 percent of surveyed foundations expect their giving to increase in 2007, and overall funding will likely continue to grow at a double-digit pace.

And an earlier report released by the Foundation Center, Highlights of Giving Trends, 2007 Edition, allows us to see where all those gains are going. 

I will, of course, look with an eye towards giving to women and girls.  Let’s see what we find:

• International affairs and the environment showed the largest gains in funding.
• Education and health benefited from largest shares of grant dollars.
• Human services led by share of number of grants.
• Children and youth accounted for largest share of grant dollars and grants in 2005.
• Funding for the economically disadvantaged declined to $2.6 billion, down from a record $3.1 billion in 2004.
• Among beneficiary groups, single parents, substance abusers, and military & veterans experienced fastest growth in giving in the latest year.

Nothing specifically on women and girls there, but never fear, the data exists.

Here, we see that:

• Women and girls received 8 percent of funding from the 100 largest foundations and 4.3 percent from 1,054 other foundations.  (Funding specific to men and boys received .9 and 1.6 percent respectively).
• The highest group of recipients was children and youth 19.7 percent, followed by the economically disadvantaged at 18.2 percent among the 100 largest foundations. 

More information on individual numbers of grants and dollar amounts for specific populations can be found here.

And there you have it, the current picture of grantmaking, and particularly in terms of women and girls. 

I must say, it doesn’t strike me as particularly proportional, given that:

• The National Poverty Center finds that poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic.  In 2004, 28.4 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 13.5 percent of households headed by single men and 5.5 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty. 
• The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that nearly 20 percent of women are uninsured and women remain less likely than men to be eligible for and participate in their employer’s health plan and are more vulnerable to losing insurance due to divorce or the death of their spouse than men.
• According to the CDC, women account for more than 25 percent of new HIV infections, with African American women being particularly affected.  
• The WHO reports that mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder are more common in women for a number of reasons.  Most women (and men) are never diagnosed or treated for mental health disorders, which account for significant burdens of mortality and disability.     
• And then, of course, there’s that ever-present wage-gap. 

(For the regional statistics, which show similar trends, please see our Portrait Project.) 

Back in October, Anne asked us, "Where’s the money?" and cited some of the amazing things that could, can and are being done as a result of applying funding with a gender lens.  Things largely occuring because of the generosity of women coming together with their philanthropic dollars on behalf of other women. 

What we call around here the power of giving together.

So, while the giving picture is getting increasingly brighter, there’s definitely room to ensure that more of that light is invested in women and girls–where we’ve seen at The Women’s Foundation and throughout the U.S. and internationally that doing so is an investment in communities, nations and a better world all around.