I never considered myself a philanthropist until I attended The Women’s Foundation’s 2010 Leadership Luncheon. That was the day that I discovered there’s something for everyone who wants to give at The Foundation.
I have been a professional fundraiser for over 20 years. I work with non-profit organizations to help them build stronger, more effective fundraising programs. I love raising money for causes in which I believe.
When you come down to it, fundraising is about two things: passion and relationships. In order to be a part of an organization, to give your hard-earned money, you must feel passionate about the cause. And with that passion, you will develop a relationship to the organization, both with the people doing the work and others who, like you, support the organization because of their passion. These relationships grow and mushroom over time, bringing more people into the organization’s sphere, thereby bolstering its fundraising abilities.
Like most people, I have a few causes to which I am dedicated. However, working in the non-profit world and not being a person who comes from wealth, I have a very limited ability to give money in sums that I think will make a real difference. While I believe in the axiom that every dime counts, I also am a realist and understand that it takes large sums of money from a few dedicated philanthropists to achieve the change we are looking for.
As such, I have never considered myself a philanthropist. Until now.
On October 14th, I attended Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s annual Leadership Luncheon. I have attended many of their luncheons since they were founded, including the very first event The Women’s Foundation held a decade ago at which they made their first set of grants to a group of small but effective non-profit organizations helping women and girls in our community.
I have always wanted to be a part of The Foundation, but didn’t know how I could fit in.
Today, Washington Area Women’s Foundation is a giant in the philanthropy community of Washington, DC. Last year, they gave more than a million dollars in grants to a wide range of organizations, and they sustain a number of programs to engage their donors in their work. They don’t subscribe to the outdated belief that grant making should be conducted behind closed doors with a few members of a prestigious board making the decisions. The Women’s Foundation truly believes that philanthropy should be a community project, and invites women from all sectors and strata of our community to participate.
Sitting at my host’s table at the luncheon, listening to one of The Foundation’s Grantee Partners offer a heartbreaking and heartwarming story of how the support of The Women’s Foundation made a difference to one individual, who has subsequently made a difference in the lives of the 1100 individuals sitting in that room, I realized the power of partnership. The speaker was building a relationship with each one of us listening to her story, and she was compelling the large majority of us to pick up an envelope and give.
I was hooked. It was the first time in my 20 year+ career as a fundraiser that I felt like I was truly sitting on the other side of the ask, and that someone really needed my help. It was relationship-building writ large. But it was also relationship building writ small.
Because I sat there and joined Washington Area Women’s Foundation’s 1K Club. I am going to give $1,000 over two years so that I can be a part of this work and this movement to help women and girls in our community. I have worked for many organizations that have focused on women’s issues; now I am going to give back to one as a donor and a volunteer. I want to be someone who can make a difference.
I want to be a philanthropist. And Washington Area Women’s Foundation believes that that’s just what I can be.
Karen Paul-Stern is the principal of KPS Development.
