Have you ever noticed that when someone wins a Grammy or an Oscar, they always thank the myriad of people who have supported them along the way?  Sometimes they go on a bit too long and the music begins to play, but they almost always utter, “I just want to thank my mom.”

Well, that’s how I’m feeling this week.

We’ve just announced that The Women’s Foundation hit our goal of granting $1.1 million this year to organizations working to improve the lives of women and girls—a major milestone in this economy.

And we certainly didn’t do it alone!

There are countless individuals, organizations, foundations, and corporations who helped us along the way.

So here are my thank you’s (and please don’t play the music until I finish):

• Our donors, who fuel this important work and enable us to make our dreams a reality;
• Our volunteers, who spent hours of their time reading proposals, conducting site visits and agonizing over the final decisions;
• Our current and former board members, who have extraordinary vision and commitment to our mission;
• Our staff, who poured over hundreds of proposals and had the difficult task of sometimes saying no;
• Our Grantee Partners, who are on the frontlines every day striving to improve the lives of women and girls; and,
• Of course, my mother, who inspires me each and every day.

Thank you!  We couldn’t do it without you!

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is The Women’s Foundation’s Vice President, Programs.

And, on the heels of our announcement of $400,000 in new grants and more information on how women are increasingly impacting philanthropy,The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that grants for women and girls are growing faster than other foundation giving.

The Chronicle writes, "Giving by grant makers who specifically focus on helping women and girls has grown more rapidly in recent years than giving by all foundations, according to a new study released today by the Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network."

Sweet.

Though there is still a lot of work to be done.  As The Chronicle reports, "As a share of all foundation grant making, grants to benefit women and girls reached a high of 7.4 percent in 2000 and 2003 and has hovered between 5 and 6 percent since 1990."

7.4 percent.  As the high.

Given that we’re still half of the population, that isn’t nearly enough.

Still, progress is progress. 

And while this is a reminder of how far we have yet to go, it’s also an inspiring tribute to how far we’ve come, and how possible change is.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

As school lets out for the summer, there are many proud moments to celebrate, whether it’s a graduation milestone, a decent report card or the beginning of something new.

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we’re celebrating meeting an ambitious goal: maintaining our grantmaking as we close out the fiscal year!  With our most recent approval of grants, we hit our goal of granting $1.1 million to nonprofits working to improve the lives of women and girls in our region.

Our Stepping Stones grants support critical work in the areas of financial education, job training and early care and education, all of which provide the essential tools and support needed to assist low-income women and their families during these tough economic times.

Organizations like Community Tax Aid, Doorways for Women and Families, and Manna, Inc. will continue their work with low-income, women-headed families by providing them with the financial education and tax prep assistance needed to start them on a path of economic success.

SOME and Year Up are providing the job training that is essential to putting women on a career pathway.

Food stamps are an important work support and play a critical role in moving a women and her family out of poverty.  DC Hunger Solutions will continue its advocacy work to ensure that eligible women and their children are receiving food stamps.

Another key work support is access to quality child care. Montgomery College Foundation, Prince George’s Child Resource Center and WETA will work to improve the quality of early care and education.

Now more than ever, nonprofit organizations face a myriad of challenges and navigating complex systems can be overwhelming. The Human Services Coalition of Prince George’s County will work to improve public policies so they enhance, rather than hinder, the effectiveness of the work nonprofits do on behalf of low-income, women-headed families in Prince George’s County.

Through our Open Door Capacity Fund, we’re funding capacity building work that aims to shore up the long-term sustainability of organizations. This work is essential to ensuring that these organizations have the necessary resources to address key organizational and operational improvements, while maintaining the much-needed services they provide to our region’s at-risk women and girls.

Please take a moment to review our most recent grants and take pride knowing that together we’re making a difference in the lives of women and girls in our community.

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is the Vice President, Programs at The Women’s Foundation.

As a follow-on to today’s earlier post on how women are increasingly driving charitable giving, I couldn’t help but also post this link to a Feministing post by Miriam, on her own personal giving.

I was grabbed by Miriam’s description of her own personal giving not only because she describes her motivations honestly (the economy, being involved with nonprofits), but also because she explains how her own perception of philanthropy has changed from including just the uber-wealthy to encompassing regular people just like her.

Miriam writes, "When I used to think of philanthropy, I’d think of really really rich people giving huge sums of money. The culture of giving has changed, thanks to online donation programs and groups like MoveOn.org or the Obama campaign, who encouraged people to give even small amounts understanding that if many people did, it would make a big impact."

Pretty much exactly what we aim to do through The Power of Giving Together. 

How refreshing to have it described so eloquently by a young feminist out there doing her own thoughtful, philanthropic thing.

Thanks for the inspiration, Miriam.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

The In Good Company blog took some time yesterday to explore how women are impacting the world of philanthropy, with some interesting findings I thought I’d share to get the week started:

First, In Good Company reports, last year, anonymous donations were made to at least 20 universities.  All were earmarked for scholarships for women and minorities and were all given to schools whose presidents are currently women.  Mysteriously cool.  Speculation is that these donations are coming from a woman, or group of women, which is great.

But I still have to ask–why anonymously?  Why not proudly attach names to these empowering gifts for women?

Then, did you know that single women are more likely to give more than single men? 

Fascinating, given that still, single, women-headed households are far more likely to be living in poverty, and that women are still earning less than men. 

So I guess it makes sense then that when women are married, they influence their husbands to give more than they would if left to their own devices. 

We’ve seen how a few of those stories might be happening among our donors.

So, married or single, it seems the increasing reality is that women are giving more, influencing giving more and generally changing the philanthropic landscape as we know it. 

To get plugged into this powerful movement in the Washington metropolitan area, learn more about our work here.  Elsewhere?  Find your local women’s fund through the Women’s Funding Network.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Every year, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington chooses our region’s best, brightest and most promising nonprofits to feature. 

The list is a prestigious one given that organizations are vetted by a diverse, knowledgeable group of stakeholders throughout the community who know our region, its issues and the organizations and work that is making a difference–much like the volunteer committees and giving circles that participate in The Women’s Foundation’s grantmaking processes.

Not only is The Women’s Foundation proud to have a number of staff members who volunteer on the review committee, but each year, we are always thrilled to see our own Grantee Partners make the list!

Last year, there was a lot of overlap, and this year is no different.  Today, when the Catalogue of Philanthropy: Greater Washington Class of 2009-2010 was announced, we were proud to note the following Grantee Partners listed:

Centro Familia, which engages immigrant families in early care and education
Urban Alliance Foundation, which facilitates year-long professional internship opportunities for at-risk youth
ASHA for Women, which empowers South Asian women to live free of abuse
Through the Kitchen Door International, which provides life and employment skills training that changes trainees’ lives
Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE), which provides legal, economic, counseling and educational services for domestic violence victims
Pregnancy Aid Center, which provides prenatal and health care for women and newborns in need
Doorways for Women and Families, which provides shelter and services for homeless families and domestic violence survivors
Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition, a transitional and supportive housing program serving homeless and low-income people
Tahirih Justice Center, which protects immigrant women and girls who are fleeing gender-based violence
Computer C.O.R.E., which provides job-readiness training in computer and life skills for low-income adults
Jubilee Jobs, which provides compassionate, skilled job placement and ongoing support
STRIVE DC, an employment program transforming the lives of disadvantaged people in Washington, D.C.

The Women’s Foundation is proud to partner with these organizations doing outstanding work on behalf of our region’s women and girls, and congratulates them and all of the 2009-2010 Catalogue Class, which represents the effective, innovative work The Women’s Foundation is proud to support throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

Well, the Interwebs are certainly all abuzz this week with talk of women’s philanthropy.  And the talk is good.

First, a Fidelity study shows that women are shaping the future of philanthropy.

Okay, we knew that.

But still, the report shows a number of positive, exciting new trends, such as that women are growing more comfortable giving with their name attached now, are being increasingly innovative in their philanthropic choices and are increasingly making decisions for how their households will give.

Additionally, Tactical Philanthropy featured a post, "Six Principles of Women’s High Engagement Philanthropy," which outlines the six principles (well worth a read) and offers the following introductory insight from Alice Eagly of Northwestern University, who says, "Women are transformational leaders while men are more likely to be transactional leaders."

Just like we’ve known at The Women’s Foundation for years: women are all about giving "beyond the check." 

Give and Take summarizes these discussions well here.

These pieces are exciting because they confirm what those of us practicing women’s philanthropy have long known to be true, as well as demonstrating that the movement is growing rapidly and with energy, despite the economic downturn and the many challenges it brings with it.

Indeed, as the song says that is so often heard at graduation ceremonies of our Grantee Partners’ job training and other programs, "Ain’t no stoppin’ us now."

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.

My friend Nanci came out as a philanthropist the other day.

We were talking about how she had manifested a miracle for a friend in need.  In our conversation I shared with her that philanthropy is really the love of humankind and it manifests when you express this. She was surprised to learn that philanthropy is not just a place for folks with lots of money who write checks to charity. 

We talked about using one’s time, talent, and treasure to lift people up and that this was the true essence of philanthropy.

So Nanci’s friend was in need.  Dealing with cancer, she needed a shower seat to support her low energy and fragile body while bathing. After being told she was too young to get one from the senior center, she called Nanci in tears and at the end of her rope. Nanci assured her it would all work out and that there was a solution and she would help. While they were on the phone, Nanci was en route to a Chamber of Commerce event driving through the rain when she saw an object on the side of the road. Amazingly, it was a shower seat.

Nanci proceeded to pull out her phone to show me the photo she took of her bike rack holding this shower seat.

She was in awe of the power of the moment and the gift the universe gave to her friend.  We talked more about what she does for work (Nanci is a massage therapist.), and how she is often holding the space for philanthropy – the love of humankind.

I often share in fundraising seminars about how I ask people to ‘come out’ about being a philanthropist.  When you have a story and a name of someone who has made a tremendous donation that often will inspire others to step up and give.

I would mean it in a genuine way as a lesbian who has watched people come out in many settings. I personally understand the charged energy of what that means to some people.

I find it energizing to encourage people to move out of their comfort zone of whatever they identify as and truly own new places in the world.  Last month at a conference on Sport, Sexuality and Culture at Ithaca College, I asked the mostly gay and lesbian audience to come out as social change leaders.

So Nanci – thanks for coming out and we welcome you to the safe, loving space of philanthropy.  We are honored you are on our team!

Tuti Scott is a point guard who still plays in a weekly basketball game to remind herself of the leadership skills learned from sport. Her company, Imagine Philanthropy, helps strengthen the brand and capacity of organizations and provides leadership coaching for nonprofit executives and philanthropists.  This post originally appeared on her blog on April 29, 2009.

I am blessed to have many mothers in my life.

My mother-in-law, Flicky Hartman, will get on a plane at a moment’s notice, bad knees and all, to help take care of my three sons. She tries to limit herself to two suitcases (She knows I’ll poke fun at her if she packs a different pair of cute shoes for every outfit, but you can be sure she has them at home.), yet she manages to look gorgeous, even while she’s elbow-deep in little boys. She remembers every detail, from which kid doesn’t like ketchup to the names of the moms on the soccer sidelines to which color towels would look perfect in my powder room. And although she was very properly brought up by old-world parents, she tells a great racy joke.

My grandmother Dorothy Roberts, age 90, is one of the smartest women I know. I have discussed countless books with her (She has more patience for introspective, slow moving novels than I do.) and she got me hooked on crosswords. I do not share her talent for needlework, but I proudly display hers in my house. And although I love a good chase scene too much to share her anti-Hollywood movie snobbery, I do admire her highbrow taste in films.

My other grandmother, Lindy Boggs, age 93, can also tell a pretty good racy joke. And even when you sit in her lovely apartment, surrounded by photos of her with world leaders, she wants you to know how important you are. She is unfailingly positive, complimentary, life-affirming, and generous. She even thinks misbehaving little boys are hilarious. She also thinks it’s pretty funny when I hiss at them to mind their manners.

And my own mother, Cokie Roberts…well, it seems limiting to call her my mother. The number of people she mothers at any given time is uncountable. With her work for Save the Children, she has taken her mothering skills global. My mother will, on any given day, do a radio interview, write a chapter of a book, take her mother-in-law to the doctor, counsel a young friend, give a speech, roast a leg of lamb, take the car in for service, let my four-year-old tag along to a board meeting, stop by a friend’s book party, take her mother to a charity event, and write a newspaper column. Oh, and look spectacular doing it.  It makes me tired just to write about it.  But instead of making me worry I will never live up to that standard, she is constantly telling me how impressed she is with me, what a good mother I am, how good I am at my job, how pretty I look.  She is extraordinary.

What to give this crowd for Mothers’ Day?

How can another scarf or purse or photo of my boys possibly honor their motherhood?

Luckily, The Women’s Foundation’s Mothers’ Day card was exactly what I wanted – a way to help women and girls who have not been as fortunate as I have, in the names of these remarkable women.

When the card came in the mail, I asked for three more!

And now, all four of the mothers in my life (and my boys’ lives, and my husband’s life, and yours, too, if you let them meddle) can get a tiny taste of how much they mean to me.

I hope to make it an annual tradition. (Right now, at least two of them are reading this and worrying I won’t send any more photos of the boys. Don’t worry, I’ll keep ‘em coming.)

To honor the amazing women in your life, click here.

Rebecca Roberts is a co-chair of The Women’s Foundation’s 1K Club and a member of the Washington 100 network.

It’s that time again–for the Leadership Awards online vote!

A committed group of volunteers has selected the 10 outstanding Leadership Awardees for 2009, who are doing innovative, effective work serving the health and safety of women and girls in our region.  Each awardee has received $10,000 to help fuel their work.

Now, it’s your turn to get involved!

Vote today for one of these 10 organizations and the one with the most votes by 5 p.m. on March 30, 2009 will win an additional $5,000!

What do you think is the most important strategy supporting the health and safety of our region’s women and girls? 

After-school programs for at-risk girls?  Advocacy for domestic violence survivors?  Support and assistance for elderly women?  Fighting human trafficking?  Job training programs that teach not only the skills for employment but how to cook healthy, nutritious meals?

Each of these strategies, and more, is represented by the 2009 Leadership Awardees.  Learn more about them and then cast your ballot here! 

Then, stop back by this blog and let us know who you voted for and why.  Help make the case for the organization and strategies that you think are best serving our region’s women and girls!

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.