With only two weeks left in the school year, yesterday my daughter’s third grade class in Fairfax County began week one of their Cities program.  Now, you might be wondering what the Cities program is. 

I asked myself that same question when my daughter began excitedly telling me about it.  The more I learned, the more intrigued I became.

Essentially, each third grade class is turned into a “city” for a few hours a day.  My daughter now resides in “Cougar County” and was both thrilled and concerned to learn that she would receive a 100 Zapper (equivalent to the dollar) loan from the mayor to begin her residency in Cougar County, but would have to pay back the loan at the end of the two weeks.  She received a check book and quickly learned how to write checks, make deposits in the Green Place Bank, and balance her checkbook.

There were many decisions that needed to be made.

First, which job would she apply for? She carefully weighed her options: mayor’s assistant, banker, police officer, maintenance, newspaper editor, government, or private sector. She opted for the private sector and decided she wanted to be an entrepreneur (much to the chagrin of her dad, a lifelong bureaucrat).

Her second decision: how much to charge for her products? As an entrepreneur, she was required to submit a project proposal to be approved by the mayor. She carefully calculated her supply fees (20 Zappers per week) and rental fees (10 Zappers per week) to assist her in determining the price of her products (homemade clay animals and friendship rings—absolutely worth every Zapper if you ask her very unbiased mom).

Third decision: should she purchase the optional health insurance and optional business insurance at 10 Zappers per policy per week? 

This is where she hit her stumbling block.

The mayor informed the citizens that each day a medical disaster or a business disaster would randomly hit one citizen.  The cost if you were not insured—250 Zappers.

Lengthy discussions ensued as she weighed the decision.  What if she couldn’t sell enough of her products to pay for the supply and rental fees?  Would she have any Zappers to shop in Cougar County?  Could she repay the 100 Zapper loan?  How could she afford the insurance if her products didn’t sell?  How could she afford to pay 250 Zappers if she was uninsured and hit by a disaster?

While the scenario my daughter faces in Cougar County is merely a third grade lesson plan, unfortunately, it is a stark reality for thousands of women and their families in the Washington metropolitan area.

According to The Portrait Project, low-income, women-headed families are the most economically vulnerable population in the Washington metropolitan area–57 percent of families living in poverty in the region are women-headed households. 

They are living one paycheck, one car repair, or one medical crisis away from disaster.

A recent report from the Urban Institute stated, “Savings and assets can cushion families against sudden income loss, increase economic independence, and bolster long-term economic gains.”  And yet, 24 percent of low-income families do not hold bank accounts, 35 percent do not own cars, 90 percent have no retirement account, and 60 percent do not own homes, leaving them with nothing to fall back on when hard times hit.

We’ve all seen the recent headlines, “Rising Prices Hit Home for Food Stamp Recipients,” “Jobless Claims Jump 25 Percent from ’07 in N. Va,” “Economic Troubles Multiply Requests for Help in DC Area.”

Gas and food are at record prices. Foreclosures are increasing. Unemployment rates have reached new highs. By all accounts, hard times are here.

So then, what does it mean to be one step away from a financial crisis?

To get a better sense of what it takes to truly survive economically in the Washington metropolitan area, I consulted the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency (FESS) Standard, a tool created by one of our Grantee Partners, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW).  The standard “estimates the level of income necessary for a given family type—whether working now or making the transition to work—to be independent of welfare and/or other public and private subsidies.”

You might be surprised to learn that according to WOW, the 2005 self-sufficiency standard for a single mother with an infant and a preschooler living in D.C. was $53,634. That’s what it would take to cover the family’s basic needs (housing, child care, transportation, food, health care, miscellaneous expenses, and taxes). 

Compare that to the federal poverty guidelines, which calculate the poverty level for a family of three at $16,090. If that same mother works full-time making minimum wage in Washington, DC, she would earn just $19,322.

If you earn 36 percent of what is necessary to provide for your family’s basic needs, what exactly constitutes “hard times”?  Aren’t you already there?

As my daughter struggled to make her decisions about Cities, I asked her think about this reality.

What would it be like to come home from school to discover she had to move out of the only home she’s ever known and not be sure where she’s going?  What would it be like to live on $1 per meal per day?  What if she had no health insurance and the three trips to the pediatrician that we’ve made in the last two weeks for her bronchitis threw our family into debt?

She had no answers to my questions.

And so when my daughter came home last night, I was anxiously awaiting her final decision. Did she purchase the insurance or did she decide it was simply too expensive?

In the end, she opted to purchase both the health and business insurance.  But, concerned that she wouldn’t be able to pay back her Zappers loan, she stayed up late to make additional clay animals to sell the next morning.

Yes, it’s a simple third grade lesson plan, but imagine if it were real.

Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat is a Program Officer at The Women’s Foundation

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.

Financial Education and Wealth Creation News

The Cost of Maintaining Ownership in the Current Crisis: Comparisons in Twenty Cities
By Dean Baker, Danilo Pelletiere and Hye Jin Rho
Center for Economic and Policy Research
April 2008

The collapse of the bubble in the U.S. housing market is creating chaos in financial markets, while throwing the economy into a recession. It is also threatening millions of homeowners and renters with the loss of their homes. This paper compares ownership and rental costs in twenty major metropolitan areas.

Key Findings:

• In many markets, homeownership costs are in line with rental costs. In these areas, it is practical and desirable to focus on policies that keep homeowners in their homes.
• Prices are now falling rapidly in many of these markets; homeowners are unlikely to accumulate equity. In fact, it is likely that many homeowners will end up selling their homes for less than their outstanding mortgage, even if new mortgages are issued with substantial write-downs from the original mortgage.
• In bubble-inflated markets, homeownership is not only a costly and risky proposition, but continuing price declines mean that homeowners will not accrue any equity.
• A policy of ensuring suitable rental options is likely to be more helpful to many current homeowners. This policy can encourage the rapid conversion of vacant and abandoned units to rental properties, as well as policies that facilitate the conversion of ownership units to rental units for the same households.
• Many of the properties facing foreclosure are already rental properties. In these cases, foreclosures often result in the displacement of the current tenants. Congress should recognize this problem and consider policies that provide greater security to tenants in such situations.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text

Jobs and Business Ownership News

Hometown Prosperity: Increasing Opportunity for DC’s Low-Income Working Families
DC Appleseed and DC Fiscal Policy Institute
January 2008 (Released April 14, 2008)

This report describes working poor families with children in the District and the barriers they face to economic advancement, and lays out essential policy changes that could improve their situation.

Key findings and Policy Recommendations:

• Nearly one in three working families in the District was poor in 2005.
• In fact, a higher proportion of working families in the District is poor compared to the proportion of working families in neighboring states or in the nation as a whole.
• Enhance access to community college educational offerings for its residents by encouraging and developing regional partnerships and/or investing in the creation of a local community college as a branch of or separate from the University of DC.
• Make a priority of raising wages in women-dominated sectors and moving women into non-traditional careers.
• Set wage and benefit standards for all economic development programs.
• Implement paid sick leave for all District workers and consider developing a paid disability/family leave program.
• Continue to address the affordable housing crisis in the city, and promote housing for low-income families that takes into account access to transportation, jobs, and educational resources.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text

Human Capital and Women’s Business Ownership
By Darrene Hackler, Ellen Harpel, and Heike Mayer
Small Business Administration- Office of Advocacy
April 2008

This article begins to shed light on the relationship between different elements of human capital and self-employment among women.

Key Findings:

• The study finds that self-employed women have more education and increased their educational attainment at a faster rate compared to other working women.
• The percentage of self-employed women in managerial occupations consistently exceeded the rate for other working women, and self-employed women participated in different industries than other working women.
• More self-employed men hold an advanced degree compared to self-employed women over the study period, but the gap narrowed considerably by 2006.
• Self-employed minorities were slightly more likely than self-employed whites to have a college degree throughout much of the study period.
• Earnings data show that the self-employed were most likely to be either in the first (lowest) or fourth (highest) quartile.
• A lower percentage of self-employed women hold managerial occupations than do self-employed men, and there are lower rates of self-employment in industries where there is less overall female participation (such as communications, transportation, wholesale trade, manufacturing, and construction).

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text

Child Care and Early Education News

Planning for Quality Schools: Meeting the Needs of District Families
By David F. Garrison, Marni D. Allen, Margery Austin Turner, Jennifer Comey, Barika X. Williams, Elizabeth Guernsey, Mary Filardo, Nancy Huvendick, and Ping Sung
Brookings Institution, The Urban Institute, and 21st Century School Fund
April 24, 2008

This report is the first phase of a three-part project to help the District of Columbia create a firm analytical basis for planning for quality schools to meet the needs of the city’s families.

Key Findings:

• The District’s population has increased since 2000; the total number of school-age children has declined slightly. Conditions in both the housing market and the public school system contribute to this trend.
• The District’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, with rising numbers of whites and Hispanics and a declining share of blacks. Still, the District remains highly segregated along both racial and income lines. The populations of Wards 7 and 8 are over 90 percent black, while nearly all of the city’s white residents live in Wards 2 and 3. And in 2006, median household income for the city’s white residents was $92,000, almost three times as high as the $34,000 median household income of the city’s blacks.
• Almost half of all white public school students live in Ward 3, and almost none live East of the River. In contrast, more than half of all black public school students live East of the River, while Hispanic students are heavily concentrated in Wards 1 and 4.
• There are 234 public schools and distinct public school programs in the District serving pre-school students through adults without high school diplomas, a significant expansion of supply since 1997.
• In 2006-07, 72, 378 students were enrolled in DCPS and public charter schools, close to the same number as the previous year, but substantially lower than a decade earlier. Since 1997-98, the number of students attending DCPS schools has dropped by almost one-third, while public charter enrollment has grown by over 400 percent.
• In 2006-07, there were 10,857 public special education students in the District, just over 15 percent of all public school students. This is on the high end compared to other high-poverty urban school districts. Special education students, like the general student population, are concentrated East of the River, and a disproportionate share of black public school students are classified as special education students (compared to white and Hispanic public school students).

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text

The Impact of the Mortgage Crisis on Children and Their Education
By Julia B. Isaacs and Phillip Lovell
Brookings Institution
April 2008

By examining past research, this article examines the potential impacts of these foreclosures on children are their education, behavior and health.

Key Findings:

• Research shows that children who experience excessive mobility, such as those impacted by the mortgage crisis, will suffer in school.
• The National Assessment of Educational Progress (known as the Nation’s Report Card) has found that students with two or more school changes in the previous year are half as likely to be proficient in reading as their stable peers.
• One study found that frequent movers were 77 percent more likely than children who have not moved to have four or more behavior problems.
• One study found that working families spending more than half of their income on housing have less money available than other families to spend on such crucial items as health care and health insurance
• The mortgage crisis is more than a blow to our economy. It is crippling our children, their education, and as a result, the nation’s future. And while our government is working to alleviate the financial damage caused by this calamity, the impact on the nation’s children is going unnoticed. As economists focus on solving the problem, policy-makers must make an effort to mitigate the damage of this disaster on our young people.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text 

Health and Safety News

Medicaid, SCHIP and Economic Downturn: Policy Challenges and Policy Responses
Kaiser Family Foundation
April, 28 2008

Examines the implications of a downturn for health coverage and state programs and projects the impact of one percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate on Medicaid and SCHIP and the number of uninsured individuals.

Key Findings:

• Economic Downturns Increase Medicaid Enrollment and Spending - This analysis shows that a 1 percentage point rise in the national unemployment rate would increase Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment by 1 million (600,000 children and 400,000 non-elderly adults) and cause the number of uninsured to grow by 1.1 million.
• Economic Downturns Reduce State Revenues - Medicaid and SCHIP are also affected by state revenue declines. Recent Urban Institute research shows that a 1 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate causes state General Fund revenue to drop by 3 to 4 percent below expected levels. 
• State Policy Responses Can Worsen Cyclical Downturns - Unlike the federal government, almost all states are legally required to balance their budgets. To meet this requirement in times of economic stress, states may take such steps as tapping reserves, borrowing from trust funds, securitizing future revenue streams, delaying spending from one fiscal year to the next, etc.
• Congress May Consider Options to Better Target Federal Relief - As states enter a new economic downturn, policymakers could consider three basic options for fiscal relief. One approach would, like JGTRRA, provide a uniform increase in Medicaid matching rates to all states, for a specified time. 
• Federal Fiscal Relief Can Prevent Medicaid Cuts During Economic Downturns - As a new economic downturn unfolds, many states appear headed for serious budget shortfalls. The federal government does not have balanced budget requirements, so it has the flexibility to target supplemental funds to states during an economic downturn, preventing harmful and ill-timed cuts in health coverage.

Abstract, introduction and key findings
Full text

Other News and Research

Women in the Wake of the Storm: Examining the Post-Katrina Realities of the Women of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast
By Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
April 2008

This report tells the stories of women post-Katrina and, in so doing, provides an analysis of women’s increased vulnerability during times of disaster, and discusses how the experiences of women affected by Katrina align with the experiences of women around the world who have experienced other large-scale crises. It also provides a race/class/gendered analysis of women’s post-Katrina experiences, with a special emphasis on what they are doing now to rebuild their lives, reconstruct their homes, restore their families, and reclaim their communities.  It tells the story of Katrina from the eyes of the women who lived through it.

Key findings:

• Most of those with whom the author spoke with seemed relieved that other people wanted to know what they had been through, how they had survived, and what they were doing now to keep on keeping on. Nearly every woman bemoaned the fact that their voices had not been heard and as a result, their stories have been left untold.
• In conversations with women in and around New Orleans, three primary issues remained at the forefront of their concerns: housing, healthcare, and economic well-being. Each of these issues had multiple and often interlocking reverberations on their lives. All of those with whom we spoke expressed a deep commitment to their communities and desire to face any remaining challenges; however, our contacts’ health, sense of security, and for some even that small but persistent kernel of sustaining hope all have been jeopardized by the slow pace of recovery and the prolonged lack of normalcy.

Policy Recommendations:

• Make affordable housing a top priority. The safety of women and girls remain in jeopardy with each day that severe housing shortages go unaddressed.
• Incorporate women in the rebuilding economy through non-traditional training and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Women by and large have been shut out of the most lucrative aspects of the rebuilding economy and have suffered as a result.
• Increase the availability and quality of child care and schools. As the population of the region continues to expand, so does the need for child care and educational institutions.
• Address both physical and mental health care needs, especially among the most needy. Health care post-Katrina, for many, has become yet another disaster.

Full text

To kick off our bi-monthly “Lunch and Learn” seminar series, the DC Women’s Agenda (DCWA) sponsored a presentation in March by Dr. Shannon Hader, Senior Deputy Director of the DC Department of Health, HIV/AIDS Administration, on: “Disturbing Data on HIV/AIDS and DC Women”.
 
Dr. Hader opened the presentation by explaining that the discussion concerning HIV/AIDS in D.C. has changed because of updated statistics on the disease.  Before 2007, we were relying on statistics from 2002; now we have the opportunity to see what is really going on with HIV/AIDS in D.C. and around the country.

The data showed that D.C. has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the country; two times higher than New York City and four times that of Detroit, Michigan. One third of HIV/AIDS cases are due to heterosexual intercourse and one fourth are due to male-male intercourse.

The numbers show that no one is protected because of their socio-economic status, education, sexual orientation or gender.  In Wards 7 and 8, the ratio of males to females infected with HIV/AIDS is 50/50.  In other Wards, it is closer to 70 percent males and 30 percent women.

The number of women and girls getting this disease is on the rise.

Dr. Hader discussed the fact that women are uniquely impacted by this disease because they bring babies into the world. Astonishingly, D.C. babies with HIV/AIDS make up 9 percent of the nation-wide HIV/AIDS babies.  Dr. Hader believes that part of the problem is that the health care system is not providing the necessary comprehensive services to raise awareness and prevent the growth of HIV/AIDS.  Physicians need to be routinely testing for HIV/AIDS in the same way that they take a patient’s blood pressure.  There should be signs in doctors’ offices reminding women to get tested, as well as in TANF and Medicaid offices.

The participants at the DCWA meeting grappled with the issue of sex education in schools. Data shows that 10-15 percent of 13 year-olds had sex before they were 11.  Next year, Metro Teen AIDS will provide HIV/AIDS training for all 10th graders and school nurses. This is a step in the right direction. The more HIV/AIDS testing is normalized, the more often it will occur. Early education and testing has proven fruitful. The data indicates 20 year-olds that have been tested once are more likely to be tested again.

Over 50 people were in attendance and the participants continued to want more information. The DCWA, based on requests during this presentation, is exploring the idea of a half day forum on the topic.

If you are interested in becoming involved in this issue or DCWA in general, please contact Debbie Billet-Roumell at DBRoumell@wowonline.org or 202.464.1596. We welcome your involvement!

Debbie Billet-Roumel is Coordinator of the DC Women’s Agenda, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  DCWA is a local advocacy and policy coalition whose primary goal is to promote the advancement, equality, and well-being for all women and girls in D.C. In alternating months, the agenda will sponsor a speaker to discuss current issues impacting women and girls in the District.  To learn more about upcoming educational forums or to get involved with DCWA, contact Debbie Billet-Roumell at DBRoumell@wowonline.org or at 202.464.1596.

Last year, a number of staff here at The Women’s Foundation participated in the Food Stamp Challenge–living for a week on the food budget allocated to individuals on food stamps–generally about $1 per meal per person. 

A year ago, our staffers and others participating in the challenge found it extremely, well, challenging.  (For more of our staff blogs on the challenge, click here.)

Almost a full year later, though, the challenge of living on food stamps has become even more difficult, as Chris Jenkins outlines in yesterday’s Washington Post article, "Rising Prices Hit Home for Food Stamp Recipients."

It’s no surprise that the woman interviewed in the article is a working single mother–a divorced mother of two.  She had her salary cut in half when she was laid off as a receptionist and had to take a job as home health aid.  She says in the Post, "Our life has changed…My kids notice the changes, there’s no doubt about it.  There are things I can’t buy anymore, little things like desserts, or if I say we have to be careful how much we eat. It’s not just them; we all feel it. We all notice."

Earlier this month, CNN documented a similar story about another local woman who skimps on her own food to feed her young daughter.

The rising costs are a national issue, but in the Washington metropolitan region, families are feeling it even more than in most places around the country.  The article explains that food prices in this region are eight percent higher than the national average.  For example, a pound of ground beef averaged $3.33 for a Washington area shopper, compared with $2.64 nationally. That’s a difference of 26 percent. A dozen eggs were 10 percent higher, while a 10-pound bag of potatoes cost 40 percent more.

As costs rise and food stamp allocations fail to keep up, more families face the consequences of food insecurity–poor nutrition, a decreasing ability to focus at school, work and other activities, and overall poorer health–not to mention the added mental stress of worrying and calculating to try to get the family food budget to stretch as far as possible. 

And who is affected? 

According to Capital Area Food Bank, half of all households in Washington, D.C. receiving food stamps report at least one working adult in the household.  In 2005, 50 percent of all participants in the food stamp program were children, and 65 percent of them lived in single-parent households.  Thirty-four percent of households with children were headed by a single parent, the overwhelming majority of whom were women.  Forty-six percent of participants were white, 31 percent were African-American and 13 percent were Hispanic.  The average gross monthly income per food stamp household is $648. 

However the stats break down though, the reality remains the same, that food insecurity is becoming an increasing issue in our region and nation as prices climb and families find wages dropping or face job loss. 

Last year, staff member Sherell Fuller took an international lens to her experience on the food stamp challenge. 

An interesting lens when one considers that there are an estimated one in three people in the world living below the poverty line–defined as living on less than $1 a day. 

In the United States currently, one in 11 Americans receives food stamps of about $1 per meal.

In either scenario, that’s a lot to ask of $1. 

Here at The Women’s Foundation, we know that our Grantee Partners are heroes–out there every day doing the tough work on the ground that is changing the lives of women and girls for the better.

So, it wasn’t exactly a surprise when board member Jennifer Cortner dropped me a line to let me know that one of our Grantee Partners, Through the Kitchen Door, was just recognized as one of WETA’s Hometown Heroes.  WETA’s heroes are nominated from members of the community and are recognized for committing themselves to making a difference in the Washington, D.C. area.

Thrilled to hear the news, I went to the site to check out the piece.  The video did a great job of showcasing the impact of Liesel’s work on our community and particularly in the lives of the women she trains for careers in the food industry.

But I couldn’t help but notice, as I watched, another name that looked familiar.  For another 2008 hero was Barbara Mason, founder and director of Child and Family Network Centers, one of our amazing Grantee Partners in Virginia providing support and services to low-income families to help make sure their kids succeed in school.

This got me to wondering exactly how many hometown heroes we have in our midst at The Women’s Foundation.

Sure enough, that wasn’t all.  In 2006, Charise Van Liew was recognized for her work with FLY (Facilitating Leadership in Youth) the same year that our African American Women’s Giving Circle gave them a grant for $25,000.

In 2005, it was Jim Clager, a volunteer with Computer C.O.R.E. in Alexandria.  And in 2004, Carmen Fernandez, founder and director of HACAN, Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect, was cited as a hero, along with Lisa Striggles, a volunteer with Covenant House.  In 2002, the Urban Alliance Foundation was recognized.

All of whom are Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  And in my quick skim, I no doubt missed a few.

But it was a fun inventory to take, largely because it’s wonderful to see The Women’s Foundation’s Grantee Partners, and the volunteers that work with them, be recognized out in the community for the incredible impact they’re having.

Every day from within The Women’s Foundation community, we’re aware of  how heroic their efforts are, individually and as a collective, to change the lives of women, girls, families and our community. 

So it’s always nice to see them get the spotlight they deserve in the public eye, since so often, they’re working quietly in neighborhoods, basements and churches throughout our region, known as heroes primarily to the women and girls they serve directly.

But here at The Women’s Foundation, we know better.  Because we know that when you invest in women and girls, when you change the life of a woman and her family, that you make our entire community better.

Currently, The Women’s Foundation has 116 Grantee Partner heroes, and we hope the list will just continue to grow!  We know there are more heroes out there and we’re proud to play a role in fueling their work!

Whew, that was a whirlwind!  But alas, the 2008 Women’s Funding Network Conference has ended and those of us who aren’t attending the Council on Foundations Conference this week are back in the office, holding down the fort.

I’ll admit, I’m not generally a big fan of conferences.  I tend to develop short-term attention deficit disorder when trapped for too long in windowless rooms to mingle with strangers and listen to speeches.  I am an introvert, after all.  Meeting too many new people makes me tired.  I am also allergic to nametags.

However, I have to tell you, as far as conferences go, I thoroughly enjoyed this one–and left with lots of new ideas and extra inspiration to execute them.  A few highlights:

1.  Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai’s keynote speech about her accidental journey into starting an environmental movement, and the collective power of women to change the world.  She’s as inspiring, honest and wise as you can imagine, and funny as well.  She had us laughing and thinking, which is always a great combination.

2.  Meeting colleagues from throughout the international women’s funding movement–from Memphis to a unique group out of Boulder that provides emergency grants for human rights work on behalf of women throughout the world.  The diversity, intelligence and innovation behind all of the work being done throughout this movement is really awesome.

3.  Seeing what amazing work so many women’s funds are doing with very few resources.  Many have a staff of just one or two and are plugging along to continuously grow and improve their grantmaking and effectiveness.  I was struck by the determination and dedication of the women I met. 

4.  Taking tips, ideas and learnings from others from throughout the movement, and being able to offer support and advice in areas where The Women’s Foundation has been fortunate to get ahead due to our amazing pro bono supporters, board and volunteers.  I really took away an appreciation for how fortunate we’ve been to get the support that we have to improve our communications and development efforts, and overall infrastructure, along with everything else–and loved the opportunity to pass along much of what I’ve learned from our community of supporters to other women’s funds.

5.  Hearing Angela Bassett share her story of being raised by a single mother during tough times, and the influence her mother had in shaping her daughter’s very bright future.  Truly inspiring.  (Angela is now a spokesperson for WFN’s new Good Deed brand.)

6.  Seeing the Women’s Funding Network and our Stepping Stones initiative (along with two of our major supporters) in the Washington Post!

7.  Being there when Stepping Stones won an award for Changing the Face of Philanthropy!

8.  Hearing Dr. Geeta Rau Gupta, head of the International Center for Research on Women, talk about the latest research on women’s economic security, health and well-being around the world.  She also told her personal story through the experiences of her two grandmothers–one who was educated, married later, had fewer children due to access to birth control and one who was not educated, had many children, suffered health problems and died young.  Their stories and the impact they each had on their families tells the story of how the health, well-being and economic security of a woman greatly determines the future and health of her children and family. 

9.  Getting rid of a cell phone that had been just taking up space in my closet.  I recycled it through the Good Deed cell phone recycling program.  Sadly, I did not win the raffle attached to doing so because someone managed to collect and recycle 36 phones on her own, greatly improving her odds.  Still, I guess that’s okay, since all proceeds from recycled phones go to fund programs for women and girls.  Sweet!  (Got a cell phone to recycle?  Click here and they’ll send you a postage-paid envelope.  Or, if you’re near our offices in D.C., we’ll take it and send it in for you.  Just contact me at lkays@wawf.org.)

10.  The huge turnout at the Congressional Reception we hosted on Thursday to welcome the Women’s Funding Network and fill in policymakers on the importance and impact of women’s philanthropy.  Tons of people showed, including Senator Mary Landrieu and Congressman Christopher Van Hollen–who both offered remarks.  Everyone was psyched and energetic about the impact of Stepping Stones and women’s philanthropy here in our region and throughout the country.  It was very cool. 

11.  Hearing about new media and the future of the Interwebs as applies to nonprofits from the Budget Fashionista.  She’s hilarious, smart and just generally cool.   Anyone who can teach you how to use your computer and what shoes should go with your outfit is pretty genius in my book.

12.  Getting my picture taken with Angela Bassett and Dr. Maathai.  Yes, I’m a sucker for celebrity.  And it was just neat to meet them. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go start lobbying Phyllis for a chance to go to next year’s conference in Atlanta.

I’ve always had a passion for fashion, and a great concern for our community as well.

And so it occurred to me, why not merge my passion for fashion with my compassion?

So I have launched Fashion Fusion, a fashion event with the theme, "Inspired Giving, Inspired Style," that will serve as a fundraiser with benefits going to Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

The fashion event will celebrate and support local, independent fashion designers and boutiques, while raising money to benefit women and girls of our region. It’s truly merging local business, local style and giving back to our local community!

When I was considering which organization to donate the event proceeds to, I knew that I wanted the funds to benefit women and girls, because I personally feel that when you invest in women and girls, you exponentially improve families and communities. It alarms me that one in three families headed by single mothers in our region are living in poverty, and I wanted to do something to help.

I knew that The Women’s Foundation had the track record and the expertise to really make an impact with the event proceeds.

And not only will the event make a difference, but it’s going to be fun and, well, fashionable.

We’ll be featuring local fashion mavericks in the DC/MD/VA area with the best local boutiques and emerging designers exhibiting at markdown prices (read: really good deals!). The fashion show itself will be mega hot, featuring the hottest style trends by local independent designers. There will also be a fun silent auction with items kindly donated by local businesses that support the work of Fashion Fusion.

This is all happening on June 28 from 6-10 p.m. (VIP early access at 5) at the Embassy of France.  For more information, visit Fashion Fusion or email me.

Dejha Bower is creative director of the Fashion Fusion event, which is donating its proceeds to Washington Area Women’s Foundation. 

Today is Equal Pay Day.

This day signifies the fact that it takes women almost 16 months to earn what men earn in 12.  Women still only earn about 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, and the wage gap worsens for women of color.

In fact, the wage gap has remained at basically the same level for the past 20 years.  A large part of the reason for this is that women tend to work in lower paying jobs than men and in lower paying industries.

Every day at The Women’s Foundation, we are fighting these systemic reasons for the differences in men’s and women’s earnings.  Here are just a few examples:

• We support programs that allow women to move Into higher paying jobs.  Through Stepping Stones, we support job-training programs that prepare women to get jobs with salaries that are high enough to support a family. These are often jobs that have traditionally been held by men. For example, Washington Area Women in the Trades provides non-traditional employment training for homeless and low-income women. They estimate that in five years, more than 3,000 women will be provided assistance and more than 400 graduates will be prepared for high-skill/ high-wage jobs in our community.

• We support programs that ensure that women-dominated fields have better salaries and benefits.  Historically, jobs that have been traditionally held by women (like teachers and nurses) have earned lower salaries than jobs held by men. Our Grantee Partners, like CASA of Maryland, work to fight this historical bias and to ensure that jobs that are held primarily by women earn better salaries. For example, CASA of Maryland has a program to get better wages for domestic workers and to make sure that they get employment benefits as well.

• We support efforts that make sure that minimum-wage earners (who are disproportionately women) have a living wage. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are the majority of minimum wage earners. DC Employment Justice Center, a Grantee Partner, was a core member of the D.C. Living Wage Coalition that successfully advocated for legislation that provided a living wage of $11.75 for workers employed by companies with contracts with the D.C. government.  It is estimated that this change will collectively increase women’s wages in the Washington metropolitan area by $7.5 million.

When you support The Women’s Foundation – by volunteering with us, by making a donation, by being a part of our community – you are supporting our efforts to increase women’s salaries and to take down the barriers that keep women from earning as much as their male colleagues.

Joining us in our efforts is a pretty terrific way to honor Equal Pay Day.

According to today’s Washington Post, the economic boom in D.C. is leaving out those who stand to benefit the most from it–low-income families.

Nearly one in three working families in Washington, D.C. is poor, says a report being released today by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute and the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

Nearly all of those families are minorities and two-thirds of them are headed by single women.

At the heart of the failure to transfer the economic boom to low-income residents, says the report, is a failure to appropriately train them for the jobs emerging as a result of the boom.

I have to say, this surprised me. 

After learning so much about programs training low-income women for nontraditional jobs, like construction, the environmental services, or law enforcement, and hearing about how serious the commitment of these women are to their new fields–and how pleased the leaders in these industries are to have them–it’s hard for me to imagine that the city and its partners aren’t ramping them up left and right.

As we’ve learned here at The Women’s Foundation, they work. 

They bring women and their children out of poverty and into higher paying jobs, with benefits, and provide employers with a trained, talented, committed source of personnel. 

As Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed reminds us, it’s just common sense for our community to invest in more programs like these.  "It will help build the city’s tax base.  It will help reduce the very high costs we have in this city of social services. It’s very much in the city’s interest to invest in these families."

And, with two thirds of those living in poverty being women, investing with an eye to creating programs for low-income women is bound to have the greatest return.

To see how, check out this video on Washington Area Women in the Trades’ female construction program and how it’s changing the outlook of one single mother and her family.

The D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.

No not Extra-Sensory Perception, I’m talking about the Economic Stimulus Payments.

Beginning in May, the IRS will send Economic Stimulus Payment checks to over 130 million households.  Intended to spur a slowing economy, these payments represent many millions of dollars flowing into our communities. Just imagine what you could do with that money! How about doing something really novel and taking that payment and saving all or part of it for a rainy day?

It’s not like saving is unheard of, or that people don’t also get the message to save. It’s more that when surrounded by many more messages to “buy this new thing,” or “upgrade to this latest thing,” it’s harder to hear the call to save. And those messages to spend and buy are mostly winning.  Recent survey results released by America Saves and the American Savings Educational Council (ASEC) found that only 53 percent of Americans have adequate savings, with just 28 percent saving the recommended 10 percent of their annual income.

It’s not just a message of cutting out the frills and luxuries, either.  Surveys of taxpayers who file at the DC Earned Income Tax Credit (DC EITC) Campaign’s free tax sites have shown that many of them use their refunds for everyday expenses, including paying bills.  If your income isn’t very high to start with, it’s easy to see why saving can be more difficult.  At CAAB, however, we see every day that anyone can save.

National research and our own experience with our matched savings program participants like Christine Walker has shown that even people with low incomes can put money away now as a down payment on a brighter future.

To help get this message out and to provide motivation, information, and resources to help people take positive financial action, DC Saves was started a year ago this month (Financial Literacy Month, a fitting birthday!) to help Washingtonians reduce debt and increase savings. 

This Saturday, April 5, we’ll host our First Anniversary Financial Literacy Fair at THEARC in Ward 8. In addition to useful information and access to savings products and resources, we’ll also provide free tax preparation services, financial education seminars, credit reports and counseling, and mini-sessions with Certified Financial Planners. It’s free to the public and we hope you’ll join us to learn how you, too, can take that first (or second, or third, etc.) step toward reaching your financial goal.

And what about that ESP?

To help more people claim and keep the economic stimulus payment and any other tax benefits they may be owed, the DC EITC Campaign and Community Tax Aid are hosting Super Stimulus Filing Days alongside our regular tax clinics. Community organizations can help their clients access these services by spreading the word about the programs, or sending their own staff to learn how to complete the necessary tax forms to help their clients receive their economic stimulus payments at one of our training sessions.

And if any of those clients want help to make a commitment to saving, tell them about the Fair on April 5. It’s a free, fun way to share the message that “Anyone can save!”

Donna Ortega is director of development and communications at Capital Area Asset Builders, a Stepping Stones Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.  The Women’s Foundation is a sponsor of the April 5 Financial Literacy Fair.