When I saw Becky’s inspiring post earlier this week about the first Rainmaker’s Giving Circle meeting, I couldn’t help but throw in my two cents as well.
Like Becky, I was also struck by that meeting because it was such an indication of hope to see so many women gathered around the table that we had to scramble for chairs and space to squeeze everyone in.
Given the recession, I had been concerned that we’d have the opposite problem.
Instead, not only was the room packed with women who had, as Becky said, given serious thought to their commitments and decided to reaffirm their investments in The Women’s Foundation, the Rainmakers and our region’s women and girls, but the group was seriously committed to thinking through how to best invest their funds so that they would be of the greatest impact.
As I sat and listened to the dialogue about how to best help nonprofits serving women and girls in this economic climate when increasing needs would make decision-making and prioritizing even tougher than in the past, I was struck not by the bad news that was at the core of the conversation, but by a sense of overwhelming hope.
For the conversation was not only an indication that women in our region are ready to continue to prioritize their investments in our region’s women and girls, but also that the wisdom, intelligence, thought and strategy that they put into how they invest will help ensure that funds invested in women and girls through women’s philanthropy, will, without a doubt, have a tremendous impact on our community.
Phyllis Caldwell is President of The Women’s Foundation.
