The fall is a really special time of year. More than any other season, it signals exciting beginnings as we all return renewed from the slower pace of summer. It’s also the fundraising season – a time when we attend benefits, write checks, and implore our supporters to help keep our organizations going. Here at Washington Area Women’s Foundation, our main focus in the past few months has been on our own fall fundraiser, our annual Leadership Luncheon.
I’ve been a participant in the Leadership Luncheon for several years, first as a guest, then as a donor, and now as President of The Women’s Foundation. Since the first time I sat around one of the tables and heard about the work of The Women’s Foundation and its Grantee Partners, the Leadership Luncheon has been my favorite fundraising activity. It brings together a cross-section of wonderful women who participate. They are a terrific group who put together and take part in an amazing event. The Community Briefing held in the morning right before The Leadership Luncheon, always provides stimulating insight into the programmatic work of The Women’s Foundation.
Each fall, the Leadership Luncheon has been an opportunity for me to reconnect, and share; introduce others to the cause, and inspire and be inspired. No matter where I’ve been in my life, I’ve always found a place in October around one of the tables at The Women’s Foundation Leadership Luncheon.
On the eve of our 2009 Community Briefing and Leadership Luncheon, I’m anticipating it with bittersweet excitement: it will be my last Leadership Luncheon as President of Washington Area Women’s Foundation – though it certainly won’t be the last time I attend. The Women’s Foundation was my among my largest philanthropic investments before it became my career, and I will remain dedicated to its mission, even as my role in it changes.
That role is shifting because I have accepted the Chief of Home Ownership Preservation position in the Department of the Treasury, Office of Financial Stabilization. It’s a position that will allow me to continue all of our efforts to make sure that families are able to buy and keep affordable homes. As we all know, owning a home is critical to wealth creation for women-headed households in particular.
I will be leaving The Women’s Foundation staff on October 30th, however I remain a member of the Washington 100 donor network. As a donor, I’m confident that The Women’s Foundation and its supporters will have no problem continuing on with our important mission: changing the lives of our region’s women and girls.
When I look back at the many Leadership Luncheons I’ve attended, one stands out most clearly. At the 2008 Leadership Luncheon, the guest speaker at the event was “The Community.” We heard from a broad range of people and found out what participating in and benefiting from The Women’s Foundation meant to them. As those of you who attended recall, we saw a live community-based performance that showed the diversity and passion of the women and men who participate in The Women’s Foundation and our Grantee Partners.
The idea behind that play laid the groundwork for the theme of this year’s luncheon: Be That Woman. Be That Woman is a phrase that represents the ways in which we’re all connected; the way we all help, and motivate, and inspire, and transform one another. It’s a movement that you’ll be hearing more about in the coming months.
We can all Be That Woman (or that Guy Who Gets It!) for the people in our lives who need encouragement, advice, help or inspiration. I first attended the Leadership Luncheon because someone was That Woman for me. I’ve loved having the opportunity to Be That Woman for others. My title may be changing, but my commitment isn’t, and I’m going to continue to Be That Woman for The Women’s Foundation. As this fundraising season comes and goes, I hope you continue to Be That Woman.
Phyllis Caldwell is President of Washington Area Women’s Foundation.
