On Monday, I listened to the President’s first press conference. I could see that the weight of his responsibilities rest heavy upon him. The enormity of the responsibility that he bears for moving the country through these challenges times is certainly not enviable.
His words that “inaction can turn this crisis into a catastrophe” hung heavy in the air.
But despite the weightiness of the message, I was heartened by his continual reinforcement that we are all in this together. That the power of our collective efforts knows no bounds.
While very few of us can say that we have been untouched by the challenging economy, the reality is that we are not all affected in the same way.
Women and girls continue to be the hardest hit in times of economic crisis, so while for some, the realities of this economy are a rude awakening – for others it is catastrophic.
Maintaining our perspective and continuing to believe in our power to make a difference is paramount.
More than ever, The Women’s Foundation’s belief in The Power of Giving Together holds true as an opportunity and a call to action.
For more than six years, The Women’s Foundation’s giving circles have allowed women to pool and leverage their resources to make change. The outcome is that the whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts! And the beauty of this model is that it enables a relatively small contribution to make a big difference.
We are now in the process of welcoming new members to both of The Women’s Foundation’s giving circles: the African American Women’s Giving Circle and the Rainmakers Giving Circle. These circles continue to be dedicated to the power of collective giving and the empowerment of making the decision together about how to grant out their funds.
The Rainmakers Giving Circle will be hosting a reception for interested members on February 17, 2009 to learn more. Please contact me if you’d like to join us and learn more about The Power of Giving Together and how you can make your investment in our community go further.
Now more than ever, we need people to come together to invest in our community and in the area’s women and girls. We have our call to action from our President and from our community.
Please join us in working toward the solution.
Nicole Cozier is The Women’s Foundation’s philanthropic education officer.
