WINSTON-SALEM, NC (November 6, 2006) - With a long track record as a dedicated member of the Winston-Salem area philanthropic community, Janie Butler Wilson began to access initiatives with which she'd been involved. "I realized that we'd provided funding for many worthy causes but nothing specifically for women. When I heard through the grapevine about what some women in Charlotte were doing, I started becoming interested in women's funding."
Enter Keri Muuss, a staff member of the Winston-Salem Foundation. "We felt it was appropriate to our mission to support Janie's interest by providing her with information about organizing a women's fund."
The fledging group and the Winston-Salem Foundation began researching national models for the group. Eventually during the discovery process, the Women's Fund of Winston-Salem elected to become a donor-advised fund of The Winston-Salem Foundation.
"We developed a working group and it quickly became obvious that we needed to be inclusive," Wilson recalls. "We learned about the Women's Funding Network and started discussing aspects of a giving circle that would allow the highest number of women to be involved."
While many giving circles have minimum financial contribution requirements, the Women's Fund of Winston-Salem took a different approach. "We found that nationally, most foundations require an annual $1,000 donation," says Wilson. "We require a $1,200 annual contribution but we allow up to twelve women to join together to make that single donation. By opening the network to women who only have to contribute $100 personally each year, we hope to have a truly inclusive group of women working to strengthen our community because we know women give more than money."
The idea certainly has merit. Although the official kick-off of the Fund is November 15th, already the fund includes women across many socio-economic and age ranges. While the majority of the memberships are individual, there are several interesting groups in the membership: one is a woman and her boss, another is four women from an area temple, another is a group of "Margarets" (several women who are each named Margaret), yet another is a group of mothers and daughters.
"By allowing our membership to be inclusive, we hope that our Fund can provide a conduit for change for all types of backgrounds and needs of women. The Women's Fund of Winston-Salem will grant money to nonprofit organizations for projects developed for women and girls. We're interested in supporting nonprofits whose works will have a direct and measurable impact on the lives of women and girls in Winston-Salem," says Wilson.
Not only is the membership structure designed to be inclusive, the funds are definitively allocated for specific needs. Of each $1,200 annual membership, $800 will go into the community in immediate grants; $300 will be invested into an endowment; and the remaining $100 will fund educational seminars to teach women about philanthropy and tax issues.
"I believe in the power of collective giving and in the power of women who join together to strengthen their communities," says Wilson. "This Fund is all about one-on-one relationship building. Our membership has been built primarily through small gatherings of women friends in private homes. When women network and make personal connections, they become truly involved in projects. Women don't just write checks; they do it from the heart not just the pocketbook."
The Women's Fund of Winston-Salem participates in the exchange of information and education offered by the North Carolina Network of Women Givers, a powerful statewide demonstration of the social, human, intellectual and financial capital women bring to solve the seemingly intractable problems facing women and children in our state. Through networking and support common to women who join together to address issues, these female philanthropists are contributing time, talent and treasury to their communities.
The Women's Fund of Winston-Salem
