Curiosity was the 2020-2021 Women’s Impact Fund theme. After last year’s virtual Annual Meeting, I think we were all curious – when would we all gather together again?
While the 2021 Annual Meeting was conducted virtually, several members hosted small gatherings at their homes allowing for craved fellowship and celebration of the continued work being done in our community.
Despite an anticipated drop in membership due to all the uncertainty of the last year, WIF Executive Director Patricia Massey Hoke expressed gratitude to members for their contributions to the Annual Fund during such a challenging time. Thanks to WIF members, a record $65,000 was raised to help support internal operations and external impact – a 35% increase from last fiscal year.
Grants Chair, Anne Perper, shared how curiosity was woven into the grants process this year, starting with all 60 members of the grant team participating in implicit bias training. This year the team also reached out to a broader, more diverse group of organizations and simplified the application process at the onset. As a result, we received 170 LOI’s (a 20% increase from last year) with a total of 35 first-time applicants.
We celebrated the work of all of the finalist organizations and awarded unrestricted grants to:
Two SPARK grants awarded since last year’s Annual Meeting, Center for Racial Equity and Education (CREED), and Promise Resource Network were highlighted as well.
Continuing our work in championing diversity, inclusion, and recognizing and eradicating our own biases, Jonell Logan informed members of the work and priorities of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. Out of those discussions, the DEI Task Force identified areas within membership and grants where we can strengthen our commitment to being a more diverse organization reflective of the community we serve. While Jonell recognized that this is both an individual and collective journey, she encouraged members who want to be part of it, to contact her or Patricia.
Congratulations to all of our 2021 grant recipients, and a special thank you to our 2020-2021 grants team!
If you weren’t able to join us for the live-streamed event, we invite you to watch the event below. It will be worth your time!
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