Philanthropy Journal Highlights Women's Giving Circle of Fayetteville

Fayetteville women meet local needs

PJ staff report | July 27, 2010
Women's Giving Circle of Fayetteville

Women's Giving Circle of Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - In just its third year of operation, a group of Fayetteville women is infusing the local community with $50,000 to improve the lives of women and children.

Created in early 2008 through a grant from NCGives, the Women's Giving Circle of Fayetteville has been adding to its ranks, and its coffers, with 2010 grants almost doubling the total awarded in 2009.

The increase in funding comes as the recession takes a disproportionate toll on women and families in Cumberland County.

While homelessness overall in the county fell 10 percent from 2008 to 2009, homelessness among women and children grew by more than 16 percent over the same time period, says the circle's Annual Scorecard, a collection of data used to educate circle members on the plight of the county's residents.

Teen pregnancy rates in the county stood at 74.5 per 1,000 residents, higher than the overall rate for the state of 58.6 per 1,000, and almost one in four children in the county live in poverty, the scorecard says.

Created with a mission of promoting philanthropy among women and meeting the needs of women and children in Cumberland County, the circle started with 14 members and now has 115 on its rolls.

Each member pledges to donate $550 a year for three years, with $400 of that allocated to a grantmaking pool, $100 deposited into an endowment and the remaining $50 used to cover administrative costs.

While the fund is administered by the Cumberland County Community Foundation, the circle's members are in charge of choosing the beneficiaries of its grants.

For the 2010 grant cycle, the members elected to focus awards on the basic needs of women and children, including food, shelter and health care.

The Cumberland County Department of Public Health received $20,000 for its Baby Store Project, a program that provides baby supplies to maternity patients that participate in prenatal care and education.

The circle awarded $12,500 to the Center for Economic Empowerment and Development to support its Lease to Home Program, which allows low-income families to rent homes with the goal of eventually purchasing the home.

St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center received $7,500 for its Community Afterschool and Summer Program, an outreach effort that provides tutoring to children in public housing and other high-poverty areas.

Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina was awarded $4,500 to provide educational materials and information to teens who are at risk of becoming pregnant.

The Child Advocacy Center received $4,000 to produce and distribute child-abuse prevention materials for several local programs.

And Hungry Angelz received $1,500 to provide food for homeless children during the weekends.

Press Release 2010 Grants Awards

Women’s Giving Circle of Fayetteville
Announce Grant Awards and Release 2010 Scorecard

The Women’s Giving Circle of Fayetteville will announce its second-annual grant awards on Monday, June 14, at 6 p.m. at the Cumberland Community Foundation Community Room, 310 Green Street in Fayetteville. Six non-profit organizations in Cumberland County have been chosen by the circle’s membership as recipients of the grants, totaling $50,000. The selected projects focus on meeting the basic needs of food, shelter or healthcare for women and children.

In addition, the Women’s Giving Circle will release to the public its 2010 Scorecard of data related to the status of women and children in Cumberland County.
The media is invited to attend.

The Women’s Giving Circle is an organization of women whose purpose is to impact substantial, positive change for women and children in Cumberland County by philanthropy and education. Founded in 2008, the circle has grown to include more than 107 women in 3 years. Funds are held and maintained by Cumberland Community Foundation. All women are invited to join.


2010 Grant Awards

Cumberland County Department of Public Health is awarded $20,000 for their Baby Store Project. This incentive program will provide over 2,000 maternity patients the opportunity to purchase baby items and post partum supplies with “Baby Bucks” earned by attending scheduled appointments and participating in educational programs focused on reducing infant mortality and increasing safe parenting.

Center for Economic Empowerment and Development (formerly Women’s Center of Fayetteville) is awarded $12,500 to support their Lease to Home Program. This housing program provides home rentals to low-income families, primarily women and children, with an opportunity for the families to eventually purchase the home. This grant will assist in funding for a new employee position to provide case management to these families as they work toward economic self-sufficiency.

St. Ann Neighborhood Youth Center is awarded $7,500 for their Community Afterschool and Summer Program. This is an outreach program that provides children residing in public housing and other impoverished neighborhoods with tutoring and cultural enrichment that would not otherwise be available to them, in addition to nutrition.

Planned Parenthood of Central N.C. is awarded $4,500 for education materials for teen pregnancy prevention. Through their Cumberland Connects program, a trained instructor will provide medically accurate information to 40 at risk teens and their parents regarding pregnancy/HIV/STI prevention.

Child Advocacy Center is awarded $4,000 for child abuse prevention materials. These materials will be used in several programs to include Darkness to Light (Child Sexual Abuse Prevention), Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse, and Period of Purple crying (Shaken Baby Syndrome).

Hungry Angelz is awarded $1,500 to provide food for homeless and in-need school children on the weekends. This project is a grass roots organization of volunteers that strives to provide food and toiletry items for children identified by school social workers at 14 Cumberland County Schools.

Cape Fear Valley Hospital Magazine CCMAP Grant 2009

This article was in the Cape Fear Vally Hospital Magazine. It mentions the 2009 grant made by the Women's Giving Circle that is being used to provide medications to those in need who are unable to pay for medications. This is great publicity for our orgranization.

History of the Women’s Giving Circle of Fayetteville As of June 11, 2010

The Board of Directors of Cumberland Community Foundation and several women in the community (Terri Union & Jean Harrison) expressed interest in giving circles and how they would be beneficial for Cumberland County. From 2004 - 2006, Cumberland Community Foundation (CCF) began learning about giving circles. After thorough research by the CCF staff, the CCF Board of Directors made the decision to apply for grant money from NCGives to aid in establishing giving circles for our community. In October 2007, the staff of CCF assembled a group of ladies to attend the 2^nd annual North Carolina Conference for Women Givers; the conference provided a wealth of information about giving circles. Upon their return home, they assembled a group of visionary, dedicated and thoughtful women community leaders to further discuss philanthropy in women and the start up of a women’s giving circle. This group became the core leadership team and founding members for the Women’s Giving Circle of Fayetteville (WGCF). The WGCF was formed as a charitable fund established by Cumberland Community Foundation (CCF) through a grant from NCGives and Cumberland Community Foundation. The WGCF is housed at CCF; they provide administrative support.

The goals of the WGCF include:

• Empowering women of all ages and backgrounds
• Educating donors on philanthropy, finance, grant making and community issues that affect women and girls
• Impacting and making positive change for women and girls throughout Cumberland County by pooling financial resources and deciding collectively where to donate the money

Interest in the community was very high; women immediately saw the rationale to address the needs of women and girls in the community. The group began to meet monthly to put together the infrastructure of the organization, while at the same time hosting informal gatherings in their homes to discuss the concept with other women in the community. In November 2008, the group hosted its first membership meeting with a total of 56 members.

The members of the WGCF each have committed to a minimum of three years; each member gives $550.00 annually. $400 is immediately contributed to the grant making fund, $100 is contributed to the endowment fund and the additional $50.00 is for program and operating expenses. The three year commitment helps women to realize that philanthropy is a lifetime venture and helps to provide stability to the WGCF.

Since the November 2008 membership meeting, the following committees have been formed and are fully functioning:

• Grants Committee
• Marketing Committee
• Membership Committee
• Education & Events Committee

The WGCF held its first grant cycle in 2009. A detailed process was followed and $26,000 in grants were awarded to the following organizations to benefit women and girls with basic needs as a focus area emphasizing but not limited to food, shelter and health care:

• Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network – “SWIM Program” - $13,500
• Cumberland County Medication Assistance Program – “A Better Today, A Brighter Future” - $6,000
• CARE Family Violence Center –“Family Housing Fund” - $3,500
• Second Harvest Food Bank – “Stretching Your Food Dollars” - $1,500
• The Salvation Army – “Love Garden” - $1,500

For the 2010 grant cycle, the WGCF voted to award grants to organizations that benefit women and children with basic needs as a focus area emphasizing but not limited to food, shelter and health care. The circle will have $50,000 to grant for this grant cycle.

The WGCF continues to grow and add new members. As of April 29, 2010, the WGCF has 107 members, a Scorecard on women and children’s issues and $50,000 to award in grants for 2010. We are currently working on the Scorecard for 2010 with updated information about the focus areas the circle has chosen relating to women and children. The WGCF feels that collectively we are making a difference in our community.

Our Beginning 2007-2009

For several years, women in the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community expressed their interest to Mary Holmes, Executive Director of the Cumberland Community Foundation about giving circles. Mary researched this new phenomenon of women’s giving circles and identified funding. In _____Mary Holmes assembled a group of ladies to attend the 2nd annual North Carolina Conference for women givers. Upon their return home, they assembled a group of visionary, dedicated and thoughtful women community leaders to further discuss philanthropy in women and the start up of a women’s giving circle. This group became the core leadership team for the Women’s Giving Circle of Fayetteville (WGCF). Thus the WGCF was formed as a charitable fund established by the Cumberland Community Foundation through a grant form NC Gives.

The goals of this group include:

Empowering women of all ages and backgrounds
Educating donors on women’s issues in our community
Impacting and making positive change for women and girls throughout Cumberland County by pooling financial resources

Interest in the community was very high; women immediately saw the rationale to address the needs of women and girls in the community. The group began to meet monthly to put together the infrastructure of the organization, while at the same time hosting informal gatherings in their homes to discuss the concept with other women in the community. In November 2008, the group hosted its first membership meeting with a total of 56 members.

The members of the WGCF each have committed to a minimum of three years; each member gives $550.00 annually. $400 is immediately contributed to the grant making fund, $100 is contributed to the endowment fund and the additional $50.00 is for program and operating expenses. The three year commitment helps women to realize that philanthropy is a lifetime venture and helps to provide stability to the WGC.
Since the November 2008 membership meeting, the following committees have been formed and are fully functioning.

Grants Committee -
Marketing Committee-
Membership Committee –
Education & Arrangements Committee-

In June 2009, we stand before you with a membership of 71 members, a score card on women and girls issues and $26,000 to award in grants.