Women's Legacy Fund: what a difference a year makes

This time last year, a small group of local women began meeting to discuss what they could do to make a difference in the lives of people living in Southwest Florida.

How could just a few women create solutions to positively impact our entire community?

They decided the answer was in the numbers. By pooling their donations and creating a meaningful selection process, they make a bigger impact. With more women (the larger the pot of money, and the more creative ideas) they could provide a more efficient, stronger response to the community's needs. The key to success would be in the power of the vote. Each woman would have a vote in how the funds should be distributed.

After researching other women's giving groups, Brenda Tate, Kerry Pry, Gail Baumgarten, Jane de Lisser, Karen Globetti, Carolyn Rogers, and Gay Thompson, formed the Women's Legacy Fund, an endowed fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

The group, now 58 strong, has established an endowed fund for future giving, created committees and policies, has given out their first grants and has established an "Angel" category to honor or memorialize an important woman in our lives. For this inaugural grant cycle, the Benefactress members voted to focus their giving on Literacy.

In May of this year, the Women's Legacy Fund, held a luncheon at the Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf Club to announce their first grant recipients. A total of $15,000 was awarded to the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs, Community Cooperative Ministries, Inc., the Amigos Center, and Brightest Horizons for their programs dealing with literacy issues in Southwest Florida.

What a difference a year makes… It is truly amazing that this small group of women could accomplish so much in so little time. In researching other women's giving groups across the country, it was discovered that many groups do not actually get off the ground or have a grant cycle within their first two years of existence. These women were able to organize 58 members and begin granting in less than one

year of organizing.

Three "Angels" have been named so far. They are Isabelle Barbara Haznar Wojnar, Khanom Kanaan, and Eleanore Kleist.

This summer, they are gearing up for a membership drive, re-examining their committee structure and looking forward to the coming year to continue to grow and develop into an even more effective and efficient force.

If this is the first year, I can't wait to see what this group of dynamic women is able to accomplish this next year.

The Women's Legacy Fund was founded to improve the quality of life in Southwest Florida from a woman's perspective. Through an active membership and annual grant program, they inspire women to become leaders in philanthropy, educate women and the community on current issues and philanthropic strategies, and empower women to strengthen the community from their unique giving perspective.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry through endowed funds for nearly 32 years. With assets of more than $57 million and over 320 endowed funds, the Community Foundation has provided more than $30 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves.

For more information, please call 274-5900, or visit their web site at www.floridacommunity.com.