Have you seen the Autism Speaks commercials – the ones that start with a distant connection to Autism gradually becoming a very personal one? That’s sort of how I feel about LGBT issues. Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, conceiving the notion of same-sex marriages was still far-out. Today – not so much.

Picture your life now. Picture what you day-dreamed about when you were a little kid. Probably somewhere in there, you imagined your wedding day down to the smallest details – the flowers, the hair, the music, the kiss. There might not be too many of us who pictured sharing those moments with a partner of the same sex. Now as adults, you might have friends or relatives who do picture their big day like that.

On the heels of National LGBT Pride month and local equality celebrations, same-sex marriage remains at the fore-front of many a debate. In a time when some states revoked their acceptance, New York recently legalized same-sex marriages. As Pride month winds down, I encourage you to consider your stance on the matter. Research, reflect, the whole bit. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, just make it informed.

So to our Friends of the Fund affected by this movement – here’s to the progress made, and the progress yet to come.

Written by: Hallie Kloots

You’ve read about our grant partners, but now we want to share with you these powerful videos of grant programs in action. Follow the link below to hear testimonies from participants in programs from Doma International, CATCO-Pheonix and Rwanda Women in Action.

Doma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLs2bR0Raa0

CATCO-Pheonix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSTofN6l0dE

Rwanda Women in Action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ttknpOq4tw

“Teach a woman to fish, she’ll feed the whole village.”

-Hillary Rodham Clinton

 Put a woman in power, she’ll feed the whole world.

That is what Josette Sheeran is striving to do. In her role as Executive Director of the World Food Programme (the food aid branch of the United Nations), Sheeran oversees more than 80 of the world’s poorest countries, providing food to 90 million people last year alone. She is one of the individuals featured in the 10 Most Powerful Women at the United Nations, a list leading up to Forbes’ The 100 Most Powerful Women 2011 due to be released in August.

Also included on that list are Valerie Amos, Judy Cheng-Hopkins, and Helen Clark, equally high-ranking and prominent officials, essential to the operations of the UN. There is Angela Kane, the Under-Secretary-General for Management, who supports tasks of the UN Secretariat, and Susana Malcorra, who directs field operations in her role as the Under-Secretary-General and Head of the Department of Field Support. Michelle Bachelet and Radhika Coomaraswamy work to protect the rights of those too oft-forgotten and mistreated: women and children. Together, Patricia O’Brien and Navanehtem Pillay direct the legal concerns of the UN in their positions as Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and the UN Legal Counsel and The High Commissioner for Human Rights respectively. All ten of the women are members of the UN Senior Management Group.

And all ten of the women use their positions in power to feed, rescue, care for, and protect those in the world. Just imagine what ten million in power could do.  

Click on this link to read the article, The 10 Most Powerful Women at the United Nations, written by Avril David: http://blogs.forbes.com/avrildavid/2011/05/02/the-10-most-powerful-women-at-the-united-nations/

Written by: Eleanor Rooke

We send you our many thanks for the inspiration, celebration, and success experienced at Keyholder with Goldie Hawn!

Your generosity raised $400,000 to further positive social change for women and girls in central Ohio.  How awesome?! 

And to everyone who made a tribute – wow!  We love hearing your stories.  If you missed it or want to see that fabulous video one more time, you can do so by clicking the image at the top of this page.

If you weren’t able to make a donation at the show, there is still time to double your money and have your contribution matched dollar for dollar.  Just click here. 

Until we see you next, stay connected with The Fund on Facebook and Twitter for other news and upcoming events.

The Getting Ahead program blogged about earlier this week was derived from the Bridges Out of Poverty curriculum—a program based around raising awareness about the truths of those in poverty, middle class, and wealth, specifically highlighting the hidden “rules” that govern all of our lives (whether we are conscious of them or not). “Bridges” gives a new lens through which we can view the whole of our community, including ourselves, our neighbors, and the systems that affect us all. Kathleen Kishman and I had the privilege to attend a half day Bridges Out of Poverty workshop yesterday led by Louise Seipel. I think everyone, whether he or she is in social service, health care, law enforcement, or simply living in our community, can benefit from what was taught:

• “An individual brings with him/her the hidden rules of the class in which he/she was raised.” A key point in the curriculum, we need to be aware of the hidden rules found not only in our personal lives, but in the societies and socio-economic groups around us. The mental models of those in poverty, the middle class, and the wealthy are different, down to the very things that drive us and what we give the highest value in our lives. People in poverty tend to think in the present, in survival mode, while those in the middle class can (literally) afford to be more future thinking. For the poor, Relationships are of the utmost. For those in the middle class it is Achievement. For the wealthy, Connections. And these driving forces can be seen everywhere. For example:
  • When regarding food, the greatest concerns are:
    • For those in Poverty: Did you have enough?
    • For those in the Middle Class: Did you like it?
    • For those in Wealth: Was it presented well?
  • When regarding one’s destiny:
    • For those in Poverty:  Believe in fate, cannot do much to mitigate change
    • For those in the Middle Class: Believe in choice, can change future with good choices now
    • For those in Wealth: Noblesse Oblige 

We need to be aware of the hidden rules to better partner with others and help them toward success.

• “No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” – Dr. James Comer Relationships are a strength of those in poverty. Therefore, a gift of charity is no gift at all if one has not established a relationship with the person they are giving to, if they don’t know what that person truly needs. Rather than judging or even mentoring, take the time to get to know someone in poverty first.

          Actually, we might apply this to everyone we come across.

Written by: Eleanor Rooke

Women’s rights have never been easy to come by. Even today in the “free world,” women continually fight uphill battles to attain rights to suffrage, property ownership, and equal pay. Although women’s equality still has a long way to go, women this year:

• Gained workers’ rights. Basic labor protections now extend to women who are employed in other people’s homes. Domestic workers around the world came together to advocate for equal rights. In June, the International Labor Organization (ILO) granted these rights.
• Established a strong voice at the UN. Former Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, now directs UN Women, a superagency within the United Nations that leads efforts for gender equality and women’s rights globally.
• Successfully used CEDAW in a rape case. Karen Vertido’s rape allegations were dismissed by the Philippine government due to “gender-based myths and stereotypes.” Women turned to the Optional Protocol of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) and the UN to overturn this case. Their appeal granted Vertido a fair chance at justice, marking the first rape case victory through CEDAW.
• Achieved equal treatment under the law. Women in Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, and Yemen are now enjoying equal nationality laws. These laws ensure nationality rights to children, even if their parents are from different countries. This guarantees women and children access to education, health care, employment, and other basic resources.

Now these events are forever a part of history, and they put the women of today on the same historical map as Susan B. Anthony, Mary McLeod Bethune, Lucy Burns and all the women’s activists of yesterday. Our history is our strength, and the achievements up to today lay the foundation for all women to continue toward equality.

Women’s equality, though, is more than the passing of bills, advocating for rights, and holding government positions. It starts with each of us taking pride in ourselves and not settling for just what we are given. So in celebration of Women’s History Month, take a moment to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are now, and to realize that you are a vital contributor to where we are headed.

To read about these and other achievements by women in the past year, click here: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/03/08/top-10-wins-for-womens-movements/

Written by: Hallie Kloots

Simply put, women are dynamic by nature. Flip through your contact list. I’ll bet you know women who are doctors, teachers, mothers, lawyers, business owners, philanthropists, friends, writers, CEOs, and everything in between. Each of these women probably wears more than one hat, too.

When we started planning Keyholder this year, we wanted to bring someone we could all relate to; someone who has fully embraced the ability of women to be successful at whatever it is that drives them. So, who is this woman?

She is Goldie Hawn. Although most of us know her for her bright career in acting, singing and writing, she is much more than that. She is a visionary, a philanthropist. She sends a message of mindfulness; mindfulness of who you are and what you can do for those around you. Her foundation focuses on children, realizing they are the future and they have limitless potential. All in all, she gets what it means to be a dynamic woman.

Her Hollywood roles cover everything from the quirky girl on Good Morning, World to a woman coming into her own in Private Benjamin, to her Academy Award performance in Cactus Flower. Her book A Lotus Grows in the Mud is not so much a tell-all of the Hollywood life, but rather an introspective journey to wisdom and self-fulfillment. She is a business woman, a mother, and an inspiration.

So, are you ready to Strike Gold?

Written by: Hallie Kloots

A local woman elected official and friend of mine sent me the link to this video yesterday.  Please take the time to watch it.  I hope it reminds you why you give to the Women’s Fund and inspires you to continue to change the world by funding social change for women and girls.  Rock on!

– Liz Shirey

Click here to view the history of women and philanthropy.

Money doesn’t make a man.

Nor does it make a nation, according to a recent study, Human Development Trends Since 1970: A Social Convergence Story. Educated women do.

Looking at developments tracing back to the 1970s, researchers George Gray Molina and Mark Purser found the wealth of a nation has less impact on its standard of living than its gender roles do. It seems the more women are allowed to participate in their country, the more that country prospers (no surprise there). The greater decision-making power women are allowed to have regarding issues such as childbirth and their own education, the greater the country performs. “Demographic transitions, urbanization and declining fertility rates have accelerated life-expectancy and literacy achievements over the past half-century,” the authors write. “We believe the underlying drivers of these changes are linked to individual and household-level decisions concerning fertility and female schooling.”

Digging even deeper, the authors state that, “Human development trends fit into a larger story of demographic change since the 1950s, driven by initial levels of human development and changes in fertility and female schooling.” Women and girls, it is proven, can transform entire nations. Those are the implications of investing in them.

http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/06/girl-power.php

OTHER EXCERPTS:

When the population of literate women was closer to or exceeded that of males, countries tended to have higher life expectancy in 1970. However, this relationship disappears in 2000.

We find that income is not a significant predictor of life expectancy –once we account for urbanization, fertility and female schooling.

Demographic transitions, urbanization and declining fertility rates have accelerated life-expectancy and literacy achievements over the past half-century (UNDESA 2009). We believe the underlying drivers of these changes are linked to individual and household-level decisions concerning fertility and female schooling. Although correlated, we do not find evidence to suggest that human development trends can be explained by factors associated with economic growth. Holding income constant, social factors seem to be driving the aggregate human development story.

By: Eleanor Rooke

For many, 2009 was a year of financial hardships. Faced with one of the greatest recessions in our country’s young history, many families struggled to make ends meet.

This past fall, The Women’s Fund hit a milestone. Thanks to our loyal donors, we reached the one-million dollar mark in just seven years of grantmaking. Because of the generosity and passion for positive social change shared by our donors, the lives of many women and girls changed.

Through the programs we fund, girls gain the knowledge and skills to help them reach their full potential.  Women learn self-sufficiency and arm themselves with resources to lead strong, successful lives.

Here at the Women’s Fund, we are ever-grateful for those of you working towards social change. Today, women and girls are exposed to countless opportunities, but some just need support to find their way. It is now 2010, and we won’t be slowing down.

Written By: Hallie Kloots

We funded 13 grants that promise social change for women and girls today. We listened to the needs of our community; we doubled our grantmaking and have invested $200,000 in programs that will strengthen life skills for girls, cultivate leadership for women, and advance economic self sufficiency for women. Today we thank our grant partners, donors, Board Members and volunteers- you are what makes today possible.

Please click here to view a complete list of our grant partners.