​In this Issue:

• Votes have been tallied
• Volunteers needed
• Membership corner
• Get to know...Novel Women
• Renew early

Votes have been tallied

In less than a month, on May 8, you will learn the names of the recipients our members have chosen as our 2016-17 grantees.

So, come celebrate! You may bring one or more prospective Women's Fund members as your guest. There is no charge for the first guest.

13th Annual
Presentation of Grants
May 8, 2017
The Fess Parker
3:30 Registration ♦ 4:00 Grants Presentation ♦ 5:00 Reception

Click here to RSVP by May 1 to let us know if you can or cannot attend. The RSVP form will walk you through the registration process. Please use the form to register all your guests so we know the names of those you are hosting.

Would you like to volunteer...

...at the Presentation of Grants?

Volunteering is a fun way to meet other Women's Fund members. We need help greeting and registering attendees, setting up and cleaning up after the event.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact the Event Committee.

Membership Corner

2016 was a banner year for the Women’s Fund. We welcomed over 150 new members, bringing our total membership to 747 women by year-end. That’s a long way from the 68 women who joined our first year in 2004.

We also welcomed six new membership groups in 2016—Aloha Spirit, Breast Friends, Encore, Novel Women (read about Novel Women in the article below), Riviera and Spreading Sunshine.

Thanks to our members who encouraged their friends to join the Women’s Fund, we had tremendous membership growth in the 2nd half of 2016. In fact, so many joined that we held two receptions in January to welcome these newest members. They had the opportunity to meet Steering and Research Committee members and hear from two of our 2016-17 grantees.

The membership growth continues in 2017. In the first quarter of this year, we welcomed nine new members: Joan Barker, Kari Eiler, Nancy Lieberman, Jennifer Mansbach, Marlene Nusbaum, Kendall Pata, Lorie Robinson, Janis Salin, Melody Taylor.

Get to know...Novel Women

Pictured - Left to Right (Front Row): Karen Feeney, Cherie Demopolis, Lila Deeds; (Second Row): Janice Thomson, Lynn Rodriguez, Patty Erbe, Mary Marshall, Lindy Merrill, Jan Shiells, Dianne Black, Pat Saley

We wanted to get to know this new group better, so we interviewed Group Captain, Karen Feeney.

Why did you join the Women’s Fund?
I decided I wanted to join the Women’s Fund after observing the organization as a sponsor. I work for Allen Construction, and Barbara Hauter Woodward, a former Allen client, asked the company if we would support the Women’s Fund by sponsoring the buses for the annual Site Visit, which we gladly did. I was immediately impressed by the mission and work of the Women’s Fund …Barbara also offered to send a representative to one of our book group meetings to share the Women’s Fund story. Nancy Harter—who conveniently knew some of the women in our book group—attended a meeting and answered everyone’s questions, making the decision to join an easy one.

What inspired you to create your group?
I wanted to participate in the Women’s Fund with a group of friends, and I couldn’t think of a better group than my book club. They are smart, civic-minded, passionate women with a long track record of sharing ideas and discussing books—traits that would translate well to being a part of the Women’s Fund.

These are just a few of Karen's answers; read the full interview on our website and learn about the books they are reading.

Please Renew Early

While we prepare to celebrate our new 2016-17 grantees on May 8, we’re also beginning the work to create our 2018 grants pool that will be awarded next Spring. That work centers on encouraging our members to renew their memberships—ideally much earlier in the calendar year than the year-end deadline.

This is so important because:

• Our Research Committee can better estimate the size of our next grants pool.
• The year-end rush for the all-volunteer Membership Committee is reduced.
• We are now earning interest on our grants pool funds.

So please consider renewing now. Your 2017 membership will help ensure that we continue to help the women, children and families in our community.

It's easy to renew, just click here.