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Family Ties: An Interview with the van Burens
.jpg) Mother-daughter Women’s Fund members Linda and Heather van Buren are among 70 women who have found the Women’s Fund an interesting family affair. Mothers and daughters, in-laws, grandmothers, aunts and nieces are coming together in Women’s Fund groups—adding a new dimension to their experiences as a family.
When did you join the Women’s Fund?
Linda: 2016
Heather: December 2017
Why did you join?
Linda: I had been asked to join the Women’s Fund on many occasions but at the time my charitable giving was directed to international microfinance groups. Recently I have felt a strong need to give back to our own community so when I was asked to join “Encore” I readily accepted.
Heather: I heard about my mom's involvement in the Women’s Fund and I thought it sounded like a worthy local cause to get involved with. Additionally, I am a recent transplant back to Santa Barbara and was looking to get involved with more local organizations with a good cause.
What do you like best about the WF?
Linda: There are so many aspects of the WF that appeal to me but the greatest one is how the WF enables my modest donation to go into a collective pool which multiples the impact of that contribution hundreds of times over.
Heather: That it’s a community of local women that have an intrinsic interest in local philanthropic endeavors/groups.
How did it come about that you two are in a group together?
Linda: Interestingly enough, when I was forming "Encore Too" I did not think to ask Heather if she wanted to participate. BAD MOM! However, when she heard me discussing it, she was enthusiastic and signed on, significantly bringing down the median age of "Encore Too!" She then mentioned it to some other family members and this resulted in another mother-daughter joining our group.
Are there any advantages to you being in a group together?
Heather: It is nice to meet some of my mom’s peers and friends that are also members of the group. I also understand more about my mother‘s perspective on giving in our community.
We understand that you are starting a multigenerational mother/daughter/family member group with another mother-daughter combo. What intrigues you about that?
Linda: What propels me to get involved in a family group is the need to ensure that this amazing organization and its impact on the community continues for generations to come. It is never too early to engage younger family and friends to become involved.
Heather: I think it’s wonderful because it encourages other mother-daughter combos to participate. I believe that if you are able to join such an amazing group of women with your mother or daughter it really encourages the multigenerational perspective of philanthropy. I also find it interesting to hear what the older generation thinks in terms of giving large sums of funding to certain types of organizations since I do not have much experience with this.
If you are interested in joining or starting a Family Ties group, contact Stina Hans or Linda van Buren at gcliaison@womensfundsb.org.
Grantee Corner: Dyslexia
 How a new grantee is transforming lives of young students
A 2017-18 Women’s Fund grant to support a trained Reading Specialist at McKinley Elementary School is expanding the Santa Barbara Education Foundation’s Dyslexia Intervention Program.
Dyslexia is a neurobiological problem that makes learning to read difficult and often goes unrecognized, resulting in students falling behind in school. At a pilot program at Harding Elementary, K-3 students with moderate dyslexia who received intensive, structured, multi-sensory reading instruction from a specially trained Reading Specialist showed impressive gains in reading. Usually this kind of intervention requires costly private tutors. Providing early intervention at the school increases the likelihood that dyslexic children will master reading and succeed academically regardless of their economic circumstances.
Watch this short vimeo to see how Reading Specialist, Claire Krock, is making a difference.
We're Listening
Thank you to the 139 members who completed our survey evaluating the 2018 Presentation of Grants event on May 2nd. And thank you to Jere Lifshitz, our Survey Monkey guru, who summarized the results and compiled all your valuable comments.
The overwhelming majority of you rated the event as excellent in all aspects (organization, communications, timing, program with grantees). However, you also said the social hour and food and beverage ratings would have been higher if the space was not so crowded.
Specifically you told us:
- Check-in signage was confusing.
- The foyer was too crowded and noisy for the social hour.
- Crowding made access to the food and beverage stations challenging.
We've heard you and will make changes next year based on your input. We also plan on continuing what you valued most highly, namely the efficient program focused on our new grantees.
Thank you again for your feedback—with our growth in membership, we need to adapt our meeting spaces and procedures to ensure that everyone continues to have a great experience!
—YOUR 2018 Presentation of Grants Committee
Research Survey Coming Soon
The Research Committee will shortly begin its year-long process of identifying projects and agencies for next year’s ballot. Because we are a collective donor group, it is essential we gather our members’ opinions and suggestions.
The findings from this anonymous survey will help the researchers focus on what’s most important to our members and inform our work. The survey should take only 5-10 minutes to complete.
Members should look for an email from Survey Monkey on Tuesday, June 12. If you don’t receive it, please contact voting@womensfundsb.org.
Membership Corner
With the applause for our new grantees still ringing in our ears, the Membership Committee has been busy welcoming new members and encouraging current members to renew.
We have 40 new members already this year and hope you’ll help us welcome them into the Women’s Fund family: Lynne Abbey, Joan Arnold, Barbara Bartolome, Jill Bender, Gail Berkeley, Jennifer Bruell, Errin Cecil-Smith, Laura Clayton, Melissa Cohen, Nina L. Del Beccaro, Nancy Edmundson, Karen Fryklund, Tonia Gallardo, Valerie Grace, Carolyn Groth-Maranat, Sue Hein, Laura Henderson, Deana Hyde, Gail Johnson, Jen Marron, Julie Miller, Barbara Millett, Cheryl Mrachek, Lynda Nahra, Nicole Noren, Connie Pearcy, Tracey Peterson, Linda Putnam, Helen Reid, Linda Robyn, Judy Rogers, Jill Sagner, Cynthia Stohl, Karen Tenzer, Lori Tremer-Huey, Melanie Trent, Diane Webber, Lacey Williams*, Ann Wiltzius and Michelle Wisniewski.
*Individual and group member
Membership renewals for 2018 are well underway. In fact, seven groups have already reached or surpassed the $2,500 threshold to vote on next year’s ballot.
Congratulations to these seven groups and their hard-working captains: Friends, D'Penguineer Friends, Pillars of the Earth, Sharing the Blessings, Take Five, TLC and Women Who Care.
Renewing early makes a difference to the Women’s Fund:
- It helps the Research Committee size the next grants pool.
- It helps the Membership Committee avoid the year-end crunch (and you from getting renewal reminders!)
- We earn interest on our dollars throughout the year.
It’s easy to join or renew. Just click here.
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