WGC Celebrates 20 Years!

HerMind Magazine, December 2022

Did you know that less than 2% of all charitable giving in the US goes to women’s and girls’?organizations?

It’s true.?

And, that’s why 16 women founded the?Women’s Giving Circle?of Howard County (WGC)?20 years ago. A fund of the Community Foundation of Howard County, the WGC is building a community of philanthropists to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County. As WGC ends its?20th Anniversary Year, here is a snapshot of efforts in 2022, and the last 20 years:

?Our background

• WGC is a giving circle – a collective giving effort where we are pooling our dollars for greater impact
• We are focusing on women and girls because programs that focus on us are traditionally underfunded
• We are proud to be among the thousands of giving circles across the country that have given millions of dollars in our local communities

Our history

We have:

• Been part of the Howard County community for 20 years and are one of the longer tenured giving?circles in the country
• Brought women together to?pool our dollars so we can have a greater impact together than we might otherwise have alone
• Elevated the voices and stories of women philanthropists in Howard County as we’ve helped build a community of givers
• Invested over $1,000,000 to our nonprofit partners through over 250 grants
• Built over a $1,300,000 endowment from over 1,600 donors that will ensure that there are funds to support women and girls in our community in perpetuity

?Our impact

• WGC’s?20 Years, 20 Stories Series
• WGC’s?20 Years of Impact – By the Numbers
• WGC’s?2022 Year in Review & 2023 Opportunities for Growth

?Our 2022 highlights

• WGC’s?$200,000 in grants?to our nonprofit partners, including through?WGC’s Emergency Response Network
• WGC’s 22 events, including our?Virtual Coffee Chat on the State of Women and Girls in Howard County, our?Mother’s Day Happy Hour at Bra-La-La, our?co-Sponsorship of the County’s Women’s Equality Day Lunch, our?Sunset Happy Hour at The Community Ecology Institute/Freetown Farm, and our?WGC End-of-Year Advisory Board Meeting and Celebration
• WGC?Awarded?the MLK “Living the Dream” Award?by the Howard County Office of Human Rights & Equity
• WGC’s?20th Anniversary Annual Celebration:?“Gaps and Growth in Philanthropic Support for Women and Girls”
• WGC’s?State of Women and Girls in Howard County
• WGC’s?Pink Party in the Park?20th Anniversary Celebration
• WGC’s?Black Philanthropy Month Our Giving, Our Stories?&?Happy Hour at The 3rd
• WGC’s?20 Years, 20 Stories
• WGC’s?Inaugural Big Give Launched
• WGC’s?Year-Long Feminine Hygiene Product Drive

?Our 4 distinct ways to give

We will do all of this because of your philanthropic investments through our?4 distinct giving opportunities:

• WGC Community Member?– how women have been giving to the WGC for years – through our Emergency Response Network, Annual and Special Appeals, “In Honor” of someone including our new?Barb Van Winkle Leadership Fund!
• WGC Sponsor Member?– we are currently offering numerous sponsorship opportunities for 2023 and we hope you will consider joining us. Thank you to our?2022 Sponsors! And, to all?2023 Sponsors?to date.
• WGC Legacy Member?– this is a gift to our endowment or through planned giving
• WGC Big Give Member?– we launched this roll-up-your-sleeves collective giving opportunity this year and 27 women gave $20,000 to 3 nonprofit partners

?Our opportunities for involvement

There are numerous ways to get involved – here’s a few upcoming opportunities:

• Attend our upcoming?WGC Membership Monday?via Zoom on January 23, 2023, from 8:30 am – 9:00 am to learn more about the WGC
• Sponsor or purchase tickets to?WGC’s Annual Celebration and Pink Party?at Howard Community College on March?8, 2023 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.
• Give products or a donation to?WGC’s Feminine Hygiene Product Drive

?Our future

• We look forward to?engaging our members in new and creative ways
• Advancing our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts
• Building upon?WGC’s?State of Women and Girls in Howard County?to inform our grantmaking
• Strengthening our core support to sustain and grow our circle for the next 20 years and beyond

?Our gratitude

• We’ve grown the last 20 years as a giving circle because of?all of you
• We have relied upon and appreciated our leaders, members, nonprofit partners, funding partners, and our community the last 20 years
• Thank you for giving together through the WGC so we can have a greater impact on women and girls in our community, together!

?This holiday season of gratitude and giving, and WGC?leadership is deeply grateful to our donors/members, nonprofit partners, founders, sponsors, Advisory Board members, and all those who collectively support women and girls in Howard County.

Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz is the Executive Director of the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County. She can be reached at:?[email protected]?and?www.wgchowardcounty.org