Greetings!,

Good news, bad news...

A recent report on the status of women and girls in Maine includes a number of interesting - if somewhat depressing - findings related to economic security. "In Maine, the wage gap based on gender is 78.5%, almost two percent higher than the national average," reports the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in Maine. "The largest earning differences are between men and women with graduate degrees, a difference of almost $19,000 in annual median earnings." Ouch.  

As women tend to live longer than men (roughly five years), their lower incomes tend to result in the ability to save less for retirement than men do. Double-ouch.

Women outnumber men as single heads of households by almost two-to-one in Maine, further eroding their economic capacity and potential security. Triple-ouch.

So that's the "bad news", which explains why the Maine Women's Fund continues to focus its grants on programs that build economic security. You can read all about our recent grants here.

What's the "good news"? According to Women Give 2012, a report on the effects of age and gender on charitable giving by the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, "Boomer and older women are more likely to give to charity, and give more than their male counterparts when other factors affecting giving are taken into consideration." What's more, baby boomer and older women at the highest income levels are almost twice as likely as men to give 3% or more of their income annually.  

So women "of a certain age" can take a certain pride in recognizing their own willingness to address through charitable gifts the issues that face us as a society, including women's economic security. Maybe we support at higher levels because in our lifetimes we've seen what philanthropy can do to effect positive social change. That's certainly true for me and for the Maine Women's Fund community.

You can read more about what some of our grantees are doing to address economic security through the links in this newsletter and at our web site. You can also get involved in helping us understand the needs of women and girls across Maine. (Let us know of your interest, as well as where you live in Maine, by clicking here) Over the coming months, we'll be engaging our volunteer base to help us get as clear a picture as possible of the status of women and girls in individual Maine communities. We plan to use this information to better inform our grant making in 2013 and beyond. We'd love your help!

Sarah Ruef-Lindquist

CEO

In August we welcomed our newest staff member, Katie Allen. Katie began as an intern with the Maine Women's Fund in May and is now our Administrative Assistant. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Katie has spent two years in Maine. We're excited to have her on board! 

When I learned that Marion Kane passed away in August I was struck with the sense that an era had passed with her. Maine was enriched and continues to benefit richly from the vision she had to grow the Community Foundation to stimulate so much thoughtful, strong and strategically-focused philanthropic activity across the state, while another woman of that time, Elizabeth "Betty" Noyes, had the thoughtful generosity and financial capacity to match it. Together, they were emblematic of the explosion of philanthropic activity across Maine through both private and public philanthropy lead by women in the 1990's.

Marion gave me the role of Vice President for Southern Maine when she hired me onto the staff in 1999. This allowed the Foundation to increase the visibility of the Foundation and also build new relationships with donors and advisors that molded my perspective on the world of philanthropy, while the assets of the Foundation grew quickly in the wake of the "dot com" stock market bubble. It was a very exciting time and I am proud to have had a part.

As women involved in philanthropy, we are all able to claim her as a model visionary, and her example will continue in our hearts and minds as we work to make Maine the place where life is as it should be. Thank you, Marion.