New sWIFT Masthead Dec2012
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
FacebookLike us on Facebook Twitter Follow us on Twitter
LinkedIn View our profile on LinkedIn
 
Please take a moment to like the Women's Impact Fund page on Facebook. Invite your friends to "Like" it, too!

If you are on LinkedIn,
please ask to join the
Women's Impact Fund Group
by clicking on the "Join Group" button. 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WIF Grants Making an Impact
by Carolyn Meade

Did you know that once a grant is awarded, WIF's Community Impact Committee works with grantees and tracks the progress of WIF supported projects and initiatives?  Committee work teams based on each focus area work with the grantees in that area for the entirety of the one- or two-year grant.

After a kick-off meeting to confirm project goals and timelines, grantees provide updates every six months, reporting on their project's progress with statistics, economics and anecdotes.  During the 2015-2016 year, 17 members tracked nine grantees -- four of our 2014 winners (all of whom had two-year grants) and all five of our 2015 winners.
This ongoing evaluation, coupled with the Grants team's extensive examination of the issues in our community and how grant applicants will move the needle, helps ensure our organization is thoughtful and thorough in our grant-making approach. We consistently hear our grants serve as a spark for organizations to attract other funding.

"We want all of our members to share in the energy and excitement and sense of progress we feel when we talk to our grantees," said Abbie Baynes, immediate past chair of the Community Impact Committee.

Today and in future issues of sWIFt, we will highlight the work of our grantees.  Below we are featuring the NC Wildlife Federation and the Community Culinary School of Charlotte.  Enjoy!
NC Wildlife Federation Uses Outdoors As Classroom
by Carolyn Meade

What are you or your loved ones doing this summer?  Have you had a chance to get out on Lake Norman or Lake Wylie?  To hike in the mountains?  WIF grantee North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) provides those kinds of opportunities for many Charlotte children who ordinarily would have very limited access to the natural world.

NCWF's "GoU" (Great Outdoors University) Program provides conservation-based, experiential learning aligned with STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) concepts for 14 partner organizations, including local Boys and Girls Clubs and Freedom Schools, at approximately 18 area "destination partners" like the Raptor Center and Cowan's Ford Wildlife Refuge.

Last year, GoU provided 38 trips for 735 third through eighth-graders.  NCWF designed and implemented two new programs - "Lake Dwellers" in which children combine a hiking and canoe trip, and "Animal Forensics" in which participants figure out which animal "stole their lunch" based on the clues the thief left behind...READ MORE
Culinary School Teaching Cooking Skills
by Carolyn Meade

If you are feeling less outdoorsy, consider supporting another one of our grantees, the  Community Culinary School of Charlotte, by dining at the school's Café. You also can bring your team or your friends for a unique experience: prepping a seven-course meal in just 90 minutes! It's your opportunity to understand the pressure - and the rewards - of a culinary career, just as CCSC's students learn it.

WIF granted $54,000 to CCSC in 2014 to fund its Workforce Development Training Program: three 14-week training sessions annually in which adults
Making basil tarts at CCSC
whose history creates a barrier to employment learn the skills they need to work in the food services industry. The program has exceeded its goals during the time of WIF's grant: 85 percent of its students have graduated with culinary certifications and 83 percent have obtained employment upon graduation (with 75-80 percent of each class still working in the industry six months after graduation.) These statistics are on par with the culinary arts programs at Johnson & Wales University and Central Piedmont Community College... READ MORE
Getting to Know Sharon Harrington
by Jennie Buckner

A passion for education has shaped Sharon Harrington's life, from her book-loving childhood to a successful career in development at Davidson College, UNC Charlotte, and Johnson C. Smith University. Now, after 12 years in higher education, Sharon is focused on childhood literacy. As Executive Director of Charlotte's Reading Partners, she leads a non-profit that helps children become lifelong readers by providing individualized instruction with measurable results. Reading Partners envisions a future where all children will have the reading skills to reach their full potential.

A new board member of Women's Impact Fund, Sharon has served on the boards of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Charlotte Chapter; Lillian's List of NC; the Community Advisory Board of Dress For Success, Charlotte; and Duke University School of Law's Alumni Association. Sharon also volunteers as a reading partner herself, spending several hours each week with a second-grade boy. "He never fails to brighten my day," she says.

What have you enjoyed most about being a member of WIF?
Getting to know such remarkable women. I've enjoyed working with members, learning from them, and growing alongside them as we served on various committees. I joined WIF in 2003 as a charter member, so I've had the time to learn quite a bit! Through the comprehensive grants process I also discovered how some outstanding non-profits operate. Being able to apply some of their best practices to my own work life has been another great gift...READ MORE
WIF MEMBER NEWS
Congratulations!: Member Mary Sherrill Ware and her husband, Luke,  are the proud parents of their first daughter: Mary Lauren Ware. She arrived on June 9th, weighing 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Mary Sherrill is already planning for her WIF membership in 2040!

Congratulations as well to member Suzy Johnson, recognized recently by the Mecklenburg Times as one of its 50 Most Influential Women in 2016. She also has taken on a new volunteer leadership role with the National Association of Health Underwriters. She will chair the Leading Producers Roundtable for NAHU.

WIF members, we want to hear from you!  This new feature - WIF Member News - depends totally on you!  Please send us news of a new job, new volunteer leadership role, a new addition to your family, a big move or anything else you'd like to share with your family of WIF friends.  Email: communications@womensimpactfund.org
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Save the Date:
Social Hour for Social Issues
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
UNC Charlotte Center City
320 E. 9th Street
Charlotte, NC 28202

~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on all upcoming WIF events,
click HERE