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RESOURCES
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EVENTS
May 11. 11:00AM-9:00PM.
Flatbread Fundraiser for Maine Women's Fund. Flatbread will donate $3 to the Maine Women's Fund for every pizza sold on Mother's Day. Includes take out. 72 Commercial St. Portland.
May 13. 9:00AM-12:00PM.
National Press Club Discussion: Responding to America's Women Warriors. Join Volunteers of America for a discussion with some of the nation's top leaders responding to the needs of America's underserved women veterans, with a focus on homelessness, family housing, mental health and military sexual trauma. Register here.
On View: "A Community Responds to Crisis" poster exhibit, about the first responders to the 2013 Lewiston arsons. Center for Wisdom's Women, 97 Blake St., Lewiston. Open weekdays 9:00 AM-2:00 PM. More info here.
GRANTS
The John T. Gorman Foundation
is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations in Maine working to assist individuals suffering from mental illness, cancer, and/or for seniors who are struggling to successfully age in place. Find the RFP here. Deadline: May 15.
Ribbons of Hope--Invest in Women is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations that promote the well-being and future prospects of women and girls. One grant of $100,000 will be awarded to an organization that promotes education, health, economic independence, social well-being, or human rights for women and girls. Find the RFP here. Deadline: July 1.
Joyce Foundation Announces $1.6 Million for Adult Learners
to support the creation and promotion of education technologies. Click here to learn how to apply. LOI: July 11.
launched a new global campaign to bring financial inclusion to low-income communities.
Deadline: Open
American Honda Foundation Invites applications for STEM programs. Deadline: Open
Pollination Project Seed Grants for Social Entrepreneurs
Individuals working to make their community and the world a better place in the areas of arts and culture, community health and wellness, the environment, and justice. Deadline: Open
Kellogg Foundation
Invites applications for programs that engage youth and communities in learning opportunities. Deadline: Open
Healthy Generations is a multi-generational health initiative with a goal to improve the health of communities. Deadline: Open
OPPORTUNITIES
Maine Women's Fund Resource Development Training for past and current grantees. Final workshop: May 2. Click here for more info.
The Money Minders Program matches trained, supervised, bonded volunteers with adults 55+ who need help establishing a monthly budget and ensuring all bills get paid in a timely and accurate manner. Free for clients who meet low to moderate income. Click here for more info.
Maine EPSCoR High School Internship Program at University of Maine in Orono (Summer 2014). Provides Maine high school students with a paid, hands-on opportunity to gain real-world experience in STEM fields that might include: biology, climate change, chemistry/ biochemistry, engineering, computer science, forestry, economics, etc. More information: contact laurie.bragg@maine.edu or (207) 581-2295.
We invite you to visit the
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LETTER FROM THE CEO
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Dear Friends, 
To quote Geraldine Ferraro, "Some leaders are born women."
Later this month the Fund will celebrate just a few of those leaders from Maine at the annual Leadership Luncheon. Attorney Mary Bonauto, from Portland, is the undaunted, leading advocate for and champion of marriage equality, bringing the dream of marriage to all Americans.
Chloe Maxmin has established herself as a leader and environmental advocate through activism both as a student at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle and now at Harvard University. Fatuma Hussein of Lewiston is a leader of Somali women who have come to Maine, and has become an inter-cultural bridge between many communities here. Finally, Maine Boys to Men, founded by Maine Women's Fund board member and former president Layne Gregory, is a leader in teaching non-violent relationship skills as a preventative means of reducing physical and sexual violence against girls and women.
As an avid sailor, I know sailing not only involves nautical skill and knowledge, but provides a context for learning life skills such as teambuilding, patience and agility in unpredictable situations. All of the Fund's awardees demonstrate that great quality of leadership described in a quote attributed to John Maxwell: "The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails."
I hope you will join the Fund community in celebrating those women who are "adjusting the sails" to create economic security for women and girls. They are making a difference.
Thank you for all you do to support women and girls to thrive in Maine, so communities prosper.
Sincerely,
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MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 11: CELEBRATE AND SUPPORT THE FUND
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Did you know?
Mother's Day will be 100 years old this month!
 Why not skip the flowers this year and honor the mothers in your life by making a gift that helps women and girls in Maine! Make a gift to the Maine Women's Fund in your loved one's name. As part of your gift, the Fund will send the mother you honor a card that includes a special Mother's Day message.
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MOTHER'S DAY AT FLATBREAD:
FUNDRAISER FOR MAINE WOMEN'S FUND
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MOTHER'S DAY FUNDRAISER AT FLATBREAD!
Bring the special moms in your life for a Portland harbor-side meal of wood-fired pizza. Flatbread will donate $3 to the Maine Women's Fund for every pizza sold on Mother's Day.
Includes take out.
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THE LUNCHEON HAS SOLD OUT!
WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Holiday Inn By the Bay | 88 Spring Street, Portland
Celebrate four Maine leaders who create and encourage social change for women and girls. Be inspired by success stories from Fund grantees.
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Networking Reception
2014 Economic Security Initiative Grantees
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Lunch and Program | Suzanne Nance, Emcee
ASL Interpretation Provided
Thanks to our generous sponsors:
Lead Sponsor
Cornerstone Sponsors
Volunteer Underwriter
Benefactor Sponsors
Supporter Sponsors
Friends/Nonprofit Friends
In-Kind
Email Lauren Dietlin, COO, for sponsorship and advertising opportunities.
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SPOTLIGHT: 2014 TWIN AWARD WINNER MARY BONAUTO
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The Tribute to Women in Industry Award (TWIN) recognizes a woman who is a leader in her field and has achieved significant accomplishments as a business owner, business executive or nonprofit organizational leader. The 2014 recipient is Maine lawyer and gay rights activist Mary Bonauto.
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Photo: The New York Times
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Mary Bonauto, a Portland resident, was lead counsel in legalizing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and led the challenge that brought down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
As Civil Rights Project Director at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) for two decades, Bonauto has litigated for securing benefits for domestic partnerships, protecting custody rights, ending employment discrimination, ensuring First Amendment protections and challenging anti-gay violence. She is regarded as "the country's most powerful lawyer in the marriage equality fight" by The Advocate.
In a New York Times article from March 2013, Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer arguing for DOMA repeal in the Supreme Court, told the newspaper, "No gay person in this country would be married without Mary Bonauto."
According to BuzzFeed's November 2013 fascinating article ("How One Lawyer Turned The Idea Of Marriage Equality Into Reality"):
On June 26 of this year, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in his opinion for the court that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional because "no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the state, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity." He wrote, in part, that the law is unconstitutional because its principal purpose "is to impose inequality" - the simple and direct argument that Bonauto, Kaplan, and many others had been making for the entire 17 years of the law's existence.
Congratulations to Mary Bonauto! The Fund is thrilled to present Mary with the TWIN Award on May 21 during the annual Leadership Luncheon.
Photo above: BuzzFeed via John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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Coastal Studies for Girls' Summer Programs for Girls and Women
FOR GIRLS
Coastal Connection (July 7-11 or July 21-25)
Rising 6th and 7th grade girls live in the CSG farmhouse and dive into a hands-on exploration of marine science and leadership on the coast of Maine.
Expanding Coastal Connection + Leadership (July 14-18)
Rising 7th and 8th grade girls, or girls who attended Summer 2013 Coastal Connection, dive into a hands-on exploration of marine science and leadership. We will delve deeper into living, learning, and leadership along the Maine coast.
FOR WOMEN
Women's Coastal Retreat (July 25-28) led by Coastal Studies for Girls Executive Director Pam Erickson.
For more information on all summer programs: www.coastalstudiesforgirls.org/summer-programs/
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Hardy Girls Healthy Women's 2014 Summer Institute is Open for Registration 
Navigating Girl World: Connecting the Dots...Changing the Culture June 25-27, 2014 | Freeport, ME
Girls aren't the problem. They're the solution. This is at the heart of Hardy Girls Healthy Women's revolutionary Summer Institute. Join girls' development expert Lyn Mikel Brown, EdD and other experts from Hardy Girls Healthy Women to learn how to work with girls to create a better world. Register here.
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FUND AND RELATED NEWS YOU CAN USE
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Maine Women's Fund Welcomes New Staff Member
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Maine Women's Fund staff: Sarah Schneider, Development Coordinator. Sarah is thrilled to be working to help brighten the lives of Maine women and girls. Prior to joining the Fund, Sarah was the Grants & External Affairs Manager at Maine Family Planning for over nine years. She has served on various boards, including with the Community Health Charities of Maine. A graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington, Sarah holds a B.F.A. in Creative Writing and has studied towards her M.F.A. at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is still optimistic that she will someday finish writing a biography of her cousin, Doris Cochran, who was an avid weaver and a pioneering herpetologist at the Smithsonian. Sarah recently relocated from the mid-coast with her husband Jim and their daughter Ruth-they are all very excited to call Portland home.
Maine Women's Fund CEO, Sarah Ruef-Lindquist, Featured Panelist at All for Women Conference in Presque Isle
The women on the panel had diverse backgrounds and experiences as leaders in many areas of business, education, non-profit and social services across Maine. All shared inspiring stories of the challenges, vision and passion involved in becoming leaders in their communities to help those in attendance from Aroostook County and beyond to consider and even expand their own leadership potential. Sarah was thrilled to take part in the panel.
 
Coffee By Design founders win top Small Business Administration award for Maine | Cyndi Price, owner of
Loo-Hoo LLC, named Home-Based Business Champion
The founders of Coffee By Design were named Maine's Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The couple will be invited to Washington to vie for a national award in mid-May. Mary Allen Lindeman, co-owner with husband Alan Spear, was the 2009 recipient of the Maine Women's Fund TWIN award. Cyndi Price, owner of environmentally friendly wool dryer balls Loo-Hoo LLC, took part in Fund grantee Women, Work, and Community's entrepreneurial program. Congratulations!
>>Read more
 White House Summit on Working Families - June 23, 2014 On June 23, 2014, the White House Council on Women and Girls, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Center for American Progress (CAP) will host a Summit on Working Families to focus on creating a 21st century workplace that works for all Americans. They will convene businesses, economists, labor leaders, policymakers, advocates, and ordinary citizens to discuss policy solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of working families and ensure America's global competitiveness in the coming decades.
>>Read more
UNFPA, Gates Foundation to Boost Family Planning
The United Nations Population Fund and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to help increase access to family planning information, contraceptives, and services in developing countries. The partnership will work to advance the goal of Family Planning 2020 - a global initiative of governments, nonprofit organizations, donors, and researchers working to provide access to high-quality voluntary family planning supplies and services for an additional 120 million women and girls in the 69 poorest countries by 2020.
>>Read more
L'Oreal Paris Seeking Nominations for 2014 Women of Worth Awards
L'Oreal Paris has announced a call for nominations for the 2014 L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth awards, an annual program that honors women who are making a beautiful difference in the world through voluntarism. Since 2006, the program, in partnership with Points of Light, has recognized 80 inspiring women who have selflessly devoted themselves to causes at the local and national level - and have motivated others to do likewise. Past honorees have been involved in a range of important causes, from advocating for victims of childhood abuse and mentoring homeless youth, to helping break the cycle of poverty and empowering teens with disabilities. >>Read more
Equal Pay Day Highlights (April 8, 2014)
In recognition of April's National Equal Pay Day, President Obama signed two executive actions to prevent workplace discrimination and empower workers to be more informed in pay negotiations. Click here to view the President's remarks on Equal Pay Day. Click here to read a Fact Sheet on Ensuring Equal Pay for Women and Promoting the Women's Economic Agenda. >>Read more
Bank of America Invests $10 Million in Calvert Foundation to Empower Women
The Calvert Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland, has announced a $10 million investment from Bank of America to support the economic and social advancement of women in developing countries. The funds will be used to make loans to organizations that connect women-led small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) with financing and provide women with access to financial services and products. It's estimated that fewer than 10 percent of women operating SMEs have access to capital, while women entrepreneurs consistently identify access to financing as a major obstacle to expanding their businesses.
>>Read more
More working women can make countries richer, say Clinton and Lagarde
Encouraging more women into the workforce can boost economic growth, and governments and corporations should do more to remove barriers that deter women from the job market, Hillary Clinton and Christine Lagarde said at a women's rights summit in New York. Speaking at the fifth annual Women in the World summit, Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said cultural and economic barriers - such as entrenched sexism and higher taxes that women workers often pay as second earners - can hold women back. "If you bring more women into the job market you create value, it makes economic sense and growth is improved," Lagarde said. "There are countries where it's a no brainer."
>>Read more
Social Media Productivity Tools for Nonprofits
Great roundup of some challenges that nonprofit professionals face in regards to social media and marketing, and solutions. For example, to combat the common problem of information overload:
"Focus on what is most relevant to your job and to your audience. You do not have to be the go-to resource on every topic that relates to your cause or your industry."
>>Read more
Toolkit: Invest in Girls and Women: Everybody Wins
A new toolkit from Women Deliver pulls together infographics, data points and key messages to make the case for investing in girls and women. The toolkit presents specific asks and goals related to maternal and newborn health, family planning and reproductive health, women's health, education, and equality, with the aim of providing global partners with a clear course of action to best advocate for the health and well-being of girls and women.
>>Read more
Did you know? The Fund is on Twitter and LinkedIn. Follow and connect with a community dedicated to investing in the power of women and the dreams of girls.
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The Maine Women's Fund thanks MaineShare for its ongoing support. MaineShare makes it easy to donate to more than 30 statewide organizations working every day to make Maine a better place to live. For more information, please visit the website. |
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On behalf of the staff and board of the Maine Women's Fund, thank you for reading and for all you do to support Maine women and girls.
Office locations:
565A Congress Street, Suite 306, Portland, ME 04101 | 41 Mechanic Street, Suite 328, Camden, ME 04843
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