MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Marcia Danab

What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

I learned about ninety-nine girlfriends from family and friends, and I was impressed with the positive impact of the organization. 

What keeps you engaged/interested/connected?  

I like learning about the work of nonprofits in our community. I enjoyed working on the environmental grant review team with dedicated, caring women who are now my friends. I am retired from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality so this team's work was particularly meaningful for me.

I appreciate the thoughtful leadership of ninety-nine girlfriends guiding us on how to respond to the changing needs of the greater Portland community and our Girlfriend community. The summer socials and small-group gatherings are fun and a good way to get to know our members.

What else would you like to share?

I am inspired by the passionate, compassionate women of ninety-nine girlfriends and the organizations we support.  

Members! We’d love to spotlight you. Please contact Andra to learn more.

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LEARNING LINK: INDIAN COUNTRY 101

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This video is a short sample of the high-quality material provided in the Indian Country 101 course. Upon registration for the workshop, you will be sent a link to a study guide to help you focus your online review of the material. This should be done before the workshop and will take about three hours. We hope to see you there on October 12.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx14LNK19wc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx14LNK19wc

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IMPACT PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

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Wisdom of the Elders is one of many community partners coming together with Portland Parks and Recreation to celebrate the 75 years of one of our city’s prized outdoor spaces, Forest Park! On Saturday, Sept. 23, join them and other community members to volunteer, learn, and celebrate together at this event, which kicks off at 8:30 a.m.! Wisdom of the Elders is offering a basket weaving workshop at the Lower Macleay trailhead from 9:30-11:30 a.m., led by Celeste Whitewolf, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation elder; and Lise Gervais, a basket weaving instructor. More information on the event and the workshop can be found on this website – including a registration link for the workshop. You can also register for the workshop directly here. 

We’re digging back into the archives of KSMoCA’s work to highlight a fun way for folks of all ages to engage in an art moment together! If you haven’t already, check out KSMoCA’s Conceptual Art at Home project – a series of art prompts designed for K-8th grade students, but open for anyone to do! Prompts are written by artists who have worked with KSMoCA, and some of the organization’s broader community of friends. Make a drawing with one of their prompts, connect with a family member through a thoughtful interview, or learn about the work of an artist you didn’t know before!

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Impact Partner Highlights

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Black Food Sovereignty Coalition

Earlier this summer, The Oregonian highlighted the work that the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition is doing in the community in this great write-up on the Black Futures Farm and other programs – including a collaboration with another Impact Partner, WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center! BFSC is bringing them fresh produce to support their programming.

WomenFirst Transition and Referral Center

WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center is hiring for a number of FT and PT positions, including a Financial Manager, Family Resource Navigator, Administrative Assistant, Childcare Coordinator, and Domestic Violence Advocate. For more information, contact the organization’s executive Director, Shannon Olive, at shannono@rebuildwomenfirst.org. Please share with your network.

Rosemary Anderson High School

Rosemary Anderson High School just launched its Prep program for the upcoming school year! This tuition-free pilot program for an initial enrollment of 60 students builds upon the alternative, community-based model at RAHS, adding increased post-secondary prep schooling through advanced classes, an entrepreneurship program with local business partners, and an athletics program that includes boys' basketball and girls' volleyball. You can read more about the program here in an article from The Skanner! 

Constructing Hope

Constructing Hope has launched a project called “Building Legacy: Construction Industry Community Builders of Color,” documenting the historical contribution of BIPOC Pioneers in Oregon’s construction industry through storytelling. The site links to the biographies of these honorees, including Marcela Alcantar, Faye Burch, Shirley Minor, and James Posey. You can also find a set of moving interviews with these trailblazing community members on Constructing Hope’s YouTube page. They are also hiring right now for a part-time Fundraising Manager.

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LEARNING LINK: THE REUNITED STATES

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“Each of us is either dividing or uniting, depending on our thoughts, words, or actions towards the other side.”

As we look for ways to collaborate with others to solve the issues in our region, we will naturally work with others who may have different opinions on things that matter to us. The Reunited States has some helpful tools on how to depolarize yourself, depolarize conversations, and deal with different political views within your family.

Member Spotlight: Shantara Grace

I’m excited to be a member of ninety-nine girlfriends. I know how much our grants are helping the important missions of local non-profits, and love that I can contribute. Non-profits are doing such important work in our communities. I have become so passionate about them since I started to volunteer.

This year, I began offering sound healing as a volunteer at Hopewell House. Hopewell House offers compassionate, personal, and beautiful end-of-life residential care for people in their last days. I have been offering sound healing meditation concerts and private sessions professionally for more than three decades in many venues. It is truly an honor to bring this work to the dying and all the kind and compassionate volunteers and staff that keep it all happening every day. 

Hopewell House re-opened in January 2023 as a non-profit after Legacy Health made the decision to sell it. A group of ambitious visionaries, including many whose loved ones had died at Hopewell House, got together to raise funds to buy the property. Hopewell House relies on donations for daily expenses, and to sponsor residents who don’t have the funds for their stay. 

I also donate my services to A Village for One, a non-profit that provides outpatient and residential services, care, and love to youth who have been sex-trafficked or exploited in Oregon. Also founded by a few ambitious visionaries, they recently built a residential home and are continuing to expand services. 

All this to say that I understand how precious the grants we give can be to local non-profits, and how crucial their work is. I joined ninety-nine girlfriends to support these important organizations. I’m a new member and don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing in the organization, but I’m so happy to be a

Members! We’d love to spotlight you. Please contact Andra to learn more.

Volunteer Spotlight: April Hasson

What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

I found out about ninety-nine girlfriends while perusing another member's website bio, and ended up going down a rabbithole reading more about the organization. That was back in 2016, and I joined as soon as membership opened in 2017. After years of grant writing in my professional life, it has been exciting being on the grant making side. I joined a Grant Review Team and loved getting to learn about organizations in our area that I'd never heard of before, and about all the great work they do. Plus, being on a Grant Review Team was a fun way to meet fellow members and get to the heart of what ninety-nine girlfriends does, which is getting impactful funds out into the community.

What keeps you engaged/interested/connected?

I've appreciated every ninety-nine girlfriends event I've ever been to. I always find them to be a thoughtful mix of connecting, learning, sharing and becoming more inspired. The member education events are definitely worth checking out, and it's exciting that we've gotten back to some in-person events as well. There are also volunteer opportunities, big and small. While I wasn't able to commit to being on a Grant Review Team last year, I have been able to help with some event planning tasks and other fun things that worked for my schedule.

What else would you like to share?

I've heard from some people that they can't commit time, and that's OK! Being able to leverage our collective giving and voting are key. Inviting friends to join our membership and spreading the word are also really helpful. We are an amazing group of women (as an encompassing term), that is hundreds strong. Use our membership directory to connect with other members. Have coffee or go on a walk with someone new. There's always wisdom to impart and learn, and everyone I've ever connected with has been very friendly!

Members! We’d love to spotlight you. Please contact Andra to learn more.

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LEARNING LINK: UNDERSTANDING RACIAL DISPARITIES AND MORE

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This Girlfriend-produced report provides a strong framework for understanding inequities in our region. It’s the Reducing Racial Disparities in our Community report, and it was produced by one of the teams of Girlfriends that researched issues we were examining in 2020. 

The other areas of study were Understanding Youth Mental Health, Improving Stewardship of Our Natural World, and Safe Homes for All. You can find those equally informative reports on our website at this link.

Impact Partner Highlights

Wisdom of the Elders

Wisdom of the Elders, a 2022 Impact Partner, is searching for an artist to design their new logo. They seek someone who will lend their expertise in bringing Wisdom a new logo and visual identity that reflects the organization’s new mission-driven focus. Could that be you or someone you know? Portfolios can be submitted to multimedia@wisdomoftheelders.org, along with a design proposal and suggested budget for consideration. 

Voz Workers' Rights Education Project

2022 Impact Partner Voz Workers’ Rights Education Project is hosting its Annual Dinner on June 23rd, and there are multiple ways for members of ninety-nine girlfriends to get involved. Tickets are available for purchase here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vozs-annual-fundraising-dinner-tickets-593154911307. Voz is also seeking sponsors at various levels for the event. More information is available through this link:  bit.ly/VozSponsors. Lastly, Voz is seeking volunteers – please contact Tanya Macedo via email at tanya@portlandvoz.org for opportunities to help.

11 Trends in Philanthropy

Since 1992, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy has been a leader in helping to understand, strengthen, and advance effective philanthropy for strong, equitable, and inclusive communities. They just recently issued their 2023 report titled 11 Trends in Philanthropy. You can read it, watch a webinar about it, or catch some highlights by clicking this link.

Your $100 is Hard at Work

Have you ever wondered what happens to the $100 you contribute to ninety-nine girlfriends above and beyond the $1,000 grant pool contribution? Here’s your answer: Our annual administrative, event, and education expenses are supported by your $100 membership contribution. Per the 2023 budget, approximately half of your dues are expected to offset the costs of events planned for this year and to cover technology expenses. Merchant charges, licenses, and insurance expenses compile roughly 25%, and accounting/contract services and professional development expenses comprise the remaining key expenses.

Do you have a question about how things work in ninety-nine girlfriends? If so, submit it here and we’ll do our best to answer it in a future issue.

Opportunities Beckon on Communications Committee

Do you have Squarespace skills and some time to commit to helping us manage our website?

Do you have social media skills and enjoy creating content?

Do you have writing skills and enjoy communicating with a membership of awesome women?

Do you have other skills that you think would benefit our Communications Committee?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, email us today so we can share more about this important and fun committee of volunteers.

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Register for a Grant Review Team and Help Select our Finalists!

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Have you ever wanted to serve on a Grant Review Team (GRT) but just didn’t have the time? This may be your year! Grant making at ninety-nine girlfriends is going to look A LOT different this year — streamlined and simplified in order to make room for our strategic planning activities. The whole GRT commitment will take about three weeks and there will be just ONE team meeting on June 10, after which your work would be done!

Discovery Forum Highlights Successful Collaborations

At this year’s Discovery Forum, we learned about organizations that came together to address some of the toughest issues facing our region: homelessness, access to mental health resources, and gun control. This idea of building alliances across organizations ties directly to our annual learning question: How do we collaborate as communities to address issues in our region?

Impact Partner Highlight: WomenFirst Transition and Referral Center

Liaison Elizabeth Fraser shared the following from her meeting with Impact Partner, WomenFirst Transition and Referral Center: “It struck me again, despite my extensive reading on the topic, the seemingly endless list of practical needs of women facing discharge from prison. In addition to providing individual financial assistance such as paying utility bills, storage units, driver’s license fees, transportation costs for family reunification, various skill development classes are offered. “

2023: HOW DO WE COLLABORATE AS COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS ISSUES IN OUR REGION?

This year, we will build on our previous learning questions to explore the value of collaboration to address issues in our region. We will begin the year with Sheryl WuDunn in our first quarter. Then, in our second quarter, our Discovery Forum will feature representatives from organizations that have created positive impact on our region through collaboration. We will move on to learning that comes as a result of our grant making process and some small-group collective learning in our third quarter.

Impact Partner Highlights

The BRAVO Youth Orchestras Choir Program invites anyone and everyone who desires to experience community through music to their concert on Friday, April 21 at Jefferson High School (5210 N Kerby Ave, Portland, 97217)! The event’s theme is "connected"– focusing on the idea that, through music, we are all somehow connected to one another, whether we know each other or not. This event is free for attendees of all ages, with doors opening at 6:30pm, and the concert starting at 7:00pm. 

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Watch Your Inboxes to Volunteer for Grantmaking!

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Be on the look-out for an email in May about how to join a grant review team and mark your calendars for Saturday, June 10, if you want to participate.

Our grantmaking looks a little different this year because we are engaged in strategic planning and this takes some of the bandwidth from the volunteers running our committees (including Grants Steering Committee). So, we are incorporating a tenet of Trust-Based Philanthropy by investing in current and past community partners. We have invited all of our past Impact Award winners and funded finalists to apply and you all will get to vote on who receives additional funding.