FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Deborah Edward

Tel: 503-265-8099

480 Portland Area Women Make FIVE $100,000 Grants in Fourth Year of Experimental Collective Giving Project

In year four, local women’s giving circle gives $500,000 for a total of five grant awards

Portland, Oregon – December 11, 2019 – Ninety-nine girlfriends women’s giving circle is thrilled to announce a $100,000 Impact Award to each of the following: Open Signal, Open Signal Labs; Oregon Tradeswomen, Training Women, Strengthening Communities; Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors, Investing in ECO to Build the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders; CARES Northwest/Randall Children’s Hospital Foundation, Expansion of Child Abuse Interventions; and Rose Haven CIC, Rose Haven Mental Wellness Program.

Ninety-nine girlfriends hopes to make a meaningful impact in our local, four-county area. The awardees in their own words:

The team at Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors sent a note saying, “This is a watershed moment in the history of ECO. The ninety-nine girlfriends Impact Award will launch ECO into our next chapter, reaching students across the state of Oregon.”

Rebecca Burrell, Director at Open Signal, told the girlfriends, “Support for Open Signal Labs will help us take our pilot program to a dramatic new level in the coming year, empowering us to pay black filmmakers industry rates to create new work.”

Karen Phifer, Program Manager, CARES Northwest, shared her excitement, “THANK YOU to the ninety-nine girlfriends for investing in our child abuse prevention program expansion into Washington County.”

In 2016, the ninety-nine girlfriends collective giving circle was launched in the Portland/Southwest Washington four-county region. Friends invited friends to join. Each woman contributed $1,100: $1,000 went into the grant fund pool and $100 was applied to administrative and educational expenses. During a yearly cycle, contributors (aka “girlfriends”) learn about philanthropy and community issues. In the first year, 117 women joined the Founder’s Circle. In 2017, ninety-nine girlfriends more than doubled and welcomed 253 women to its second cycle of learning. In the third year, 401 women created a grant pool of $401,000. This year, 480 members came together and are awarding $500,000. In total, these women have awarded $1,271,000 in three years (four funding cycles).

Michelle Hynes, Lead of the Outreach Team of ninety-nine girlfriends says, “I love that ninety-nine girlfriends makes it possible for me to multiply my contribution, learn more about my community, and meet great people who care about making an impact.” More than 70 volunteers reviewed 190 bold ideas in the form of letters of interest. Ten projects were then recommended to the members for a vote in November to determine which would be awarded the $100,000 Impact Awards. One award was made in each of the funding categories: Arts & Culture, Education & Lifelong Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Family & Human Services, and Health & Wellness. We believe large grants can be catalysts for bold, transformative change in our community.

Ninety-nine girlfriends is an all-volunteer project that uses a collective giving grantmaking model styled after the Impact100 programs and is a member of Catalist, the women’s collective giving grantmakers network, a group of 70+ national independent giving circles. Ninety-nine girlfriends is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3).

#30 [End of Press Release]