JEANETTE SWAFFORD

What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

Five years ago I was getting my hair cut by Fahti and began chatting about a small giving circle that I was participating in. Fahti shared that she had just joined this amazing group of women who were also experimenting with giving, but on a larger scale with transformative amounts. I used to work in tech start-ups and that fresh energy of building something new was exciting to me. I didn’t know anyone aside from Fahti, but I loved the idea of change-makers out there stirring it up. These were women that I wanted to know!

Why do you volunteer?

I didn’t like what I was seeing in the Portland community and wanted to be part of a solution. Ninety-nine girlfriends also offered an opportunity to develop new skills and new learning in a low-stress way, with a group of invested women. I was curious about the grant-making process and started out on the Arts & Culture grant review team. I was especially proud of how intentional girlfriends were in the selection process. The following year I led a grant review team and then moved to co-leading the Fellows Program for three years. At every step, I met interesting women, was challenged in my thinking, and was impressed with what 99GF was doing in the community. That kept me coming back.

Anything else that you would like to share?

I want to call out the Fellows Program. It’s been amazing to lead this group. If you have not met one of these young women, reach out to them. They are bright, interesting, engaged leaders of the work who are on the ground making it happen. They contribute at all levels of our organization and strengthen it considerably. Plus, they would love to meet more members. How wonderful is that?

I also want to say that the waves of change during Covid have been unrelenting and I have felt this undefined grief hanging over me. Sending these ripples of generosity into the world through our grant-making gives me hope that we are actually manifesting a new way of living on this planet. The world is calling on us all to see things with new eyes and rise to the moment, no matter our isolation or grief. Community giving is a soothing balm.