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Our 2021 Award Semi-Finalists

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The Grants Steering Committee and the 57 members of the 2021 Grant Review Teams are delighted to announce our 22 semi-finalists, chosen from among the 151 grant applications that ninety-nine girlfriends received in May. Our Grant Review Teams are presenting organizations that inspire them and address our 2021 Funding Priority and Guiding Principles.

Next, the teams will select ten finalists for consideration and member vote for this year’s five $90,000 Impact Awards. The five finalists that aren’t selected for Impact Awards will each receive $5,000 Finalist Awards.

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2021 Discovery Forum: Shifting Power

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Our 2021 Discovery Forum provided considerable food for thought, as ninety-nine girlfriends continues our journey to embed racial equity in all that we do. We heard from three philanthropic leaders about three very different approaches that their foundations or giving circles have taken to change grantmaking, investing, and organizational structure and culture. Read on for a summary the video recording.

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Vote for Raphael House to Win a Grow Grant

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Raphael House has been selected as one of 12 finalists for an Advantis Grow grant! If they win an award, they’ll get to outfit the 11 private rooms in their emergency shelter with new, much-needed bedding and cribs, as well as replace a broken washing machine so families can safely do laundry onsite.

Grants will be awarded based on which projects receive the most votes from the community. Voting is easy at https://www.advantiscu.org/grow-vote, and folks can vote once per day through July 7.

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Double Your Impact Through Employer Matching

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Many community-minded Oregon employers match their employees’ gifts to 501(c)(3)s. Check out this handy list from another local non-profit to see if your employer is on the list! If they’re not on this list it may still be worth inquiring with your HR department or other internal team to see if they match. Your HR department can also help you fulfill your matching gift and provide you with any of the necessary forms. This is an EASY way to double your impact with ninety-nine girlfriends!

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Co-Chair the Member Education Committee

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Seeking a member, ideally with a background or experience in philanthropy, nonprofits and/or adult education to take an active role in designing and producing educational programs for members for 2022 and 2023 as Co-Chair of the Member Education Committee. The member holding this position also sits on the Coordinating Council.

Contact Member Committee Co-Chair Jayni Kosoff with questions or to express interest in volunteering for this role.

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Help Create Connections

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The Membership Committee is looking for members to join the Connector Team to spend some dedicated time engaging with our newer members (girlfriends who joined in 2021). We want all members to feel welcome, adored, engaged, included, appreciated and attached. We realize that can be harder for newer members, particularly with everything being virtual the past year.

Attend Deconstructing Racism 

Join your fellow girlfriends on May 26, 5-6:30 pm for an evening of learning with Stephanie Montgomery, J.D., our Racial Equity and Inclusion Consultant. Register here to attend the Deconstructing Racism event.

For those who wish to serve as facilitators of small group follow-up discussions, Stephanie will offer a training session on May 22, 2-4 pm. Register here for the Facilitating with an Equity Lens training.

Grantee Partner Profile: Community Energy Project

Community Energy Project, one of our 2020 Grantee Partners, was just announced as an inaugural grantee of the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF). The grant will allow them to perform energy retrofits and repairs for 20 low-income Black homeowners, including installing rooftop solar panels on 5 of the homes. These energy-efficiency upgrades will deliver a 55% average energy use reduction and 38% average utility bill savings. What a great impact!