There’s a lot going on at Bradley Angle. Renovating the Bonnie Tinker shelter is a big project for the organization, as the facility was long overdue for updates. They have worked to make trauma-informed upgrades, prioritizing the shared spaces, and are raising additional funds for the phase-two upgrades to the other areas of the facility.
Passionate About Democracy
In the spring of 2015, six women gathered in a Southeast Portland kitchen and formed a regional giving circle, called ninety-nine girlfriends. A year later, Lisa Adatto and Laura Rogers met for the first time as co-leaders of one of the new organization’s grant review teams. While working together in pursuit of strongly held values, their friendship grew and after the 2016 grant-making cycle they continued to stay in touch. In June of 2021, they met to catch up. In short order, Rogers realized it was to be a consequential exchange “so I took notes and saved them.”
Six New Fellows Join Our Philanthropy Program for Younger Leaders
Since 2017, ninety-nine girlfriends has recruited women ages 20-35 into our Fellows Program, a three-year learning and networking experience. Ninety-nine girlfriends is thrilled to welcome our six new Fellows: April Jay Unterberger, Brianna Babbitt, Hanna Lilly, Josie Greer, Katrina Machorro, and Tuyen Ta.
2022 Grant Applications Are Open!
Ninety-nine girlfriends 2022 grant making cycle is now open! We are thrilled to announce that we will invest $450,000 in our community this year. We will grant one Impact Award of $70,000 and one Finalist Award of $15,000 in each of our five focus areas. Plus, semi-finalists that don’t advance will receive a recognition gift of $2,500.
Volunteer Spotlight
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!
Help Spread The Word!
This year, ninety-nine girlfriends will fund organizations from five focus areas that are working to dismantle systemic racism, advance anti-racism, and move our region towards racial equity. These FAQ and definitions provide additional information about our 2022 Funding Priority and process. Funds may be used for general operating or project support and impact partners can choose to have funds disbursed in one year or over the course of two years. Our Timeline provides key dates for application review, decision-making, and payment.
Don’t Miss Your Chance to Join a Grant Review Team (GRT) This Year!
Sign up for the GRT Info Session to learn about the experience and the time commitment required, including the key dates listed below. This virtual Info Session is mandatory if you want to participate on a GRT. If April 28 doesn’t work with your schedule, please register anyway to access a recording afterwards. Register here.
Let Your Thoughts Be Known: Take the Member Survey
New Member Number Coming Soon
As you know, our deadline to renew for 2022 was April 23. We are in the midst of finalizing our membership number and are excited to share that with you soon. Before I joined the membership committee, I wondered why it took extra time to figure out how many members we have. In case you’re curious too, here’s my short answer. We have a lot of different ways Girlfriends join and pay. With the rush of renewals at the end, it takes us a while to sync those up. And we usually need to reach out to a few members with questions.
We Welcome Our Six New Fellows!
The Fellows Program is thrilled to welcome our six new Fellows: April Jay Unterberger, Brianna Babbitt, Hanna Lilly, Josie Greer, Katrina Machorro, and Tuyen Ta. Earlier this month, we also hosted a virtual graduation for third-year Fellow Mikayla Posey – featuring customized Zoom backgrounds, spring tulips, inspiring poetry, and a gift certificate for a professional photo. Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!
In-Person Girlfriends’ Reunion & Orientation!
Share Your Zoom Expertise
Have you gotten really good at running the controls on Zoom meetings? Have you helped with a Zoom webinar? If the answer to these questions is yes, and you have an hour or two a few times a year that you’re willing to volunteer, we’d love to hear from you. Please reach out for more information. Don’t worry. We won’t rope you into anything you don’t want to do.
Let Your Voice be Heard: Complete the Member Survey
Each year we reach out to our members for feedback. Ninety-nine girlfriends is an all-volunteer organization and we are always learning. The deadline for submission is 5:00pm on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Take the survey
Being Human Together Resources
If you missed Being Human Together with Coty Raven Morris we hope you’ll take the time to check it out. You can find the recording here.
Impact Partner Update: Constructing Hope
My visit with [2021 Impact Partner] Constructing Hope was a great experience. I spent a little over an hour there, got a tour of the facility, and had lots of time to chat with [leaders] Pat Daniels and Courtney Jenkins. They wanted to invite any and all Girlfriends to their events this year, which are posted on their web site, particularly their grand re-opening on 4/21 and their 15th anniversary celebration sometime this fall (TBA).
In-Person Reunion & Orientation and Virtual Orientation Coming Soon
Yes, the rumors are true. We are, in fact, planning our first in-person gathering since March of 2020! Save these dates and stay tuned to your Member Updates for more information. What we can tell you right now is that you’re welcome whether you are a new or returning member and we will have limited space for the in-person event due to the pandemic and our desire to do our part to keep everyone safe.
The Grants Steering Committee is in full swing!
The Grants Steering Committee is a big deal in ninety-nine girlfriends. It’s one of our largest committees, made up of many teams (Outreach, Intake, Grant Review, Financial Review, Voting, and Impact/Liaisons), and it provides numerous volunteer opportunities while doing really important grantmaking work. Here is just a taste of what is going on with this awesome committee of Girlfriends.
Volunteer Spotlight
KATHLEEN PORCELLO
What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?
I was volunteering as a grant writer for NAMI Clackamas when I first discovered ninety-nine girlfriends and the annual Impact Awards program. Months later, I saw a LinkedIn post about the young adult Fellows program, and I immediately applied for an interview! I was drawn to the opportunity to learn firsthand about trust-based philanthropy, grantmaking, and the diverse nonprofits doing incredible work in our region. Plus, I wanted to get to know the many amazing members of ninety-nine girlfriends!
Renew Now!
With more than 230 members for 2022 already, we are feeling positive about the coming year. AND with 24 days until our April 23 deadline to join or renew, we have 250 members who haven’t renewed yet. That’s over half of our 2021 members! Please renew today if you haven’t already so we can continue to support our impact partners and communities (and give our hard-working membership committee some peace of mind).
Fellows News
Over the last two weeks, the Fellows Program hosted a terrific professional development event with Alice Tang about lifelong money and financial health (thanks again to member Agnes Zach) and invited SIX new Fellows to join us for the 2022-2023 year. Stay tuned to meet these remarkable young women(*) early next month. Also, we're looking forward to celebrating Mikayla Posey's graduation in April. Mikayla has completed her three-year Fellowship, during which time she's made remarkable contributions to the girlfriends' grantmaking, events, and more! Mikayla manages NW Portland’s Hostel Cafe, so if you find yourself in the neighborhood please drop in and say hello to wonderful Girlfriend and Fellow Mikayla Posey.