Volunteer Spotlight: Tina Romine

Tina Romine

What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

My interest in learning more about the non-profit community in Portland and the opportunity to make an impact locally with my time, talent and treasure is what brought me to 99GF. I followed 99GF for at least a year online prior to joining and was always impressed by member education offerings and the concept of collective giving with a group of like-minded women interested in making a positive difference. It also helped that a few volunteer friends of mine were members and spoke very positively about the organization and their experiences as members.

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Oregon Women's Investment Network Political Action Committee (WINPAC)

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We were asked recently by a board member of Oregon WINPAC to share with you the work they are doing and we were happy to do so because it dovetails nicely with our learning question about the impact of systems change and advocacy on racial equity.

Fellows Program Rocks On!

Our Fellows program for young philanthropists, aged 20-35, offers a few members each year the opportunity to take on leadership roles, connect with a mentor, and build a network among their cohort and within the wider organization. One way we do this is through a professional development series. This year, we're diving into how values help us make decisions -- easy and hard, at work and beyond, decisions that move you in a new direction or that help you change your mind.

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Grant Review Team Results Are In!

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Some exciting news as summer moves into fall! The 2022 Grants Steering Committee and Grant Review Teams (“GRTs”) are delighted to announce that 20 semifinalists have been chosen from among the 131 grant applications that ninety-nine girlfriends received in June. Our GRTs have worked really hard to advance organizations that inspire them and align with our 2022 Funding Priority and Guiding Principles.

Join the Task Force to Plan the Awards Celebration

The Awards Celebration, one of our signature events, is scheduled for December 12 or 13 and we’d love help planning the details. We have a small but mighty team and we’d love to have more help. How can you help? Bring your skills, ideas, experience at this event, beginner’s mindset, or whatever you have to offer. It’ll be fun to put together our first in-person awards celebration in several years! This event will be in-person, celebratory, and the kick-off for our 2023 membership recruitment. It will be fun and engaging and we need help to make it that way!

What say you? Will you bring your time and talents to the task force that will help plan this event? We can use all of the help we can get to make it a lighter lift for everyone.

Please let us know if we can count you in for this short-term gig.

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Share the Excitement By Hosting a Meet the Finalists Watch Party

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Would you (and one or two other Girlfriends) like to host a Meet the Finalists watch party at your home or office? You get to decide the details (how many people, food, drinks, whatever you like). We are exploring ways for Girlfriends to connect in person while attending this virtual event and we would love to have your help! Please let us know if we can count on you to party.

Get to Know This Year’s Finalists

The Grants Steering Committee is looking for one volunteer support person for each of our 10 finalists (who have yet to be determined). You would work directly with the nonprofit to assist with the recording of their video for Meet the Finalists and would deliver the video to our videographer. You might help with encouragement, advice, equipment, location, and/or anything else the organization needs to get ready for Meet the Finalists. This is a unique opportunity to learn and ensure a positive experience for our future Impact Partners! Reach out to us if this sounds like your thing.

Let’s Learn More Together

Your Member Education Committee has been at work putting together the first two of a series of three members-only, in-person, small-group discussions to learn about the top three subjects you voted for through the last member survey.

We are currently offering Let’s Learn More about Having Difficult Conversations and Let’s Learn More about Gender. Meanwhile Let’s Learn More about Systemic Racism is in the planning stages.

Volunteer Spotlight: Barbara Hilyer

Barbara Hilyer

I joined ninety-nine girlfriends in the first year, 2016. I was invited by an old friend who had recently moved to Portland; I had not heard of it and did not know anyone else involved. Since I moved to Portland after having retired, I didn’t know many people in town and was looking to make more connections, as well as learn more about the needs of the community. Having spent my career in public education, I had always been involved in direct service and had never considered being involved in philanthropy. That seemed like something out of my league.

Grantee Partner Update: Constructing Hope

In July, the organization was a recipient of a large grant from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund in support of Building Equity: Clean Energy Careers through Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Training.

Grantee Partner Update: POIC+RAHS

POIC+RAHS' annual gala is coming up around the corner on November 3 at 6pm, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Portland at the Oregon Convention Center. The POIC + RAHS Gala is the organization's biggest fundraiser of the year, drawing a diverse array of business and community support.

A Friday Morning with Trash for Peace

A Friday morning with Trash for Peace

Francie Royce, liaison to Trash for Peace

On a Friday morning I arrived at the Trash for Peace warehouse on SE Water Avenue in Portland's Central Eastside, a bit before 9:00 am to look for Mo. A man greeted me and introduced himself as Mo, the day coordinator for Trash for Peace. Two other men entered the warehouse and Mo made introductions. Jim and Dave are hired to clean up the Central Eastside neighborhood. I followed Jim out the door as he rolled a custodian cart on our way to gather trash.

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Intersectionality Works: Building Feminist Analysis for All

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From the PSU Center for Women’s Leadership

Wednesdays 10:00 am-12:00 pm Pacific Time from October 12 through November 9.

The many crises that Oregonians face today—soaring rents, unaffordable childcare, the rollback of rights—require bold leadership. Different leadership. We believe this moment calls for intersectional feminist leadership.

Volunteer Spotlight: Nicole Bennett

What brought you to ninety-nine girlfriends?

They knew I had been searching for an organization where I might find connection to like-minded people, make a difference in the community, and could offer my time and energy toward systems change that would move the dial toward racial equity in our community. I jumped in right away on a Grant Review Team and the training and engagement as a racial equity facilitator last year. I have been excited to discover this incredible group of women who are so intentional in their commitment to the work of philanthropy and to the open and thoughtful examination of the potential systems within the organization that may inadvertently be keeping the giving process from being fully equitable. I have thoroughly enjoyed the engagement and honest conversations with other members in structured groups, break-out-groups as part of racial equity presentations, and during the work of the Racial Equity Committee.

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What Is Trust-Based Philanthropy (TBP)?

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In preparation for the coming months of our grantmaking process, we encourage you to learn more about how ninety-nine girlfriends’ grantmaking is grounded in trust.

The giving circle model is built on large amounts of trust: trust between members, trust between grantees, trust in collective giving.

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Activities Are Ramping Up!

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Watch your email inbox because we’re getting to a really exciting and educational part of our year. In October, your Member Education Committee will offer several small-group discussion opportunities to learn about gender, systemic racism, and how to have an inclusive conversation.

Next we we move on to Meet the Finalists (a signature event where you learn about this year’s finalists for Impact Awards), voting for Impact Awards, and our signature Awards Celebration. It’ll be a few months of wonderfully engaging activities and opportunities to learn and connect before our winter break (January-February).