At this time of year SDWF members are busy talking about grant proposals, site visits, the survey for next year’s grant criteria, upcoming education events, prospects for membership and other serious matters.

During our annual meeting, we took stock of how we have implemented Decision 2010 initiatives regarding reducing the number of granting categories and providing increased financial flexibility to members who have reached their $10K commitments and then a $20K level.

And then we let our hair down!
We got to know each other better through a speed networking series of encounters!
In short we had a lot of FUN! … When we do that again, do not miss it! 

The Membership Committee, headed this year by Marjorie O’Malley, has planned a great mix of events. Some are designed to recruit and inform prospective members while some are being planned simply to provide opportunities for us to get to know one another in an informal setting.

The first of our Member Connections was held this summer at Catherine Blair’s home in Del Mar. The second was at Berit Durler’s home in Point Loma.

At Berit’s we heard about what goes on behind the scenes at San Diego Mayor Jerry’s Sanders office at City Hall. We will got the inside scoop from one of our founding members and a past San Diego Women’s Foundation president, Julie Dubick. She is Mayor Sanders’ Chief of Staff. On the topic of the oft-discussed football stadium, we heard from Julie about the current state of discussions, and we also heard from one of our new members, Patti Roscoe about some of the history. Patti served on a commission 11 years ago to review Qualcomm stadium’s status.

Our next Member Connection will be in February at Leigh Hartman’s home in the Bird Rock section of La Jolla. Marjorie is planning another really interesting member/speaker. Don’t miss it!

Thank you to our gracious hostesses and to Julie for spending time with all of us.

This event is planned for new members and prospective members to learn more of the operational details of the San Diego Women’s Foundation, and it is an opportunity for long-standing members to socialize and meet new members and prospects.

Everyone learns something about what difference grants from the San Diego Women’s Foundation have made in the community.

This month, the Getting To Know spotlighted Coastkeepers whose beach cleanup program was funded in our environmental grants cycle in 2009.

Thanks to Marjorie O’Malley for her leadership in designing the program, to our director, Tracy Johnson for explaining our operations and to Suzanne LaTour for explaining our grants process.  And, a big THANK YOU to our program associate, Bridget Murphy for ending her very long day with us, greeting everyone with a smile, making sure we had food, drink and a power point presentation!!!!

Our Education Committee, on the heels of its successful Kickoff event, presented our members with another opportunity to learn more about this year’s grant cycle topic, Education.

Matthew Spathas, whose work our Discovery Team reviewed last year, gave our attendees a provocative glimpse of educational environments as they might be to fit the new technological landscape of the next generation. An engaging conversation followed his presentation about how we get from where we are to where we should be so that our children can enjoy the learning process.

Our membership has its own educators including Marlowe Berg, Lenore Ringler, and Jane Signaigo-Cox, among others, who were in attendance. Two of our members brought male guests creating a wonderful co-ed audience. Grant Lichtman accompanied Judith Conner, and Buzz Woolley came with Ann.

In the process of developing guidelines, reviewing proposals, and interacting with our community partners, we have learned a lot during our first 10 years. We didn’t want to keep all of that information to ourselves so we launched a Community Connections Series. Our first event was held October 6 to an audience at Qualcomm.

This, the first in what we hope will be a series was at the invitation of Peggy Johnson, one of our new members and Qualcomm’s top female executive, the EVP and President of Global Market Development.

Thanks to Teresa Jacques for conceiving the community connection series and to Susan Hennenfent, Kim Kleber, and Koren Lilburn for connecting the San Diego Women’s Foundation to Qualcomm. Thanks also to Marlowe Berg who will be leading this new project going forward.

Since we were launched 11 years ago, our organization has attracted women who are in tune with the times, and who are open to exploring new ways to meet our mission. This new blog is an example of that culture.

In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve been busy! Read more →

We gathered at Gompers Preparatory Academy where our members and their guests learned about this year’s granting topic: Education! Read more →

We appreciate the year-long effort of our Discovery Team, led by Erica Ueland and Valentina Jones-Wagner. Their team members met with area experts, held community meetings, surveyed the SDWF membership, and generally immersed themselves in the subject. Read more →

In the process of developing guidelines, reviewing proposals, and interacting with our community partners, we have learned a lot during our first 10 years. We didn’t want to keep all of that information to ourselves so we launched a Community Connections Series this week to an audience at Qualcomm. Read more →

The Membership Committee, headed this year by Marjorie O’Malley, has planned a great mix of events. Some are designed to recruit and inform prospective members while some are being planned simply to provide opportunities for us to get to know one another in an informal setting. Read more →