FAQs
Structure
The Women’s Fund (TWF) is a collective philanthropy organization created in 2009. Through a simple grant-making process, the annual proceeds from TWF membership provide financial support to nonprofits that address our mission, “to create a better future for women and their families in the Redding area.”
We are a granting organization, not a service organization. All of these organizations, including TWF, focus on bringing women together for charitable purposes.
Yes. Grants are available to any nonprofit or public entity serving women and families in the Redding area.
- The Women’s Fund is governed by a volunteer Cabinet comprised of Women’s Fund members.
- Committees comprised of volunteers manage the day-to-day operations of the organization, including communications, membership and education. All TWF members are welcome to serve on these committees and help at our membership and educational events.
- Operating costs are carefully managed and we seek sponsors and underwriters to help offset costs.
The Women’s Fund was created in 2009 as a Fund and a Program of The Community Foundation of The North State. This structure allows us to determine the best way to respond to our community’s most pressing needs in areas that interest us without taking on the expense of creating and managing a traditional nonprofit.
The Community Foundation of The North State provides The Women’s Fund:
- A financial “umbrella” for administrative and financial support.
- Services such as legal, insurance, grantmaking expertise, a tax exempt 501(c)(3) status, and many more.
- Oversight in managing our Women’s Fund Endowment.
Membership
The Women’s Fund welcomes ANYONE who wants to make an impact in our community through focused, collective grantmaking to benefit women and their families in the Redding area.
Each member receives one vote in the grant-making balloting.
You can learn more about The Women’s Fund by reading our website, emailing us, or following us on social media . We will be happy to send you more information or to meet with you.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube
We also hold regular Meet and Mingle sessions for prospective members to meet current members and grantees, and to learn more about The Women’s Fund (currently, all events are being hosted via Zoom due to COVID-19).
Yes. TWF encourages its members to sponsor their children, grandchildren, other family members, friends, employees, and peers. One of our goals is to develop new generations of philanthropists.
There are two types of tax-deductible annual Women’s Fund memberships. You may be either an Advocate member or an Architect member. Each member receives one vote in the grant-making balloting.
- Become an Advocate Member by contributing $200 (or more) per year. The fee is distributed as such: 100% is allocated to fund The Women’s Fund grants pool.
- Become an Architect Member by contributing $1000 (or more) per year. The fee is distributed as such: 20% or $200 is allocated to fund the Endowment and 80% or $800 is allocated to fund The Women’s Fund grants pool.
The Community Foundation of The North State provides the Women’s Fund with its tax exempt 501(c)(3) status. Contributions and donations to The Women’s Fund are fully qualified charitable deductions. Please consult your tax adviser or the IRS to determine if you are eligible for the deduction.
A member has no obligations, other than to make the annual contribution. The Women’s Fund motto is “you can do a little or you can do a lot.” We welcome members as volunteers in all areas of the organization for both short- and long-term responsibilities.
Yes, members and non-members alike can make a donation to The Women’s Fund. We accept gifts of cash, check, credit cards, and stock. Please contact our Program Officer, Megan Conn, for more information.
Grantmaking
While giving directly to favorite charities allows a member to have more control over where his/her money goes, we have found that most of our members give to The Women’s Fund IN ADDITION to their charities of special interest. There are several reasons our members state for loving the concept of a collective giving:
- Our members appreciate that by combining their donations with others, their giving is leveraged into larger amounts that can have a much greater impact in the community.
- Because of our Grant Review Panel vetting process and careful monitoring of the use of our grant money, The Women’s Fund can safely grant money to deserving smaller and newer organizations that an individual might not have the time or resources to fully investigate.
- The Women’s Fund gives to specific projects/programs, allowing us to know exactly how the money will be spent.
Local nonprofits with a public, 501(c)(3) status and public entities are invited to apply for funding each summer. More detailed information about applications can be found on the Community Foundation of the North State website.
The grant money is a pooled fund comprised of annual contributions from each member of TWF and any additional donations designated for this purpose.
Each year, the Cabinet decides the total amount of grant funds to be awarded and may specify a dollar limit for individual proposals (e.g. $50,000 awarded in total and no more than $25,000 awarded to a single organization/entity). In recent years, TWF has awarded a total of $45,000-$50,000 in grants annually.
Funding decisions are made by The Women’s Fund members through a two-step process involving a review panel and a full membership vote.
During September, a panel of seven TWF members, known as the Grant Review Panel (GRP), meets for up to 10 hours to evaluate grant applications. The proposals are assessed for how well each fits with our mission, as well as the feasibility of the budget and plan for implementation. As part of the review process, the GRP meets with key project leaders to obtain more in-depth information about the project and the organization and to address any questions.
The panel then votes on the final slate of proposals to be placed on the ballot and presented to the full TWF membership for a vote. Members can be confident that the proposals and the organizations have been fully vetted by the Grant Review Panel and that the panel is confident that the finalists will indeed deliver on the goal of creating a better future for women and children in our community.
In October, members receive written summaries of the proposals in an email ballot format, along with a short video featuring a representative from the organization highlighting the key elements and expected impact of the proposal. Only current members are eligible to vote. Members are given 7-10 days to review the ballot and cast their vote. Members may vote for only one project proposal.
TWF members with at least two years of membership are eligible to serve on the Grant Review Panel. Five people are chosen from a pool of qualified interested members in a random drawing and serve for two years. Additionally, the Chair of the Grant Committee and one member of TWF Cabinet also join the panel, bringing the total to seven members serving on the panel. A program officer of the Community Foundation assists the Grant Review Panel in the vetting process to ensure adherence to best practices.
The number of proposals that can be funded in any given year depends on the amount of funds requested by each organization and what projects receive the most member votes. The top proposal with the most votes will be funded. Then the runner-up proposals will be funded to the extent that additional monies are available in the annual grant-making budget. At this time, it is our goal to fund at least two projects each year.
Generally, grant award winners are announced in October. The member voting results must be approved by TWF Cabinet and the CFNS Board of Directors.
If you have additional questions, please contact our Program Officer at the Community Foundation, Megan Conn, [email protected]. You can also reach out to our current Grant Chair, Theresa Flynn Gasman, [email protected] or send your question to our mailbox [email protected].
Endowment
Since its inception, The Women’s Fund created TWF Endowment to support our mission and to offer members and friends a vehicle to make larger or longer-term gifts, such as appreciated assets, bequests or memorials.
While we are unwavering in our focus to collect annual contributions (memberships) and to fund a generous grants pool for distribution each fall, The Women’s Fund Endowment is an important additional funding tool. It provides another way to support TWF mission by helping sustain our financial health over time. Click here to read more about the Endowment. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Yes. We accept gifts of cash, check, credit cards, and stock. Please contact our Program Officer, Megan Conn, for more information.
More Questions?
If you have a question that is not answered in the previous FAQs, please email us.