Calling WRWF Volunteers
for the New Grants Cycle
Our Grants Committee at work
Wood River Women’s Foundation members frequently say that the best way to learn about nonprofits in our valley and gain philanthropy skills is to join the Grants Team. The 2019 grant application process is underway, enabled by the streamlined, on-line forms and procedures posted on the WRWF website. As nonprofits respond and submit their proposals during the next month, we will need the help of many volunteers to vet the applications. Prospective Grants Committee members, however, must be present and able to meet during January and February. Those interested, please contact one of the Grants Co-Chairs: Gina Wolcott (wolcottgina@gmail.com), or Patti Zebrowski (pez5@me.com).
Also Needed: Volunteers to Take Over The News Brief
In addition, we need a person or persons to take over publication of this News Brief. Christina Bauer, our WRWF Executive Assistant, formats it and sends it out. If you write well, if you are creative, if you are interested in helping and want to be part of the action, please contact Louisa Moats (Louisa.moats@gmail.com).
Check Out Our New Website Video
Over 200 members at the August Annual Meeting.
As part of our website make-over, the Communications Team posted a fabulous short video from the August Annual Meeting. Click here and have a look!
2018 Grantees in the Spotlight: Kids, Families, and People with Special Needs in Outdoor and Athletic Activities
These three current grantees are using outdoor and athletic activities to enrich the lives of families and students in the Wood River Valley:
Wood River Middle School Outdoor Adventure Education, for Outdoor Adventure Education Trips, $10,000.
“Our 2018-2019 school year outdoor recreation trips started off with a trip to the City of Rocks, and our backpacking trip quickly proceeded by going to Craters of the Moon. We are continually grateful for our support from WRWF!”
— Kelsey Buchanan, WRMS Teacher
Hailey Ice for Its Community Partnership Program, $1,158.
“For the Community Partnership Program, we will pick a few community partners to work with this season. Our goal will be to offer free or reduced ice time to benefit one of our local nonprofits to raise awareness or funds to help them further their mission. Some of our partners last year included Higher Ground, the Hunger Coalition, the Bellevue PTA and Sun Valley Youth Hockey. These strong partnerships help us to collaborate and offer even more to our community.”
— Sarah Benson, Hailey Ice
Swiftsure Therapeutic Equestrian Center, $19,300 For Electric Arena Maintenance Equipment.
Swiftsure Ranch continues to serve more than 150 clients with disabilities in its therapeutic riding program. The Polaris Industries Ranger EV, paid for with a WRWF grant, now enables the Ranch to save on fuel costs and serve more participants in a cleaner, healthier and more environmentally friendly setting. Click here for a lovely video of students expressing thanks to the WRWF.
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#Hashtags Can Help Our Mission
Do you want to gain more followers, or get more likes on your social media posts? Hashtags can do just that. Hashtags are really a label for the content you post. Hashtags help others who are interested in a certain topic, like #philanthropy, for instance, quickly find content on that same topic. #WRWF is our branded hashtag, and we use this to drive followers to our social media platforms and learn who we are and what we do. We also use hashtags like #philanthropy, #doinggoodfeelsgood, and many others, which are community hashtags that connect like-minded people around a specific topic, to drive followers to our sites.
Our intent is to get all of our wonderful members to use our hashtags in order to spread our mission across social media. The next time you see a WRWF social media post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, check the hashtags that we used and consider using not only #WRWF but others in your next post.
— Terri Bullock, Social Media Chair
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Member Events
October 15th (Monday), 4:30 – 6:00 PM, Ketchum Community Library NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE AND TIME! Our Focus Forums begin with Beth Oppenheimer, state director of the Idaho branch of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, leading a discussion on how to increase access to high quality preschool education in the Wood River Valley. Guests are welcome; free and open to the public.
November 8th, Meet & Mingle, 5:00 PM – At the Konditorei, Sun Valley Village. All members and guests are welcome for this social gathering. No RSVP necessary.
December 13th, Winter Social, 5:00 PM – At Penny Weiss’s Home, Members & Guests Invited.
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Brief Board Note
- The Board is planning a full day Strategic Planning Session in early January. Thanks to all who responded to our opinion survey. Results of the survey will be sent out soon. These results will help us decide what topics we need to work on during our Strategic Planning Session.
- Patti Zebrowski has joined the Board and will be working with Gina Wolcott as a Grants Committee Co-Chair.
- The newest SVPN magazine (Oct., Nov., Dec. 2018) has an article on Charitable Giving by Suzanne Hazlett who quotes Peggy Grove, Ph.D., WRWF President and Louisa Moats, Chair of the Education Committee about philanthropy and collective giving.
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Closing Message from Peggy Grove, Ph.D., President of WRWF
Winter is coming, but the Sun Valley sun shines on Peggy (lower left) and WRWF members.
Here we go! Change is in the air. Sheep are trailing through the valley back to their winter homes and local aspen leaves, as on our WRWF logo, are going through their annual reverse photosynthesis. Just as our favorite trees are undergoing their fall and winter biological cycle so that next spring they will delight us when they “releaf,” so too has the WRWF launched its annual cycle to “releaf” our trees!
Our Grants Committee began accepting online applications for our new round of pooled giving on Oct. 1. Over the winter, the teams will be reviewing, visiting and vetting the applications, and by spring we will have our finalist presentations followed by a vote of the full membership. The announcement of our 2019 grantees in April represents our own spring “releaf.”
We have another important cycle underway as well — our membership dues renewal! From now until December 15, we need you and each of our members to renew your commitment to our mission and participation in our work. As women who are dedicated to creating a culture of philanthropy, the importance of renewal is a critical step in providing “relief” to those in need in our community. Please renew your membership at your earliest convenience.
And as the leaves turn, along with our fun fall and winter WRWF socials, we’ve launched a new series of educational events for those who would like to consider engaging in community solutions to difficult local problems. WRWF’s Educational Focus Forums begin this Monday, October 15th with a discussion on early childhood education. “Releaf” can be spelled two ways!
Peggy Grove, Ph.D.
WRWF President
Peggy Grove, President
Our Mission Statement
The WRWF inspires and educates women to become leaders in philanthropy and brings significant, positive change to the community by pooling and distributing its members’ resources.
PO Box 3686
Ketchum, ID 83340
(208) 309-2530
Mark Your Calendar:
Monday, October 15th, 4:30-6pm
Focus Forum: Early Childhood Education
Ketchum Community Library
Thursday, November 8th, 5pm
Meet & Mingle
Konditorei
No registration necessary; guests welcome
Thursday, December 13th, 5pm
Winter Social
Penny Weiss’s Home
February 7th (Time TBA)
Winter Educational Forum with Teresa Younger
Ketchum Community Library
Welcome New Members
Alex Engs
Ketchum, ID
Diana Frazier
Key Largo, FL
Shayla Koffler
Ketchum, ID
Linda Bowling
Hailey, ID
MB Davis
Ketchum, ID
Hadley DeBree
Ketchum, ID
Mary Kay McCollum
Hilton Head Is., SC
Jeanne Welch
Ketchum, ID
Patty Nelson
Sun Valley, ID
Brynda Petrie
Sun Valley, ID
Margaret Bishop
Hailey, ID
Judith Kaiser
Sun Valley, ID
News Brief Team:
Louisa Moats
Photographers:
Judy Cahill
Charlotta Harris
