October 2019 News Brief __________________________________________
Blaine County Education Foundation Scholarship Fair
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Greetings from Wood River High School
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Jake Gorham, Wood River High School, Senior Class President
Hello women of the WRWF! My name is Jake Gorham, and I am the Senior Class President at Wood River High School. With two older sisters, I know the sacrifices families make and the struggles many go through to make higher education happen. I am certain that many of my classmates would like to pursue higher education and thought that by bringing in new scholarships, maybe those dreams would become a reality so I decided to focus on this issue during my term as class president. I’m proud to say that I have brought in 26% more scholarships, totaling more than $104,000 to be awarded to students in the class of 2020. I have been amazed at the enthusiasm of our community members who want to make a difference in students’ lives.
I would like to thank the Wood River Women’s Foundation for helping make the new scholarship fair a reality. This would not have been possible without your support. Our scholarship deadline is not until December 6th; if you are interested in creating a new scholarship or would like additional information, please contact Wood River High School Scholarship Director Liz Clark at lclark@blaineschools.org or Blaine County Education Director Kristy Heitzman at kheitzman@blaineschools.org. Jake Gorham, Wood River High School Class of 2020
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Reminder – Awesome Volunteer Opportunity!
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This year’s WRWF grant to the BCEF is helping to launch a never-been-done-before Blaine County scholarship fair on Oct. 23 from 4-7:00 PM at the Community Campus (old high school),1050 Fox Acres Road in Hailey, and the WRWF has been offered the wonderful opportunity to “woman” the scholarship tables at the event! Eleven volunteers are needed for the manager tables and an additional four to six volunteers are needed to greet students and their families. There is still plenty of room for all who would like to participate in this exciting afternoon event. There are more than 60 scholarships, with eight alone worth over $100,000 in awards to students! All information will be provided to you; all you need to do is show up and talk with the families and students who stop by your table. This is a fantastic opportunity to see our grant in action! Grab a friend and contact Kristy Heitzman atkristy@supportbcef.org or (208) 578-5449 to sign up.
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Grantee Spotlight: The Advocates
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Baby, mom and dog in Safe Housing apartment
Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Safe Housing First is a transformative project to increase housing options for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, their children, and their pets. Most wait as long as nine months for housing. To address this critical need, The Advocates is building twelve transitional, safe housing apartments along with a new client services center in the heart of Hailey.
New appliances in Safe Housing apartment
WRWF granted $35,000 to help furnish the new client service center and pay for a portion of the fixtures and appliances for the apartments. Survivors can live in the rent subsidized units while they transition to independent, abuse-free lives.
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Grantee Spotlight: Men’s Second Chance Living
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Renovated patio at MSCL house
Men’s Second Chance Living supports men in their journey to sobriety by providing a safe, substance-free living environment as well as recovery-related activities through local organizations. MSCL House—the first sober home for men in the Wood River Valley—opened in November 2018. WRWF granted $20,000 for renovations to the house, as well as funding for the first year’s operating budget. The project helps support our community by enabling these men to rebuild their lives and transition to independent, productive, and substance-free living. Here’s a brief progress report from MSCL:
We know we are making a difference in our residents’ lives, the lives of their family members, and the health of our community as a whole. We hear from employers that MSCL House residents are some of the hardest working and most reliable employees in the valley, with many holding down two jobs at the same time. All residents have found full-time employment within two weeks of entering MSCL House. Their family members tell us that residents are successfully restoring family relationships; a couple of our residents have returned home. Our residents remain sober and are learning to build purposeful lives centered on healthy activities, meeting their daily house and fiscal responsibilities, furthering their education, contributing to the community through their work and volunteerism, and forging strong bonds of support and caring with their fellow residents. It’s remarkable to witness their personal growth and achievements.
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The Hunger Coalition – Update
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Bloom Farm participants
The Wood River Women’s Foundation would like to congratulate our 2019 Grantee, The Hunger Coalition, on their Bloom Farm Potluck held recently at Bloom Farm in Hailey’s Quigley Canyon. The focus at Bloom Farm has been on its edible vegetables.
Manon Gaudreau of the Wood River Seed Library
Manon Gaudreau, co-manager of the Wood River Seed Library, showed attendees how to make beautiful baskets out of shrub and tree prunings from the garden. Participants were invited to bring a dish to share, tour the farm, and take part in rock painting. Congratulations to The Hunger Coalition on another wonderful event.
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WRWF Board – Update
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We are always listening to our membership and the local nonprofit community that we support, and we continue to review and refine how we grant dollars to our community.
Several years ago, we modified our granting guidelines to include the following rule: if a nonprofit receives a grant from the WRWF for two (2) consecutive years, they would not be permitted to apply for a grant the following year. Often, based on the amount we have in our “pooled fund,” one or two nonprofits would only receive a partial grant amount because there were not enough funds remaining in the pool to fund the nonprofit’s entire request.
To be fair to our local nonprofits, the Board has modified that rule to include the following language: “If a nonprofit has received a partial grant that is 50% or less than the requested grant amount, then they are exempt from the two (2) year rule, and they may apply for a grant the following year.”
As we have looked at those partially granted organizations, more times than not, they represent the smaller nonprofits in our community that need support. We feel that this change makes our granting process more equitable.
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2020 Membership Renewal Update
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This year has gone by faster than ever kicking off with our grants process in January/February, the Winter Education Forum with Teresa Younger from the Ms. Foundation for Women, our sold-out Annual Meeting and Grants Celebration in August, education panels that have furthered our philanthropic knowledge, new member orientations, the Strategic Planning launch, welcoming a new WRWF President and more. We are now at Membership renewal time and look forward to your continuing support of the WRWF’s mission and the investments we are making in nonprofits throughout Blaine County. Next year we will be celebrating our 15th Anniversary and expect an even busier year of mission-driven work—your renewal will help make that happen. Thank you for joining in with 350+ women to make an impact in our community!
* Renewals for 2020 are due November 15, 2019. If your Membership is up for renewal, you should have received an email on October 1 with information on how to renew. If you did not receive a renewal notice, please contact Christina Bauer, WRWF Executive Assistant, at (208) 309-2530 or wrwcf1@gmail.com. Why the change in renewal date? Last year many members renewed their membership after the deadline and as a result there was less money in the pool to grant to our nonprofits in 2019. This year’s cut-off for renewals is December 10; renewals received after that date will apply to 2021 grants.
* All contributions from new members, those who joined the WRWF during calendar year 2019, will go towards 2020 grants. If you are a new member who joined in 2019, you do not need to renew at this time. We now offer the option to pay for your membership online. Please visit our website woodriverwomensfoundation.org to fill out the renewal form online and pay with a credit card (excluding American Express), or download the form, fill it out by hand, and mail your check. If you have any questions, please contact Christina Bauer, WRWF Executive Assistant (208) 309-2530, or one of our Membership Chairs: Terri LeFaivre (208) 720-1719; Kathleen Eder (208) 720-3651. ______________________________________________
Photography Workshop
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Denise and Bryan Anderson
Have you ever wanted to learn to take beautiful photos with your digital camera? Bring your camera (if you have one) and join our WRWF photography class on Friday, December 20, 2019 at the Ketchum Community Library from 2:30-3:30 PM, for an amazing opportunity to learn how to use a digital camera. Professional photographers Denise and Bryan Anderson have generously donated their time to share their knowledge and skills right before the holidays.
Please RSVP Teresa Brennan, WRWF Photography Coordinator by December 2, 2019 at teresabrennan.rd@gmail.com.
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Save the Date – Upcoming Education Events
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Education Forum with Shawna Wasko Expert on Aging and Elder Care in South Central Idaho
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 4:00-5:30 PM Senior Connection, Hailey
Winter Forum – “State of Our Valley” Panel of local experts
Monday, January 13, 2020 3:00-5:30 PM Community Library Lecture Hall, Ketchum
Catalist – PowerUp 2020 Conference Hosted by Washington Women’s Foundation
February 23 to 25, 2020 Motif Hotel Seattle, Washington
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Looking Ahead – Member Social Events
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WRWF Orientation Brunch
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 10:00-12:00 PM
At the home of Mindy Meads 225 Gem Street, Ketchum
November Meet & Mingle No-Host Event
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 5:00 – 6:30 PM
The BOHO Lounge 131 Washington Avenue, Ketchum
*Upcoming events are also posted on our website’s calendar page*
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Welcome New Members!
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Margit Donhowe – Ketchum, ID
Jenna Hall – Ketchum, ID
Anne Jeffery – Bellevue, ID
Kim Nalen – Ketchum, ID
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Terri Bullock – President of WRWF Closing Message
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Ruthie Lieder
Only two months into my term, my ‘gratitude bucket’ continues to overflow. Ruthie Lieder, whose name is apropos of her life, was a dedicated community leader, active WRWF member and Endowment Founder’s Circle member. After she passed away, we learned that she had named the WRWF in her will, underscoring her passion for supporting this community. Ruthie’s leadership skills are on display yet again as she paves the way to WRWF legacy giving; she had the foresight to think about how she wanted to be remembered, and to seek legal guidance to name the WRWF in her will so that she could continue to support our work. We are grateful to Ruthie and others who are considering leaving a legacy gift to the WRWF. If you have already included us in your estate or will, please let our Executive Assistant know so that we can appropriately thank you. If you prefer to remain anonymous, we will respect your decision. I continue to be amazed at the wisdom, commitment and generosity of the women in our community and am so proud to be part of this ‘collective’. It’s become clear to me that I need a bigger bucket! –Terri Bullock
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Our Mission:
Wood River Women’s Foundation inspires and educates women to become leaders in philanthropy. We encourage and create significant positive change in our community through pooled grant-making.
