Hello members and friends,

 

As board chair I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the Advisory Board’s most recent meeting and some of our upcoming plans.

 

First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the members of the 2021 GH Advisory Board:

 

Vice Chair............................... Dian Slavens

Treasurer.................................Denise Murray

Secretary.................................Jane Vesch

Marketing Chair......................Sue Rosiek

Membership Chair..................Sharon Filips

Special Events Committee......Jackie Norris, Dianne Neihengen and new board members Jane Kersjes and Raeann Neil

 

This exceptional group of women showcased their dedication and enthusiasm for Giving Hope by actively participating in our first meeting which was a delightful 2 ½ hours of sharing, discussing, planning, and considering the what’s, how’s, and whys of our organization!

I am beyond pleased to tell you there are great times and opportunities ahead for Giving Hope!

 

The biggest and most challenging concern the board addressed was our lack of membership growth. Over the past 3 to 4 years, Giving Hope has only added two new members. The board felt obligated to consider and discuss various factors contributing to this situation and learned that other nonprofit organizations are experiencing the same difficulties.

 

The board arrived on two key and specific, likely causes for our lack of membership growth: 1) Younger women are less likely to formally “join” groups, preferring instead to participate “at will” and 2) our $1,000 joining fee is imposing. As recently as 2019, it had been thought this fee would be continued and feasible, but the recent pandemic has imposed great changes and challenges on our community both socially and economically and we are now forced to reconsider.

 

To further one of the missions of Giving Hope - Women’s Giving Circle, “to build a community of women philanthropists” it has become

evident that to attract younger and more diverse women to philanthropy we need to make a drastic change. If we are unable to grow our membership, Giving Hope will be unable to survive in its current form. With that said, the Advisory Board unanimously voted and agreed to suspend the $1,000 membership joining fee.

 

The Local Impact Alliance accepted and unanimously approved this decision. Both organizations believe it will make a significant impact on growing membership by providing a more attainable path to philanthropy for many interested women. There are additional aspects of this new change that will be discussed at the upcoming zoom event.

 

Another progressive effort I would like to share with you, is our increased efforts to better utilize our social media platform. Denise Murray has been posting on Facebook twice a week and added an Instagram account for Giving Hope. To best assist with achieving our new goals a new Media Committee will be formed. The women involved in this committee will be tasked with the responsibility of working together to ensure our website at LIA is current and dynamic. It is another opportunity we want to utilize to improve our chances of growing membership.

 

We are looking for a few volunteers to help with this committee. Please contact me or Denise Murray and let us know you can help.

Additionally, if you have photos or ideas for posts please share them with Denise or any member of the board and we will work together to grow our Giving Hope - Women’s Giving Circle’s name recognition, social media presence and website! “It’s a Good Thing!”

 

Lastly, I would like to ask you to “Save the Date” of March 10th for our next zoom event: Giving Green for Giving Hope! We are putting together an informative and very entertaining virtual event which will benefit our endowment fund. The event date has been posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Keep an eye open for the official event information in mid-February.

 

Great things are ahead for Giving Hope - Women’s Giving Circle; and we are glad you will be part of them.

 

Thank you for your time and participation. I’m hoping to see every “Lassie” on March 10th! As always, if you have comments, questions,

or concerns please contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

 

Best wishes,

 

Linda J. Demmer

Advisory Board Chair