Women's Legacy Fund: Giving… from a woman's perspective
_BY KIM _DONAHOE Director of Marketing and Communications, Southwest Florida Community Foundation

COURTESY PHOTO Members of the Founding Committee of the Women's Legacy Fund are, from left: Karen Globetti, Carolyn Rogers, Jane de Lisser, Gay Thompson, Gail Baumgarten, Brenda Tate, and Kerry Pry.

With today being National Philanthropy day, it is appropriate that we should talk about a group of philanthropists forming in our own community.

The Women's Legacy Fund, a fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, was launched two weeks ago with more than 100 women attending the inaugural luncheon.

"As I looked around the room, I saw talented and creative women and a remarkable diversity of ideas and visions for creating change in our community," said Julia East, President & CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

"Using the collective wisdom of all members, we can truly begin a legacy of giving from a woman's perspective."

With more than 30 members, called "Benefactresses," already committed to the Fund, we are now beginning the task of creating committees to shape the role the Fund will have in our community.

Benefactresses may serve on one or more of the following committees: Grants, Social and Programs, Policies and Procedures, Future Goals, and the Executive Committee. These committees are being formed now and will begin to meet in the coming months.

Another area Benefactresses are being asked to contribute is to help us identify the top issues women and children in our community are facing today.

At the luncheon, a card was handed out with a list of unmet needs that the Community Foundation has identified: Mental Health, Foster Girls Aging Out of the System, Literacy, Affordable Quality Childcare, and Children with Special Needs. Attendees of the luncheon were asked to rank what they feel are the most important needs and were asked to also list any others they felt were relevant. This feedback will be compiled over the coming weeks and given to the appropriate committees to begin the task of deciding what this year's giving focus will be.

Benefactresses of the Women's Legacy Fund make an annual contribution, usually in the range of $250 - $5,000. Fifty percent goes toward a permanently endowed field-of-interest fund and 50 percent will be granted each year to support causes important to the group. The endowed field-of-interest fund will be used to support the future needs of the community while the annual grant cycle will fill the more immediate needs faced today.

The Founding Committee members are: Brenda Tate, Carolyn Rogers, Gail Baumgarten, Gay Thompson, Jane de Lisser, Julia East, Karen Globetti and Kerry Pry.

As more and more women join this vitally important group to improve the quality of life in Southwest Florida from a woman's perspective, we invite anyone interested in the Women's Legacy Fund to contact Kathryn Cintron with the Community Foundation office at kcintron@floridacommunity.com or 239- 274-5900.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry through endowed funds for more than 30 years. With assets of more than $57 million, the community foundation has provided more than $30 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves.

For more information, please call 274-5900, or visit the Web site at www.floridacommunity.com.