Bucks County Women's Fund Announces $21,250 in Grants to Seven Organizations

The Bucks County Women's Fund (BCWF) will award $21,250 in new grants to seven organizations at the fund's annual grantmaking dinner, "Power of the Purse" on Thursday, March 26 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Spring Mill Manor in Ivyland. The grantmaking dinner will also feature a silent auction and raffle, a presentation of Woman of Vision awards, and a keynote address by Helen LaKelly Hunt, PhD., a pioneer in the women's funding movement.

The grant presentations at this year's celebration represent a major milestone. The Bucks County Women's Fund spent the past year listening and assessing the needs of women and girls in Bucks County, a process which heralded new grantmaking procedures and priorities. After a thorough review of all applications, the Bucks County Women's Fund selected seven Bucks organizations that will use the funding to foster lasting, positive change by focusing on economic security and self-sufficiency for women, next generation leadership, and access to information and services.

"The presentation of this round of grants is a significant milestone for the Bucks County Women's Fund," says Executive Director Kathy Beveridge. "After a year of listening to the needs and concerns of Bucks County women and girls, we now target our grants to support programs that pursue systemic, change-oriented approaches rather than band-aid solutions to the problems our communities face. We look forward to seeing these programs grow and flourish along with the women and girls they serve."

The 2009 award of $21,250 brings the cumulative amount awarded by BCWF to $233,250 since its founding in 1990. Five of the grants will provide critical support to women and girls throughout Bucks County; one grant specifically benefits women and girls in Lower Bucks, and one focuses on those in Central Bucks.

2009 Grant Winners include:

• A Woman's Place ($2,500) -- The First Response Team at A Woman's Place supports women who are victims of domestic abuse in Bucks County. Providing access to this critical service has a proven long-term positive impact on the community.
  
  
• ADHD Aware, Inc. ($1,000) -- The Go Girls Leadership Summit is a new initiative designed to support Bucks County girls with ADHD and their mothers, and will likely become a model project for engaging girls in leadership and philanthropy around an issue of personal importance to them.
  
  
• BC Opportunity Council, Inc. ($3,750) -- The Getting Ahead Workshop is a proven model program geared towards low-income residents of Bucks County by providing workshop training for low-income women who are working towards permanent self-sufficiency.
  
  
• Child, Home & Community ($2,500) -- The Creative Careers Workshops is an exciting new program that supports young mothers in Bucks County who are still in high school, fostering economic self-sufficiency, improving access to information and services, and boosting self-esteem.
  
  
• Family Service Association of Bucks County ($2,500) -- The Ways to Work Program supports low-income families in Bucks County who are struggling, but working towards economic self-sufficiency (89% of these families are women-led). In particular, this program addresses the issue of transportation, which is one of the greatest barriers to economic stability in Bucks County.
  
  
• Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County ($5,000) -- The Women Build program trains Bucks County women to develop skills which contribute to their own competency and self-esteem. Participants are then encouraged to use those skills to empower other, at-risk women to achieve economic stability.
  
  
• Network of Victim Assistance ($4,000) -- The Youth Advisory Council / Youth Education Program is a new program that fosters leadership opportunities for girls and young women throughout Bucks County, which in turn, develops program input for the organization.

The grants will be officially awarded at "The Power of the Purse." A reception and silent auction begins at 5:30 p.m. with a cash bar. Dinner, with choice of entree, will be served at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $80 per person, and guests are encouraged to "Bring a Clutch" by reserving a table for 12 for $1,000. All proceeds benefit the ability of the Bucks County Women's Fund to provide a long-term vision of safety, opportunity and leadership for Bucks women and girls to create systemic social change.

For detailed information, please visit www.bcwf.org. To learn more, call 215.345.5440 or send an email to event@bcwf.org.