What Will It Take?

What will it take to improve the lives of women and girls? To increase their safety? To build true gender equity? Women's Funds around the world are asking this question. They are also trying to answer it with annual combined grants of over $50 million per year, coordinated advocacy efforts, and educational programs focused on leadership development, financial literacy, and other programs to help build equity for women.

The Bucks County Women's Fund is part of this global effort-even while we are entirely focused on Bucks County. We spent the past year asking the question, "What will it take to improve the lives of women and girls in Bucks County?" Here are four ways that we are answering:

1. We have identified women's needs, priorities, and strategies for action that are briefly described in this newsletter and can be reviewed in detail in the report of the listening year, click here. This report will be a blueprint for action by the BCWF, including our grantmaking, education, and advocacy efforts. We hope it will also inspire action by many other organizations and individuals.
   
   
2. We helped create a new collaborative partnership of women's organizations in Bucks County and spoke with one voice, at a public forum on October 3rd, calling for legislators and citizens to work with us in building awareness, building equity, removing barriers to self-sufficiency, and accelerating women's lives toward safety and stability. Our partners include the Coalition for Women's Economic Justice (WEJ), League of Women Voters, AAUW, Bucks County Commissioners Advisory Council for Women, and United Way of Bucks County.
   
   
3. We established a new focus for our grantmaking and designed a new application and review process. This year we will give out more in grants than any prior year in BCWF history. You'll find an overview of the new guidelines in this newsletter and more details on this web site.
   
   
4. We have developed a new theme for our annual grantmaking dinner and celebration of Bucks County women investing in the future of area women and girls. The Power of the Purse (March 26, 2009) will be an exciting evening focused on the power of women's philanthropy, with a fun, fabulous, purse-themed silent auction. The money we raise will underwrite our efforts to build equity for women and girls in Bucks County.

Check out our upcoming events. I invite you to get involved with us in the effort to do whatever it takes to build equity and improve the lives of women and girls in Bucks County.

<Back | Next Story>