What A Year! See What the 20th Anniversary Held for WIF!
By Fielding Williams
In the 2023-2024 program year, Women’s Impact Fund celebrated our 20th Anniversary and surpassed $8 million in total grants given to local nonprofits. To honor this milestone, we held special events, made a one-time grant from our operating reserve, and launched the Founders’ Fund endowment. Thank you to all those who celebrated with us throughout the year!
Let’s take a look back at this incredible year!
During the summer, the office was busy working on a new website and membership platform. After many years of planning and research (interrupted by the pandemic!), the board approved this project in April 2023. The new site and platform went live at the end of August. It features a modern layout and streamlined information for our members, guests, and nonprofit partners. Our goal is to showcase our impact and support members more effectively.
We started our program year in July by piloting a $600 membership level. This increased accessibility to the organization by offering the chance for interested women to join at a lower annual giving level, while still allowing full participation in membership benefits including voting and leadership opportunities.
Held at a new West Charlotte event space, our September 20th Anniversary Launch celebration featured soulful music, delicious food, and excited attendees. WIF members, friends, and nonprofit partners experienced the grand reveal of our 20th Anniversary video, plus interactive displays with WIF history and memorabilia, WIF’s impact in the nonprofit community, and photo and video storytelling areas to share thoughts and reflections.
We hosted Social Hour for Social Issues in October, on the topic of What Does it Mean to be a Philanthropist? It was a stimulating event that asked us to think differently about how we define philanthropy and explore what it means to be a philanthropist by sharing those values within families, and how personal perspectives on giving evolve.
In November, we hosted a Founder’s Luncheon with both past and current at the Duke Mansion reflecting on our values, grantmaking, and other memories over 20 years. At our virtual Lunch & Learn, we looked back over 20 years of Charlotte’s history reflecting on 2003 when the WIF was founded. Charlotte’s population stood at 750,000 people and there was no Spectrum Center, NASCAR Hall of Fame, or light rail. So many changes!
Our Membership and Member Education Committees planned an incredible line-up of activities starting in January including Women LEAD, our women’s leadership development series themed Nonprofit Board Service: Myths and Misconceptions that Limit Participation & Erode Community Impact. We had all-star panels in this three-part series where we examined the broader culture of boards, what it means to be part of a board, and how to make your participation meaningful for you and the organization you serve. Read the Women LEAD series recap here.
During February, we joined several local organizations to host talk-back sessions about the movie “Uncharitable” to determine how we can further impactful social impact investing. “Uncharitable” highlighted the “overhead myth” and how nonprofits can work from a position of abundance, not scarcity to make a true, lasting, and scalable change.
In 2023, North Carolina ranked as America’s worst state for working women according to a report prepared by Oxfam America Inc. This is just one of the many statistics – some frustrating and some hopeful – cited in the 2023 State of Working North Carolina Report. In March, we invited field experts to speak at Women & Wisdom: Women & Work: The Opportunity and the Opportunity Cost.
We took time in April to recognize and celebrate members who reached their fifth year along with those who had been members over ten years at our annual 5 and 10+ Year Anniversary Party. Small milestones and large ones to celebrate throughout this year.
Of course, in May we celebrated at our 20th Annual Meeting with a new format including dinner and all the 2024 nonprofit finalists in attendance. Spoken word artist Hannah Hasan reflected on a woman’s impact. We announced that our $600 membership level was made permanent. Grants were awarded, including a special anniversary grant of $20,000 honoring women and girls. A newly established Founders Fund endowment, initiated by Jim and Mary Lou Babb, was announced to ensure the longevity of our organization. The energy and excitement filled the room that historically twenty years ago started as a collection of 158 women. Over 300 attended the sold-out affair celebrated at the Mint Museum in uptown Charlotte.
Finally, in June, we awarded our restructured Spark Awards for rest and reflection to eight local women social change leaders. These $5,000 awards were made directly to the recipients. These women, along with one woman from each of our ten new nonprofit partners, were also offered a no-cost one-year Women’s Impact Fund membership to increase their social capital and include the voice of the community within our organization.
It’s incredible to look back at all we initiated, implemented, and celebrated over the year. It was truly a commemoration worthy of our twenty years of impact!
