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What
is The Roanoke Women's Foundation?
Based on a philanthropy model started in Seattle,
Washington in 1995 and since replicated in other cities
around the country, The RWF was founded to offer women
in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas an avenue
to become leaders in the field of philanthropy and to
offer a model for collaborative giving in response to
the needs of our community. |
Why
was this group formed?
The RWF was founded because it is
clear that women are more interested than
ever in philanthropy and want to have a greater
voice in where and how their contributions
are spent. The RWF is open to women of all
income levels who have an interest in aggregating
smaller gifts in order to make significant
impact grants to worthy organizations in
the community. |
Who founded the RWF?
The RWF was co-founded by Ginny Jarrett and Kandy Elliott who, along with 5 other founding board members, have been involved in numerous community organizations
and have a firm commitment to philanthropy in our community.
We are organized as a component fund of Foundation for
Roanoke Valley and, therefore, qualify as a 501(c)(3)
organization. |
What's different about this foundation vs. what's being done with the Foundation for Roanoke Valley?
The RWF is one of the Foundation
for Roanoke Valley's component funds. We
in no way see ourselves as competing with
any other organization in the area. Rather,
The RWF offers another method of making an
impact in the community by extending the “ask” to
any woman in the community who wants to be
a part of a member-driven, pooled-fund grant
making process. |
Is
there a limit to the membership?
The RWF is open to any woman who makes the commitment
to support The RWF for three years at a level of $2100/year.
Members have no other obligation than to fulfill the
annual contribution and to participate in the voting
process determining recipients of pooled fund grants.
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Is
this just an organization of women?
While membership is limited to women,
grants will not be limited to women and girls
as beneficiaries. |
What
are the areas of support?
The Board has determined that we will support
venture, capital and operating needs within organizations
focusing on:
- Arts and Culture
- Health and Human Services
- Education
- Environment
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How
are decisions going to be made regarding organizations
that will
be supported?
The foundation will not limit grant making
to women and girls as beneficiaries. We will look for
critical needs, new ventures and innovative approaches
to solving problems in the areas of arts and culture,
education, the environment and health and human services.
Initially, the founding board will serve as the grant
committee and will issue Request for Proposals (RFP)
to those organizations with 501(c)(3) status and based
on suggestions from the Foundation for Roanoke Valley.
The grant committee will review and consider projects
and evaluate grant proposals. Ballots will be mailed
to all members after deciding which organizations will
be selected to appear on the ballot (up to 10 proposals
will go to the full membership). The amount of money
available to award from The RWF is directly proportional
to the size of the membership. We expect that projects
selected for funding will, over time, reflect the diverse
interests of the membership. |
What
are the core values of The RWF?
The Board has agreed on the following core values:
- Membership
is open to individual women only
- Membership is diverse
- Decision-making is democratic
- Every member is entitled to one vote
- Grants are made solely from members'
contributions
- Grant-making is not
limited to women and girls as beneficiaries
- Pooled fund grants
are large impact grants
- There is no obligation to
volunteer or participate in committee work
- The geographic
reach of support will include: Roanoke City, Roanoke
County, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt County, Craig
County, Smith Mt. Lake region and the New River
Valley.
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How may I pay my membership?
Payment options are:
- A check made payable to The
Roanoke Women's Foundation.
- Payment by stock (contact
your broker or RWF for details.)
A quarterly payment option is available.
All contributions to
The RWF are fully tax deductible to the maximum extent
provided by law. |
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