Table of Contents
Message from the Executive Director
Spotlight on Impact
A Message from the Executive Director



Happy Summer Solstice! It's a little bit hard to believe summer is finally here, and also hard to believe half the year is already past. But we have all kinds of things to keep you and us busy this summer, fall, and next spring, too.
 
We are planning a really great event this fall, with follow-up across the state. Intentional Leadership for the New Economy: A Discussion on How Ensuring Diversity in the Workforce Drives Business Success will highlight local leaders who have created corporate cultures which embrace women and diversity, leading to success. National studies all agree: more women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and people with differing ability drive business success, and this event will get to the nuts and bolts of how to create the change we want to see in the corporate world.
 
Then, we'll host a series of seminars focused on helping women in all stages of their careers ask for the salary they deserve, from researching the going salary for your position and preparing for your pitch, to asking your manager for equal pay. Women don't ask, but we should! These tools will help you get the courage and grounding you need to assure you are being compensated appropriately.
 
Looking for summer fun? The Sea Dogs have  two promotional evenings specifically highlighting female achievement: A League of their Own Night on July 6th, and Margaret Chase Smith Bobblehead for Women's Equality Day on August 26th. Let's show up and represent!

And finally, we missed you at the Leadership Luncheon last month, and have heard you missed us, too. Fear not, we'll be back with a springtime event next year, including everything you love about the Luncheon and without what you didn't.

More information on all of this and more will be forthcoming in future newsletters, social media, and on our website, so keep your eyes open.
   
Until next time,
 

     Megan Hannan
     Executive Director

 
Spotlight on Impact

Three New Swift Social Justice Grants Awarded in May!

The Fund is very pleased to announce three brand new Swift Social grants of $1,500 each:

Empower the Immigrant Woman (through fiscal sponsor Intercultural Community Center) to support their partnership with University of New England's Westbrook School of Health Professions and In Her Presence to help prepare Maine's future health professionals for practice with people from diverse backgrounds by improving student's cultural and linguistic knowledge to address inadequacies in the quality health services. Their work will focus on engaging many immigrant women of different backgrounds to inform an Empowered Cultural Curriculum pilot course.

Maine Community Integration will partner with Maine People's Resource Center and the Maine Council of Churches to invite over 270 people to participate in a series of intimate community conversations (12 to 24 people each) across lines of religious, racial, and citizenship-status differences to better understand each other. Groups will also brainstorm actions they can take to strengthen their community which has seen a rise in raicially/religiously based incidents of bias and hate including: bullying of young girls in schools, verbal attacks, physical intimidation, and threats of violence to women in the hijab. The project lead, a muslim woman, will reach out to New Mainers to participate, co-design and co-facilitate the series of community conversations.

Wabanki Health and Wellness to support youth participation in Camp Neeloon, a camp that serves highly vulnerable youth-focused in cultural/language preservation, elders being central to camp curriculum. Each Tribal Chief has prioritized combating substance misuse with an emphasis on youth prevention education. Wabanaki Public Health will provide education and discuss risk/protective factors to female campers who are more susceptible to the immense consequences related to substance misuse. 

Since March of this year, the Fund has awarded over $7,000 to five Swift Social Justice Grantees. Two other organizations have applied, one of whom was asked to re-apply with more specific program information and the other wasn't a good fit for the program goals. 

The Fund has just under $24,000 that is still available for the Swift Social Justice Grants Program this year. After three months of reviewing, the reviewers recommended keeping the same simple application and monthly review processes as they both help the Fund's goal of being responsive to the needs of women and girls especially at risk right now.

The Maine Women's Fund continues to look for proposals by and for organizations of immigrant and refugee women and girls, women and girls of color, Muslim and Jewish women and girls, as well as female identified persons in the LGBTQIA community.  We are also looking to add more reviewers from these communities to our grant review team.  Please contact Kimberly Crichton at Kimberly@mainewomensfund.org or 774-5513 x206 for more information.





On behalf of the staff and board of the Maine Women's Fund, thank you for reading and for all you do to support Maine women and girls.

Office location:
74 Lunt Road, Suite 100, Falmouth, ME 04105 

 
    
  Find us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter    View our profile on LinkedIn 
 


MaineShare

The Maine Women's Fund thanks MaineShare for its ongoing support. MaineShare makes it easy to donate to more than 30 statewide organizations working every day to make Maine a better place to live. For more information, please visit the website.