May 2026

AAUW Annual Survey We Need Your Help!

Branch leaders are in the final stages of completing the FY2026 Annual Survey, which must be submitted to AAUW by June 30, 2026. The survey includes five sections, and we especially need your support in the Advancement area. One important goal is to increase the number of individual donors compared to last fiscal year.

In FY2025, we had 24 donor participants. To date, FY2026 participation stands at 19 donors. With your help, we can meet—and exceed—last year’s total by the June 30 deadline.

Making a contribution is quick and easy—you can simply add a donation when paying your dues. Every gift, no matter the size, helps strengthen AAUW’s mission and impact.



Thank you for your continued support!

Help us Achieve our 5th Star

Donate generously to AAUW’s Funds

As easy as 1, 2, 3

1. Log into your AAUW Account

https://my.aauw.org/NC__Login

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page

3. Click the Donate button

AAUW Membership Renewal

Due date for Membership renewal for most of the members in the Greater Naples Branch is June 30, 2026. You will receive a notice from AAUW to remind you. You may pay early if you wish. Dues are $76 National + $12 State + $38 Branch = $126.

AAUW is no longer accepting checks. All renewal of dues must be done through the AAUW website. It is easy to do. From the AAUW homepage click Log in in the upper right corner. Click the Forgot your password? if you are logging in to the Community Hub Personal Snapshot for the first time. If you’ve logged in before, enter email/password then click LOG IN.

On the Personal Snapshot page, scroll down and click Renew. This takes you to the Membership Management page to review/update your contact information, then click Next.

Review rate information, then Select Membership Type, then click Next.

Click Yes to add Branch and State memberships.

Checkout page:  

Review National, State and Branch dues.

Select Payment Type.

Enter payment information, then click Submit.  

A Video Tutorial is available to help you self-renew: https://www.aauw.org/membership/new-systems-update/#Tutorials 

Become an Equity Keeper  

Claim your FREE bumper sticker and show your support for women’s education. Join Equity Keepers, AAUW’s community of dedicated monthly donors who power our mission all year long. As a thank-you, members receive a special annual gift from the National team — including this year’s limited-edition bumper sticker. Set up a monthly gift of $5 or more and become an Equity Keeper today.

Timely Documents Available on the AAUW Website:

1.  The 2026 Voter Issue Guide:   https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2026/03/Its-My-Vote-2026-Voter-Issue-Guide.pdf 
2.  FY25 Annual Report:  https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2026/03/AAUW-Annual-Report-2025.pdf 
3.  Simple Truth Update: https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2026/03/The_Simple_Truth_Gender_Pay_Gap_2026.pdf 

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The Great Decisions group will meet on Monday, May 4, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the North Collier Government Center’s community room, 2335 Orange Blossom Drive, to discuss U.S. foreign policy.

This month we’re discussing the third nuclear age as defined by the Trump presidency.

Come learn along with us and join our discussion!

f you are interested in learning more about the group, please contact Carol Light.

Reading Is Fun

Volunteers are needed for Reading Is Fun. We will hold book distributions at two elementary schools in May— May 3 and May 28. You may “work” during the morning or afternoon session.

If you want to spend time with excited children selecting books chosen by the media specialist (which AAUW funds), contact Reading Is Fun

Coordinator Judy Blackburn at 732-801-7913.

Virtual Book Group

The Virtual Book Group resumes on May 18 with Frederik Backman’s My Friends.

The Virtual Book Group will meet again this summer at 11:00 a.m. on the third Monday of each month, May through October, via the Branch Zoom link.!

The book for discussion on Monday, May 18 is My Friends by Fredrik Backman.! Carole Barrett will lead the

discussion.

The remaining books will be selected at that meeting. All are welcome!!

Contact Laura Candris to join.

Discussion dates:

June 15

July 20

August 17

September 21?—TBD

October 19

Update from Education Ambassadors

Members of the EA steering committee attended a State Board of Education meeting held at The Freedom Institute of Collier County on April 17. Although this meeting was not held at one of the many Collier County public schools (that serve 48,000 students!) CCPS Superintendent Riccardelli spoke on behalf of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. In her speech and on the meeting agenda, many items on elementary and secondary education were covered, including school finance, school safety, and more. When discussing post secondary education, it is noteworthy that Sociology has been removed as a core liberal arts course across all Florida universities and colleges, because it is deemed that “DEI and identity politics” were among the “unfavorable” subjects being taught in these classes. It is clear that the “preservation of religious freedom” and parental choice programs (that divert money away from public schools to charter and private schools, and homeschooling) are the priorities of our Commissioner of Education and our State Board of Education. 

Foundation News

The Foundation Election Results



The Greater Naples AAUW Charitable Foundation, Inc. held its elections immediately following the Scholarship Awards Celebration Luncheon.

The current board members are:

Laura Candris, President

Laura Frost, Secretary

Jeannine Stetson, Treasurer, & Director for Investments

Rebecca Roberts, Director for Scholarships

Julie Olander, Director for Funds

Judith MacGregor

Linda Pool

Lucy Williams

Virginia Kelly

Bev Friese

Janet Ramallo

We are deeply grateful to Judith for her valuable leadership as President over the last two years, and to Carole Barrett and Susan Goff for their dedicated service.

Mark Your Calendars!

The 2027 Scholarship Awards Celebration Luncheon will be held on Saturday, April 3, 2027 at the Tiburòn Golf Club and will feature keynote speaker FGCU Professor Dr. Starlette Sinclair.

We do not yet have a sponsor. Please contact

Laura Candris with ideas.

The next Public Policy forum will be held in February addressing what’s happening in higher education and how its affecting women. It will feature our own Dr. Nancy Chism and Dr. Mike Martin. Check the website later for details.

Please contact Laura Candris with sponsorship and co-presenter ideas.