Lynda Kaplan and her husband, Jeff, moved full-time to Hilton Head Island in 2015 after vacationing on the island for many years. Prior to relocating, they lived in Massachusetts, where Lynda built a 35-year career in the financial services industry. After a variety of roles of increasing responsibility, she retired as Chief Administrative Officer for a financial services firm outside of Boston.

During her years in the financial sector, Lynda’s passion for philanthropy steadily grew. She worked closely with several organizations including the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Year Up Boston, the Germantown Neighborhood Center Food Bank, and New Hope, experiences that deepened her commitment to community service and equity.

Since making Hilton Head their home, Lynda has continued to combine professional excellence with a spirit of service. A lifelong theater lover, she began her “second act” career in 2016 when she joined the staff of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, where she now serves as Director of Community Engagement. Lynda volunteers monthly at the St. Francis Outreach Office further reflecting her commitment to giving back to the community. She is also deeply involved with Women in Philanthropy and is thrilled to be the incoming Chair of WIP’s Grants Committee. 

Lynda is a graduate of Stonehill College. Beyond her professional and volunteer commitments, she treasures time with her husband and family, adores her book club and pickleball friends, embraces the arts, and remains dedicated to making a meaningful impact in the community she now calls home.

We are excited to officially kick off the 2025-26 Grants season, Bridging the Gap: Employment, Basic Needs, and Family Stability, with our Annual Fall Luncheon!

Join us on Wednesday, October 8, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM at the beautiful Colleton River Club for an inspiring afternoon of connection, conversation, and community impact.

We are honored to announce our Fall Luncheon guest speaker, Benita Lefft, President & COO of Optus Bank. Benita is a trailblazer in the field, known for her exceptional leadership, vision, and commitment to providing equitable access to financial opportunities.

“Every dollar deposited allows us to multiply our impact, leveraging funds tenfold to finance businesses, uplift individuals, and strengthen communities.” 

Benita Lefft, Optus Bank President & COO

The 2025-2026 Grants cycle is now underway, marked by our first Grants Committee meeting on September 8. Together, we are launching a focused effort to strengthen nonprofits and advance our mission by addressing this year’s theme:

Bridging the Gap: Employment, Basic Needs, and Family Stability 

Grants selected will address obstacles to employment, financial stability, and/or essential needs, including food insecurity, housing, transportation, childcare, adult workforce education, and job access.



We are pleased to introduce the dedicated members of this year’s Grants Committee; Joining us for the first time are Lauri Allenback, Alison Barton, Dee Colello, Cindy Reedy, and Jo-Una Spadafora. Returning members are Lynda Kaplan (chair), Bobbi Gillis (vice chair), Colleen Beach, Liz Castrillon, Vicki Olson, and Janet Porter.

WIP’s Education Committee is currently comprised of Colleen Beach, Faith Boettger, Carole Galli, Suzanne Herbers, Mary Noonan, and Pamela Stone. If you’re interested in joining the Education Committee, we’d love to hear from you. Contact Pamela Stone or Colleen Beach, or email wipsceducation@gmail.com

Highlighting Upcoming Programming 

Grants In Action:

October 18 – Respite for Parents and Caregivers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) - Lowcountry Autism Foundation

Here’s a great opportunity to learn more about the work of Lowcountry Autism Foundation (LAF) while volunteering to provide much needed respite for parents and caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). As a WIP member volunteer, your role will be to engage and play with children ages 3 to 12 (who are diagnosed with ASD) during a two-hour structured play time. Therapists from local clinics, who are knowledgeable and familiar working with children with ASD, are also volunteering to help ensure everyone has a wonderful time.

Women in Philanthropy provided LAF a total of $37,200 in funding during the 2023-2024 grant cycle and the 2024-2025 grant cycle. WIPs support was designated for their Autism Spectrum Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) programming, and resulted in no/low cost reviews and diagnoses for 38 Beaufort County children. Register by October 6 by clicking HERE

WIP Education and The Arts:

October 17 - "Come from Away"

WIP members and their guests will enjoy an evening at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina for the Broadway musical, "Come from Away." The musical tells the true story of 7,000 airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The play explores the clash of cultures and languages, but also the kindness and generosity that emerged from the situation.

Registration deadline for this event has passed.

November 14 - "Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land"

The Lowcountry Gullah Foundation has invited WIP members to a film screening and discussion of "Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land." The event takes place at the Main Street Theatre (HHI) at 6:00 pm. Save the date on your calendar - more details to follow!

Young Professionals in Philanthropy:

As highlighted in Goal 6 in the "Our Next Chapter..." article below, the Education Committee is committed to engage more youth and young professionals in philanthropy. Over the summer, we participated in several meetings and provided background research to help in the formulation of a new Beaufort County effort tentatively labelled “Roots and Ripples.” We look forward to sharing more information in the future and getting additional WIP members involved as this initiative evolves.

Let’s not keep WIP a secret!

Each of us has friends or neighbors who might enjoy being a member of WIP. Write down two or three of those names - right now while you’re thinking about it. Then please send those names and email addresses to Dedria at dedriacruden@gmail.com or Kaye at kblackhhi@gmail.com. We will invite them to attend one of our informational gatherings for prospective members this fall, and you are welcome to come with them if you like.

It’s always fun to meet other women who care about our community and explore how together we can make a difference right where we live.

Hello Women in Philanthropy!

My name is Brooke Peck and I’m excited to be one of the newest members to join the female powerhouse that is WIP. I am so encouraged by the collective good that WIP contributes to our local community each year and appreciate Gigi Maxfield for inviting me to become a member!

My family moved to Hilton Head from Atlanta, GA about four years ago. My husband Peck and I met in college and are a house divided since I am a University of Georgia Bulldog, and he is a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. Peck works remotely for the Estee Lauder Companies and is Secretary of the Hilton Head Rugby Team. We have a middle school son who loves video games, reading, Legos, card games and relaxing at the beach. Together, we are very involved with our church, St Andrew by-the-Sea UMC, and love going to trivia nights and live music events. Exploring the world is also important to our family. In recent years, we have visited New York City, New Zealand, Vancouver Island, Maine and New Orleans.

I own my own marketing company and run an Instagram account called Hi from HHI (@hifromhhi) which features island restaurants, events, nature and other fun ideas all over Hilton Head. If you use Instagram, please follow my account! I’m also a freelance writer and you can find my stories on the pages of CH2 magazine along with Eat It & Like It Website.  

Since moving to Hilton Head, I have learned how to captain fishing excursions with friends, and we enjoy catching shrimp and fishing together. You can find me cooking, riding my bike, walking with friends or at Club Pilates during my free time. I am also part of the Community Thanksgiving Leadership Team that organizes the annual meal at Hudson’s Seafood in partnership with St. Andrew’s By-The-Sea UMC each year.  

I love soaking up all that the area has to offer and am grateful to live here! I’m looking forward to meeting more WIP members over the coming year and taking advantage of the community awareness opportunities granted to our members!

Brooke Peck

Freelance Writer & Content Creator

Hilton Head Island, SC

404.964.1590

Let’s Get to Know Our Members – Share Your Story!

We’re inviting all WIP members to write up to one typed page about yourself; your background, what inspires your philanthropy, and anything fun you’d like fellow members to know.

Please email your story (and a photo, if you’d like) to Gigi Maxfield at gigimaxfield@hotmail.com.

We can’t wait to learn more about the amazing women who make WIP such a vibrant community!

By Dedria Cruden

Earlier this year, WIP members were surveyed on a variety of topics. We asked, and you answered. Your voices were clear, honest, and deeply thoughtful. And one message rang out clearly: You are proud to be a member of WIP.

You love being part of a community of women who care deeply and act boldly to make a difference in our community. But many of you also expressed a desire to see WIP grow—both in numbers and in visibility. You want more women to experience the power of giving together. And you want WIP to shake off old stereotypes—because we are so much more than “chicks with checks.” We are leaders. Change-makers. Connectors. And strategists.

Another key theme we heard about was around participation. You offered great suggestions to refresh events and add more opportunities for connection and impact.

One of the most exciting findings? A strong interest in education. Many of you said you want to learn more about personal philanthropy, deepen your understanding of community needs, and grow in your giving. That feedback directly inspired two new goals focused on education and cultivating a future generation of philanthropists. 

Below is a summary of the goals and strategies to achieve these aspirations and where we are in the process. If you’d like to be a part of the momentum, you can join one of the working groups by getting in touch with the team lead.

Goal 1: Increase Funding for Grants, Outreach, and Education Initiatives

Team Lead: Lesley Gilbert – lcg1687@aol.com

• Members told us clearly that keeping the minimum contribution at $300 is important to ensure inclusivity. We are honoring that, while also offering an incentive: a legacy gift will provide WIP with a $200 match for every membership increased from $300 to $500.
• Confusion around membership levels will be addressed in our updated contribution form, which will be available online and in print this fall with the membership renewal campaign.
• To support the strategies outlined in this plan, WIP has established an operating budget need of $6,000. The renewal form will include an optional opportunity for members to contribute to operations.
• While WIP will continue our tradition of not holding active fundraising events, we will adopt some “soft” fundraising tactics used by other women’s circles, such as seeking sponsorships from local businesses and holding silent auctions at events.
• With guidance from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, we will formalize a planned giving program.
• In last spring’s survey, most members preferred our current allocation of contributions (50% to the endowment, 50% to current-year grants). However, because some members expressed interest in different splits, we will offer members a choice in the upcoming renewal campaign.

Goals 2 & 3: Increase Membership to 250 by June 2027 & Increase Member Participation

Team Leads: Kaye Black – kblackhhi@gmail.com & Margaret McManus – sandcrab1960@gmail.com

• Host 4–8 “Girls Nights Out” events, each with 20–40 women. These will focus on expanding diversity, reaching women in their 40s and 50s, and holding evening gatherings.
• Build strategic partnerships with local nonprofits. Team members have identified approximately 80 women actively engaged in nonprofit work and will invite them to join WIP.
• Expand outreach by speaking about WIP to at least 4 local organizations annually. A presentation is already scheduled in October to the Women’s Club of Sea Pines (1,000+ members).
• Develop a program for WIP visibility at community events such as local farmers’ markets.

Goal 4: Develop a Comprehensive Communication Plan

Team Leads: Gigi Maxfield – gigimaxfield@hotmail.com & Vicki Olson – olsonvick12@gmail.com

• Survey feedback emphasized the need to align WIP messaging across platforms. Our objective is for all materials—event information, registration, evites, membership communications—to consistently reflect the WIP brand.
• A redesigned membership brochure will be ready for the Fall luncheon.
• A new events template will ensure all invitations have a consistent look and feel.
• With an 85-90% open rate, the WIP monthly newsletter will remain central, with ongoing improvements to make it the easiest place to find information.
• WIP will expand its social media presence through the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry’s Facebook page (2,900+ followers).
• A redesign of the WIP webpage will begin after the start of the new year.

Goal 5: Develop a Comprehensive Education Plan on Philanthropy and Community Issues

Team Lead: Pamela Stone – pamelastoneglobal@gmail.com



• The Grants in Action program will be enhanced to provide more collaborative partnerships with funded nonprofits. Members will have more opportunities to connect directly with organizations, see their impact firsthand, and build stronger relationships within WIP. Four events are planned for September through December, all with enhanced action opportunities.
• We learned our membership is eager to deepen their knowledge of personal philanthropy and “smart giving.” The team is researching and interviewing a variety of potential resources to launch more philanthropic education programming in 2026.

Goal 6: Develop a WIP Youth Philanthropy Committee to Educate Young Women

Team Lead: Pamela Stone – pamelastoneglobal@gmail.com

• A new initiative has been launched, sparked by conversations between WIP Advisory Board member Kaye Black and Ana Catalina Garcia-Oliva (United Way of the Lowcountry). This effort, called Roots and Ripples, brings together representatives from WIP, United Way, Beaufort Young Professionals, Hilton Head & Bluffton Young Professionals, Beaufort Memorial Hospital SC, Deep Well, and Volunteers in Medicine to explore opportunities in developing youth and young professional philanthropic leaders.
• The group is currently researching successful models from other communities.
• A meeting is scheduled with the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry to explore a potential partnership in young professional programming through the Ekedahl Center for Nonprofit Excellence.