New DFW Grantees Selected:
Projects Include Two New Countries
Reducing early marriage and dropout rates at two girls’ schools in Afghanistan; providing rural Bhutanese women with financial literacy and income-generating skills; supporting female backpack medics in Myanmar’s isolated villages and conflict zones; and helping to end Female Genital Cutting in The Gambia – these are some of the goals for the projects that DFW members will support in the second half of 2017. We will be funding projects in Bhutan and The Gambia for the first time.
The six new projects represent an investment of nearly $300,000. These projects will directly impact nearly 34,000 women and girls and will indirectly impact nearly 300,000 family and community members.
DFW’s volunteer Grant Selection Committee considered a record number of applications in this grant cycle and faced the challenging task of narrowing the list to the final six.
See the new Grantee Flyer for a complete list of organizations and projects. Webpages for our new featured grantees will be online later in April.
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Celebrate Your Chapter Leaders This Month
By Linda Dougall, Recognition Committee Chair
It's here at last -- Chapter Leader Appreciation Month – and it’s time to celebrate!
There are many adjectives to describe our Chapter Leaders and Co-Leaders (friendly, concerned, involved, tenacious, reliable, dedicated, detail-oriented, committed), and it’s clear that DFW wouldn’t be successful without every leader rallying and educating our members every month. Our Chapter Leaders are masters at creating delicious and full experiences that enrich our lives. Thank you, Chapter Leaders and Co-Leaders, for donating your time, your resources, your skills, and yourselves to us and to the women and girls we empower through our grants. We thank you and appreciate you and want you to know we see all that you do to make DFW a success. Brava!
Enjoy this special video from DFW President Beth Ellen Holimon and staff.
We hope you will also enjoy the last in our series of Chapter Leader profiles. We thank Janine Baumgartner for submitting this tribute to Sue Fernbach, her Chapter Leader in Asheville, NC.
Read About Sue
Finally, it's not too late to plan something special for your Chapter Leader. Check out these Fun Celebration Ideas. Whatever you do to celebrate, please take photos and tell us all about it! We will publish your stories in the next issue of The Dish. Email media@diningforwomen.org.
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DFW Delegation Conducts Learning Trip in New York
Recently, a delegation of DFW staff and volunteer leaders visited New York City to meet with different international women’s organizations and to attend special panels and events on issues related to women and girls. DFW President Beth Ellen Holimon describes the trip as “immensely affirming for DFW.”
Read More
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Save the Date!
DFW’s 15th Anniversary National Conference
When: May 4 and 5, 2018
Where: Washington, DC
U.S. Institute for Peace
The conference theme will be “Knowledge is Power” which was inspired by the following quote from Wa'ad, one of the beneficiaries of our January 2015 featured grantee, Collateral Repair Project:
“Knowledge is power. I feel empowered; I know my rights; I share my thoughts; and my friends welcome my input. On the outside, I am still the same;
but deep inside I feel different, I feel strong.”
As part of the announcement of our conference theme, Collateral Repair Project provided a video of Wa’ad sharing her story.
Watch Video
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National Conference Chair Named
 We are pleased to announce that Jenna Lindberg will be chairing the 2018 National Conference Committee. Jenna has been a member of DFW since 2008 when she attended her first dinner while at the University of South Carolina. In each city she's lived in since, she has been an active member and leader for DFW, including Columbia, SC; Los Gatos, CA; San Francisco, CA, and now Manhattan, NY. She has worked and traveled throughout Latin America and Europe, and has also volunteered with grantee organization PINCC as a medical interpreter in Central America, training doctors in cervical cancer screening and treatment procedures. By day, she works in Tech, fostering relationships with key clients around the globe, and is also an active member of and advocate for Women in Tech & STEM.
The 2018 National Conference Committee will begin meeting later this month. Watch upcoming issues of The Dish for more conference information as it becomes available.
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The Biggest DFW Chapter Meeting Ever!
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CO, Highlands Ranch-2 was just one of the chapters who joined our live webcast on March 8.
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With over 40 chapters and hundreds of individual members participating, our March 8th webcast was definitely the biggest DFW chapter meeting ever! Thank you to all who joined us and provided valuable feedback on our first attempt at live streaming. What a great way to celebrate International Women’s Day and to launch our growth strategy and 8,000 Ambassadors Campaign.
More Chapter Photos
Missed the webcast? Watch the recording.
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More International Women’s Day Activities
Several DFW chapters organized their own special events for International Women’s Day. The MI, Grand Rapids-1 chapter, led by Jill Peirce and Joan DeVries, partnered with other local women’s groups in a sold-out showing of the film I Am a Girl.
Our Delaware chapters partnered with the Malala Fund and other local groups to show the film He Named Me Malala on the Sunday before International Women’s Day. Delaware Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall Long also talked about the importance of education on her life and women in general. There were over 275 attendees and more than $1,800 was raised, with one third going to DFW.
The CA, Rancho Cordova chapter, shown above, describes its International Women's Day meeting as “nothing short of spectacular!” The first Muslim Jr. Girl Scouts troop presented the featured grantee, Caravan to Class. The girls also conducted a community fundraiser, leading to a donation of $201 to DFW. The girls’ mothers also joined in the meeting, which was covered by a local Sacramento TV station.
Watch News Clip
According to chapter member Elizabeth Dodson, “The Rancho Cordova chapter celebrated International Women's Day by empowering young girls on their way to becoming women to showcase their presentation skills. Additionally, we brought together all groups of women to create a diverse group who share a common story: to support girls and women around the world.”
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Advocacy: A Best Practice to Change the World
Betsy Dunklin, Chair of DFW’s Advocacy Committee, provides an update on DFW’s advocacy program and discusses how advocacy is considered "best practice" for high-impact nonprofits today.
Read Blog
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Coming Soon: New JOIN US Process
Joining DFW is about to become easier than ever. Later this month, we will launch a new, online process for individuals interested in finding and joining a chapter in their area. Through the “Join Us” tab on our website, individuals can select “Find a Chapter” and then enter their zip code or address to locate open chapters within a certain radius. They will see a short description of the open chapters in the area, and can connect directly with the Chapter Leader. This new process will be quicker and easier for people to join an existing chapter, and will allow our volunteer Regional Leaders and Mentors more time to develop new chapters. It will give all DFW members a way to find chapters across the country and make it easier to refer friends and family to DFW. This is one more way to help us achieve our 2020 goals.
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Our Featured Grantee for April: Chicuchas Wasi
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This month’s featured grantee, Chicuchas Wasi, operates the only school for uneducated, poor, Quechua-speaking girls in Cusco, Peru. Though public education is free, families surviving on $1 (US) a day cannot afford fees, school supplies and adequate nutrition. Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls provides free education and enhanced nutrition and health for girls ages 4 to 12, empowering future leaders and changing cultural beliefs about girls’ education. DFW’s $50,000 grant will be used for teacher salaries and the food program.
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Our conversation with Chicuchas Wasi founder Rae Lewis is here. |
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3 Things You Need to Know about our Featured Grantee
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In rural Cusco, two out of three children live in poverty, with high child mortality, poor nutrition, lack of health care and increased child labor. Many families live in one room, sleep on a mattress or sheepskin on the packed earth floor and have no utilities or water. |
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Chicuchas Wasi School for Girls provides hot meals, enhanced curriculum that emphasizes female empowerment and self-esteem, passionate teachers, money management skills, home visits and more. |
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The grant will cover $35,000 of Chicuchas Wasi’s competitive teacher salaries and $15,000 of the food program for two school years for 112 girls. The project will also have an indirect impact on 105 mothers. |
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The Proven Platter
Peruvian Rice with Duck (Arroz con Pato)
By Linda McElroy, DFW Recipe Curator and Chapter Leader of WA, Seattle-1
Try this highly seasoned rice and duck (or chicken!) dish that is popular all over northern Peru.
Read More
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Our Sustained Grantee for April:
Health in Harmony
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DFW’s sustained funding grant to Health in Harmony helps women in Indonesia achieve their potential as catalysts for rainforest conservation and health activities. The sustained funding grant of $20,000 per year from 2016 to 2018 provides women with training and support to fill leadership positions or highly specialized technical jobs. It also helps local women establish organic vegetable gardens, wives of illegal loggers start small businesses, and widows establish goat herds.
Learn More »
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Grantee Updates
Collateral Repair Project, our January 2015 featured grantee, was able to add a field trip to its Equipping and Empowering Female Leaders Program as a results of cost savings from its initial project budget. Because participants came from the immediate area surrounding Collateral Repair Project's center, transportation costs were greatly reduced. The unused money was approved by DFW for a field trip for women leaders that allowed them to interact in more depth with women leaders in Jordan.
DB Peru – The World Bank Group and Sexual Violence Research Initiative have announced that DB Peru and the University College London will receive a $150,000 grant for Gender-Based Violence Prevention in the Amazon of Peru. The project will begin in November 2017. DB Peru was DFW’s featured grantee in October 2015.
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New Grant Cycle Opens
Our new grant cycle – for featured grants that will be awarded for the first half of 2018 – opens April 1. Organizations that meet our criteria can submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) online via our application page from April 1 - 24. Information on the grant criteria is available online. We know that many of our members have connections with potential grantees. Please share this information with them so we can continue to support wonderful organizations that are changing the lives of women and girls around the world.
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Congratulations to the NC, Winston Salem-1 chapter, led by Priscilla Zambor and Marianne DeCristo, on celebrating five years with DFW. The chapter celebrated in March by learning about the featured grantee, Caravan to Class, and preparing for International Women’s Day.
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The OH, Akron-1 chapter, led by Sally Phillips, celebrated its fifth anniversary in December. Congratulations!
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DE, Hockessin – 1
led by Sue Dagenais |
MD, Abingdon - 1
led by Dana Battaglia |
NE, Scottsbluff - 1
led by Maren Chaloupka & Judy Chaloupka |
OR, Happy Valley - 1
led by Ellyn Jeck & Meghan Hoobler |
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Congratulations to the MA, Great Barrington-1 chapter, led by Leslye Heilig and Barbara Watkins, on celebrating five years together. Thank you for your continued support of DFW!
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Congratulations to the CT, Newtown-1 chapter on its fifth anniversary. Chapter leader Barbara Myers said the group is looking forward to helping with DFW’s 8,000 Ambassadors Campaign.
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Submitting Chapter Milestones, Special Events and Photos
We love receiving photos of your chapter milestones, meetings or special events. and sharing those inspiring updates with other members. Please remember to send your photos using our new Chapter Photos Submission Form so we have all the information we need for publishing in our newsletter.
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