WDN: What inspires or motivates you to want to help grow the WDN community?

MG: WDN is such an extraordinary group of women; I want others to be part of it.  It’s had such an impact on my life, in terms of my growth as a philanthropist, my understanding of the philanthropic world, my sophistication in giving, the networks I have access to that leverage my giving, and the friendships I’ve formed.  Equally as important, my confidence as a leader has grown through my participation in WDN.  Belonging to WDN has helped me move closer toward my potential, and the level of impact that I could have on the world.

For me, it has never felt like I was selling anyone on WDN; I just try to share how much impact it has had on my life.  I want them to join for them.

WDN: How do you bring up WDN in a way that feels authentic and not forced?

MG: A lot of the time, it comes up naturally.  I was recently at a wedding of a good friend and met her cousin, a woman from Baltimore.  The cousin asked what I was up to.  I told her that my life now revolves around philanthropy, and she asked to hear more about that.  I started telling her about WDN – who we are and what we do; it was as natural as putting food in your mouth.  She seemed very interested but I didn’t know her financial situation so I didn’t push the conversation.  Later in the evening, my friend and I were speaking and she said –  “You know – my cousin you were talking to – she should join WDN.”

As WDN has woven itself into my life it’s just something I start to talk about naturally.

WDN: How do you address the issue of determining whether someone is eligible for membership in WDN?

MG: A lot of the time it is obvious…If you’re at a political fundraiser for example with a high ticket entrance fee, it’s quite likely that the women you meet there would qualify for membership in WDN.

But eligibility based on annual giving is not going to be the first thing I bring up; that comes later as the relationship, or in some situations that particular conversation develops.  What is most important is to build the relationship, to find out what that person is interested in, what they like to fund, what they might be looking for.

You have to kind of play it by ear; it’s not always so easy to say that a criterion for membership is a giving level of $25,000 per year in charitable and political giving.  The more you do it though, the more comfortable you become with it.  I feel that it’s a piece of personal development that is important…it has to do with our comfort with having money, and our own growth as philanthropists and fundraisers.  And when all else fails, you can build the relationship with them, and then hand them off to a WDN staffer to talk through the details of joining.

WDN: The Colorado contingent is big (and getting bigger every day).  What have you all done to make that happen?

It has become easier to recruit in Colorado because there is a buzz about WDN here.  WDN is known, and the large number of members generates its own growth.  We also have monthly meetings that are great.  One of our Boulder members – Cynda Collins Arsenault – hosts a monthly lunch and people bring prospective members that they know.  It gives our recruiting efforts a focal point.  Between all of us, we do a lot of networking and because many of us know the same people, a prospective member might hear about WDN from multiple sources – something that always helps in closing a sale!

I imagine it would be tough to build a regional contingent if you are the only member.  But if there are even two or three members in a city, they could also meet regularly as a way to draw others in.  They can hold programs that generate interest and draw in friends; it creates a reason to bring people together.  If they belong to a community foundation, they could ask to make a lunchtime presentation about WDN.

WDN: Do you have a philosophy or formula about the kind of people that make good WDN members?

It’s a little like dating…there is just chemistry when you meet someone and know that they would be a good fit for WDN.  They’re progressive; they’re good collaborators.  They’re respectful.  I sometimes ask myself, Is this someone I’d like to serve on a committee with?  I am also drawn to people that I can learn from; people that are ahead of me on the path we’re on…people who can push and stretch me.

But I have to say there is also a danger in gravitating toward the women who are just like me, the women who are easy for me to talk to, to relate to. We need diversity in our membership and I’m not only talking about racial diversity. We need to (I need to)  bring in more women from the corporate sector whose backgrounds, business experiences and communication styles may be very different from mine.  We need to be open to those who may not be funding progressive causes yet, but want to move in that direction.  Looking at our own biases is part of our work and our commitment to building a truly progressive organization.

WDN: What do you do to make new members feel welcome in WDN?

Of course I always send them a welcome message and try to make a time to get together after they’ve joined. And trust me, at least here in Boulder, I am not the only one doing that.  I know that Cathy Carlson, another Boulder member, called each of our new local members and met with them to learn more about their funding interests. Cynda hosts a monthly lunch for members and prospective members.  We’ve built up a good infrastructure here that helps all of us stay connected.

I add new members to my email lists trying to selectively send them information about programs, lectures, performances I think they might be interested in Beyond that, it’s just touching base as you would with any new friend; an email or phone call to check in and see how they’re getting acclimated.

WDN: Do you have any secrets or tips to share on recruiting new members?

Bringing in new people is incredibly easy if you have a passion for WDN.  It has been such a significant part of my life, and has enriched it so much.  I just want to talk about it and share it with others.  It sells itself.

The call featured Eddy Morales from the Latino Engagement Fund at the Democracy Alliance, Melanie Campbell from the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and Terry Ao Minnis from the Asian American Justice Center.

The call covered the barriers that America’s minority communities face when it comes to civic participation, which vary by group.  For instance, issues of language access are more salient for the many different groups of Asian voters, while a lack of ID is a large problem for black voters, and the Latino community has a lack of visible leaders on the issue of civic participation.

One interesting fact that came out of the call was the large percentage (usually a plurality; sometimes a majority) of Asian voters that identify as Independent or Decline to State.  There is also a lack of investment in mobilizing Asian Americans to register and vote, among political parties, unions and other institutions that focus on political participation.  It is likely that there is a connection there; institutions do not focus on these groups, and as a result, these groups don’t feel an attachment to any particular party.  This is an area of opportunity for people who are interested in increasing the participation of Asian Americans in politics, identified by Terry Ao Minnis during the call.  There are groups that want to increase the civic participation of Asians, but investment from donors has been insufficient.

There were other notable takeaways from the call, including the massive numbers of unregistered Latino youth.  Every 30 seconds an American Latino youth reaches the age of 18 and needs to be registered to vote.  For both the Latino and Asian groups, there is the challenge of helping people become naturalized so that they can then vote.  Additionally, much of the conventional wisdom about the conservatism of the Latino population when it comes to issues such as marriage equality and reproductive rights is not accurate.  Majorities of Latinos support both issues, and Latinos are more likely than the general population to support marriage equality, according to Eddy Morales.

Morales also reported that there is a critical role for women to play in increasing Latino civic participation.  Many Latino men reported that while they did not anticipate participating in the election, they said that they would register and vote if their mother, wife or girlfriend asked them to.  Because women are influencers when it comes to election participation, it is important to persuade them of the value of participation.

The challenges in the black community are a little different; women are already highly motivated to participate, and they had a record participation rate of 68.8% in 2008; the highest rate of any group.  Voting also increased among black men by 4.5% in 2008.  It is believed that recently imposed voting restrictions such as limitations on early voting, ID requirements and the like will suppress turnout.  Additionally, the black population is highly mobile and Melanie Campbell reported on the call that 1/3 of the blacks registered to vote in 2008 will need to be re-registered in 2012.

All of the organizations represented on the call are involved in nationally coordinated efforts that will focus their efforts on targeted areas of the country, many of which are in the south, which has seen tremendous growth in both the Asian and Latino populations in recent years.  They are also planning to employ the Election Protection Mobile Phone App that WDN members have funded in their efforts to increase participation among voters of color.  This app is intended to make it easier for voters to register, to gain information about the election, and report voter suppression instances directly to Election Protection. The app is an innovative mobile solution to help challenge recent voter suppression laws that disproportionally affect communities of color.

At the time, Karen was one of about two dozen female pilots in the country, and she was able to meet many of them through a mutual support organization she helped to found in May of 1978, the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. They wanted to create an organization to support each other, share their knowledge, and support future generations of female pilots through scholarships, fellowship and practical advice (none of which they had had access to during their early years).

While working for Continental she began to look for outside opportunities to help others with their careers. She began speaking at various pilot career seminars where pilots were hoping to learn how to break into the upper echelons of airline flying. She found her interactions with (mostly) men at these events rewarding and eventually started her own business, Aviation Career Counseling, to help those interested in advancing their pilot careers. “I enjoy seeing other people succeed, and hoped to save them money by showing them the various routes available to reach their goal. For some, however, it became a case of discovering that they would be better off working in another field altogether. If they were focused on becoming a pilot for glamour or money, I was there to dissuade them, as they would likely be disappointed since it’s no longer the glamorous profession so often portrayed in the movies.”

What motivates Karen is being witness to transformation; it is how she makes her funding decisions. She looks for organizations that will put the money to work wisely. She recently joined the board of Semillas Para El Futuro, which helps the impoverished community of Chocolá to plan for and achieve prosperity based on balanced development principles that protect cultural traditions, the environment and preserve local history. She has visited this village in Guatemala several times and has been able to see how they have worked at transforming their local economy by reforming their agricultural industry. She likes that they did the work themselves, according to a plan they formulated and implemented.

One of Karen’s passions is travel. She is looking forward to having more time for travel when she retires in a few years. She also wants to spend more time in the places she travels, seeing things that most tourists don’t get to see. “The nice thing about being a pilot is having the ability to travel and having a good deal of time off.” She also loves audio books, which she typically enjoys while walking or driving, which she does a lot of, living in Southern California.

She got into philanthropy after joining the board of the Arkay Foundation, which her father founded in memory and honor of her mother. She likes to provide seed money for new projects when she believes that her support is going to make a difference. Gender issues as well as money in politics interest her. One of her favorite organizations is the Center for Science in the Public Interest, particularly their work in the area of nutrition, getting junk food out of schools and combating junk science.

What Karen is really proud of is the work she has done to help other women take their place in the world, and especially in the field of aviation. “The work in career counseling has always been very gratifying. Encouraging people to do their best work to help others; helping others to help themselves and be recognized for it.”

To our wonder and amazement, Nita Chaudhary and Shaunna Thomas, the co-founders of UltraViolet, were able to immediately be a force to call out the extremists on birth control and the related issue of women’s health – even before their website officially launched. In one month, they have accomplished more than we could have hoped for in our wildest dreams. As of March 26, 2012, UltraViolet is over 350,000 members strong. Their list was seeded with help from MoveOn.org, but they have been able to grow it dramatically through their campaigns as well, which so far have been very viral on social networks. It’s also an incredibly diverse list, which they’ve discovered through the stories they’ve collected. They will be surveying their members soon, but right now they estimate that at least 35-40% of their membership list is male, for example. And it’s clear that women of all ages, life circumstances and ethnicities have seen themselves in the work UltraViolet is doing and are taking action. Here are some highlights:

• They were the first to call for Karen Handel’s resignation from Komen – a campaign they ended up winning!

• More than 75,000 people signed their petition to protect birth control coverage. They collected 10,000 stories of why birth control matters to women AND men and those were read on the House floor last week and entered into the Congressional record. These can be seen at: http://weareultraviolet.org/stories/birth-control.

• Their amazing members made 11,000 calls to their members of Congress on birth control in a single day!

• They were also the first group out asking advertisers to drop Rush Limbaugh after he attacked Sandra Fluke 53 times in a period of 3 days. 170,000 people signed that petition and they delivered the results individually to contacts we were able to find and more than 140 advertisers have dropped!

In addition, during WDN’s recent visits in Washington, stakeholders who we talked to about UV and our seed investment sung their praises:

• Tina Tchen, the head of the White House Council of Women and Girls, was thrilled with UltraViolet. UV had sent the White House 100 of their best stories around the birth control issue, and these stories have been used in a multitude of ways;
• Nancy Pelosi’s special assistant, Reva Price, commented on what a powerful force they were; and
• Rep. Diana DeGette’s health advisor said she loves Ultraviolet and has also used their stories.

Furthermore, any leaders who had not heard of UV, like Senator Tom Harkin, immediately wanted to know all about it!

Given what they have done in such a short time, it is clear that UltraViolet is becoming a critical piece of the infrastructure in engaging women for the long term. They have established themselves as a rapid-response mechanism, an external validator for groups like Planned Parenthood, and an organizing group that is appealing to a diverse group of women and men, regardless of party affiliation.

We know they can do so much more, but they need resources to continue their work. They feel that they are missing opportunities at the federal, state and local level because they need more staff. Resources could greatly expand their impact and scope.

We hope you will continue to support UV, and once again be proud of the effort you have created and its potential to mobilize women and men now and in the future.

Veteran political strategist Donna Brazile will be our opening keynote speaker.

Women Donors Network is thrilled to announce our 2012 Annual Conference, which will be held in Miami, Florida, November 8-11, at the Four Seasons Hotel. As we’re gathering just days after the 2012 elections, we’ll be joined by veteran political strategist Donna Brazile as our keynote speaker, who will help us make sense of the results and kick off our forward-looking conference theme, “Creating a Fair & Just Economy: What Will it Take?”

If you know you want to be at this year’s conference, please let Kathleen Andreson know by sending her a quick email. If you have other questions about conference logistics, feel free to call the office anytime at 415-814-1333. Here is a picture of our Save the Date card. If you’d like hard copies to send to friends, call the office and we’ll be happy to send you some!

The front of our Save the Date postcard for WDN's 2012 conference.

WDN members meet with U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi on issues ranging from women's health care to financial reform to fracking.

Over three days in Washington, DC (March 19-21), twenty-six members of WDN used their collective voices and exercised their rights as public citizens to advocate for:

• Disclosure on oil and gas pipeline safety and fracking chemicals
• Reinvesting the military budget to focus on human security and women’s involvement in peace-building solutions
• Protecting the fundamental right to have affordable, comprehensive women’s health care
• Stronger, more effective financial reforms that protect consumers not corporations

WDN members enjoyed lovely weather - and cherry blossoms - in our nation's Capitol.

These issues, standing on their own, deeply impact women and communities of color, but collectively they demonstrate the systemic nature of corporate power and how interconnected those influences are on our lives.  WDN’s mission to building a more fair and just world was amplified through our member’s commitment to applying their learning about of these complex problems and their dedication to leveraging their privilege for social change.

We had an engaging and thought-provoking day of training with our lobby partners (WAND, National Partnership for Women & Families, and Public Citizen) and our fabulous trainer on public speaking, Joel Silberman, and social media expert, Beth Becker. Joel reminded us that it is about the story and how it is told that matters. Beth helped to translate that knowledge into strategic action by showing us how to amplify our stories and experiences throughout our social media networks.  Later that evening we had the privilege of listening to Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director of Center for Community Change, Mary Kay Henry, President SEIU, and Maya Rockeymoore, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions candidly share their thoughts on the current political moment – a “zero moment” where we have the opportunity to envision “trans-politics.”  There was hope that we will swim, not sink, and move across divides to build strong, sustainable, and authentically diverse communities.

Lobbying on our issues was an empowering experience that required practicing courage.

We met with top Administration officials like Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady, Tina Tchen, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Social

WDN member Mary Willis poses in front of the Capitol building.

Innovation and Civic Participation, Jonathan Greenblatt, and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley.  The four issue groups meet with courageous Representatives like Jackie Speier (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). They also met with Senators such as Jon Tester (D-MT), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), Michael Bennett (D-CO), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

We built our case and planned an effective campaign for all of our issues.  We strengthened relationships in Congress and forged new ones.  It was inspiring to meet so many women staffers who were just as powerful in their own right.  We envisioned an opportunity to leverage that experience and leadership for a new wave of savvy women Representatives, Senators and Administration officials.

Using the power of WDN’s collective and individual voices, we asked for change.  It was a transformative experience.

Group participants with U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier.

With a business partner she founded KIDVIDZ, Special Interest Video for children that used music videos to address life transition issues for kids, such as the arrival of a new baby, moving homes or getting a pet.  The company was successful and led to other opportunities, including speaking gigs and a book she authored on the use of media to teach children.  Since selling her share of KIDVIDZ she has become more involved in women’s issues and philanthropy.  She helped start two funds for women in the Boston area, the Boston Jewish Community Women’s Fund, which she led for three years, and the Hestia Fund.  Both groups fund programs for women and girls in the area of education.

She is quasi-retired today, but serves on the boards of the New Israel Fund and Facing History and Ourselves (FHAO).  She is very passionate about the work of Facing History and Ourselves because their model is unique.  Their mission is to combat bigotry and nurture democracy by working with teachers to improve their classroom effectiveness around issues of prejudice and discrimination.  The program started by looking at the holocaust and discerning patterns about the kinds of decisions that are made and how populations can either go along or make a stand.

Karen loves how everything about FHAO’s approach is different.  Students are taught using original historical documents, not textbooks.  They use a variety of media, including art, blogs, podcasts and websites; teachers do not just lecture from the front of the class.  The curriculum is intended to reach students in adolescence, when they are wrestling with tricky questions of identity and fitting in, and to provide teachers the skills they need to approach the difficult questions that come up as students learn the material. “A Facing History education can change the way students make choices and they can transform their communities,” said Karen.

Her service on the FHAO board allows Karen to keep a foot in the education world.  The rest of her time is spent pursuing her other interests, including travelling with her husband.  They have a trip planned to Hong Kong soon, and will likely visit some other parts of Asia on that trip.  Karen loves documentary films and reading.  She also stays physically active with yoga, biking and working out.  And she loves spending time with her two sons as much as possible.

She has a long-time group of female friends that like to study various topics in Judaism.  She also loves all the cool things she has learned to do with her computer, such as making digital art, following blogs, making video blogs about her travels and following Twitter.  She recently started using the members-only part of the WDN site to access call recordings and other materials.

Karen’s interest in WDN was prompted by her acquaintance with several WDN members.  When she followed what they were were doing, she realized that they were very thoughtful and going deep before they proceeded.  “The carefulness and progressive activism appealed to me a great deal,” Karen said.

The WDN activities that most interest Karen are the Middle East Peace and Democracy Circle and the Reproductive Rights Circle.  She has been impressed by WDN’s interest in educating members about technology and how to harness the power of technology to strengthen our activism and philanthropy.  She plans to take advantage of those opportunities as they arise.

Valerie is clearly helping to reach new audiences with this interview, and explains the benefits to women, children and seniors with stunning clarity, to the point where Martha Stewart asks her: “So, why are people opposed to this??”

Watch here.

Asking Congress members to support a “Security Budget” includes diplomacy, development, intelligence, and many other factors like what the American people want. When asked in polls, “Would you rather decrease the military budget or education budget,” Miles noted Americans always choose the military budget. The military budget is incredibly large in comparison to other government-funded budgets; the military budget in 2012 is estimated to be $633.2 billion, as compared to other budgets like the Department of Education, $77.4 billion, or Department of Health and Human Services, $79.9 billion. In sum, the military budget is worth 20% of the total U.S. budget. Ideally distribution of money should be parallel to the values of individual Americans, but the military budget clearly demonstrates what is important to Congress: the military, not the American people.

According to Miles, in order to begin the task of understanding why the military budget is worth 20% of the U.S. budget, we must demystify where money is being allocated and for what reason. Within the military budget, military spending takes up 58% of the entire budget. The question arises, is that amount necessary to maintain national security? Miles answers: No, we continue to support programs that do not work, thus, we need to re-evaluate our budget in order to allow each program to become stronger and more secure.

Miles suggests a few tangible ways to decrease military spending:

• Decreasing the amount of troops, which in effect would decrease veteran funds, too.
• Hire less private military contractors because civilian troops can do the same job.
• Stop spending money on weapon systems from the 1980’s, like the F35, which were designed to defeat Soviet air forces that no longer exist.

Dr. Lisa Schirch agrees with re-evaluating the military budget and further added today’s “national security” approach needs to be re-defined in order to achieve global amity. Dr. Schirch states a common expression by Americans and its leaders when discussing national security, “We have to do what is in the best interest for the U.S’ economic interest.” Dr. Schirch notes expressions like the one mentioned create a defense-offense binary between the U.S. and foreign countries. As an outcome of our current approach to national security we have entered an economic depression and have violently hurt innocent civilians. The U.S. military acts as a violent defender to its neighboring countries in order to achieve economic prosperity is simply becoming illogical.

A more logical approach to disentangle global conflicts and build peace is what Dr. Schirch calls the “human security” approach. Accompanied by the inherent belief that societies are interdependent, Dr. Schirch firmly believes the foundation of creating “human security” is establishing an open dialogue for civic societies to discuss and act; thus, women, men, and children must be involved in making their own community. Dr. Schirch brought to light various ingredients for creating security such as trauma healing, educational forums, and reconciliation work within cultures and cross-cultures. Re-defining national security through a “human security” approach would strengthen what exactly the needs and wants of civic society are and help aid communities to solve problems with each other and help build long-lasting relationships.

In order to achieve military budget cuts and create alternate versions of security Stephen Miles and Dr. Lisa Schirch both agree successful coalition building is prompted through 4 steps:

• Ask yourself, who is the best target for creating change? For example, in order to revise the military budget, Miles suggests talking to the Appropriations Committee and its sub-committee, and the Armed Services Committee.
• Look at the pressure points in the campaigns in order to know when a fight is winnable and when the fight is not.
• Look at the problems of a situation in order to identify solutions that are possible.
• Talk to your representatives by visiting the Washington offices and local district offices. Dr. Schirch suggests begin at your local district because appointments are easier to obtain and it builds up a larger more authentic constituency. For example, to increase individual American voices that recognize U.S. Security and its budget as interdependent on global human security start with direct advocacy at a local district office.

The application will be marketed especially toward young people and people of color, and will allow users to register to vote, find their polling place, access key dates and answers to frequently asked questions, and to report voter suppression.

Voters under the age of 30 comprise just under 25% of the electorate in the 2012 election.  The app is a good way to reach young and minority populations because they have adopted smartphones at a faster rate.  In fact, for 1/3 of smartphone users, their phone is the primary way that they access the internet.  Additionally, smartphones are cheaper than computers and internet access via smartphone is faster and more reliable in some parts of the country, according to Marshall of LCCR.

Smartphones also challenge the traditional link between income and civic participation.  Surprisingly, even among Americans who earn less than $15,000 annually, 53% own cellphones, which is a higher rate of smartphone ownership than any other income group.

The advantage of the app for reaching youth is that they are heavy users of social media, and increasingly use social media to access news.  Additionally, youth are a highly mobile population.  Once the app is downloaded on their phone, it will continue to be available to them with each move, and can continue to be a resource in future elections.  It is also a way to modernize the infrastructure for elections in the U.S., which is notoriously antiquated in some parts of the country.

Marshall and Brown both reported that the development of the app represents a major change in the landscape.  According to Brown, “Taking things mobile is the direction things are moving, and the Election Protection smartphone app is an investment in the future of democracy in the US.”

Marshall said “It will be a real game-changer in how we educate and empower voters.  The communications that voters receive can often be fleeting, whereas this tool will always be available for voters.”

They have raised about half of the needed funds for the project, with some of their funding coming from WDN members.  If you are interested in investing in the project, please contact WDN.

The Election Protection app will be available in both English and Spanish in March 2012.  If you would like to get the app, text EPAPP to 90975 to be notified when it is available to be downloaded.