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3GF Grant Partner Count-Me-In Receives 2004 NYWICI Award

On December 18, 2003, New York Women in Communications, Inc. (NYWICI) announced honorees for its 2004 Matrix Awards. This prestigious annual award recognizes exceptional women who have distinguished themselves in media and communications. Nell Merlino, Founder and President of 3GF grant partner Count Me In, will be honored along with Bernadette Peters (Actress and activist), Paula Zahn (CNN news anchor), and Alix M. Freedman (Senior Editor at the Wall Street Journal) at NYWICI's "Women Who Change the World" luncheon at the Waldorf-Astoria on April 19, 2004. Nell is being recognized  for helping women make enormous strides in the communications industry, and for her vision, talent and professionalism.

Go to this article on the NYWICI site.

Global Fund for Women Releases Report on Building Women's Economic Power

The Global Fund for Women (www.globalfundforwomen.org) has been making grants to women's organizations around the world for 16 years.  In 2003, with support from Three Guineas, the Global Fund for Women captured key lessons learned from a multi-year economic opportunity grantmaking initiative in a new report, "More Than Money: Strategies to Build Women's Economic Power."  More Than Money highlights key lessons about women's economic opportunity, including global patterns in women's issues regionally.  It is intended to serve as a tool for encouraging discussion, reflection, and increased investment in women's economic opportunity.  By sharing these lessons, we hope that this report will contribute to the improved wellbeing of the world's women.

Read the PDF file (274 KB) by clicking on the report image.
For information on requesting a hard copy, visit the Publications page on the Global Fund for Women website.  If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat plug-in, you can download it here

3GF 2003 Grant Awards

At 3GF's Autumn 2003 meeting, the Board of Directors approved four new grants to:

• Count Me In (www.count-me-in.org): $50,000 over two years
• Gender Action (www.genderaction.org): $60,000 over two years
• Girl Child Network (www.): $40,000 over two years
• Homeless Prenatal Program (www.homelessprenatal.org): $15,000 for documentation program

3GF's newest partners join a selective portfolio of innovative organizations working to remove barriers to girls' and women's full participation in the economy. To learn more visit the Grants & Projects page. To find out how you can join Three Guineas Fund in helping to support these important efforts, please contact us at (415) 348-1581.
 

MK Level Playing Field Institute Awards Grant to WTC

In April 2003, the MK Level Playing Field Institute (LPFI) awarded grant money and support to 3GF partner, The Women's Technology Cluster (WTC) for expansion.  Having successfully incubated companies for nearly five years, the WTC is scaling its service offerings into replicable products to efficiently and effectively expand the WTC into new locations and new market sectors.  In making the decision to fund this effort, Freada Klein, the Institute founder and trustee, stated: "The WTC provides tremendous impact and resource to the women-led companies they work with.  We look forward to working with them as they continue to provide the same depth of impact while also broadening their reach to have a greater impact on society."

For more on this story, visit the WTC website.
 

Social Entrepreneurship Incubator Featured in Bay Area BusinessWomen

The April 2003 issue of Bay Area BusinessWoman featured 3GF grant partner, The Social Entrepreneurship Incubator (SEI).  The article "Businesswomen Create Social Change", by Deonne Kahler, discusses the cutting-edge roll of the SEI in the relatively new field of social entrepreneurship.

Read "Businesswomen Create Social Change" in PDF format.  If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat plug-in, you can download it by clicking on the button.

 

3GF 2002 Grant Awards

At its semi-annual board meeting in October, the Three Guineas Fund awarded seven new grants to organizations who demonstrate innovative approaches to creating economic opportunity for girls and women.  The awards, which total $187,500, represent new partnerships with five organizations and a continuing relationship with two existing grant partners, Lower East Side Girls Club and Upwardly Global.  3GF welcomes the National Women's Law Center, Global Fund for Women, Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), Northern New England Tradeswomen, and WSEP Ventures to its family of partners doing excellent work closely aligned with the 3GF mission.  For a detailed look at 3GF's 2002 grant partners, visit the Grants & Projects page.  To see 3GF's geographical distribution of grants by service area, visit the Geography page.

Upwardly Global Awarded $300,000 from the Draper Richards Foundation

Upwardly Global, a 3GF grant partner and former resident in 3GF's Social Entrepreneurship Incubator (SEI), received a $300,000 grant in June 2002 from the Draper Richards Foundation, a newly formed San Francisco-based foundation that specifically and solely supports social entrepreneurs.  This is Draper Richards Foundation's first grant.

From left to right: Robin Richards Donohoe, with baby Viva, UpGlo staff Jane C. Leu and Lisa Lepson, William H. Draper, and Exec. Director Jenny Shilling

“The grant from Draper Richards is significant because it will help us bring employer partners into our network, and will ultimately enable us to expand into other markets,” said Jane Leu, Founder of Upwardly Global.  “Moreover, the Draper Richards Foundation is committed to supporting projects that demonstrate innovative ways to solve social problems, so their support is an endorsement of our business model and objectives.”

Upwardly Global’s mission is to increase economic opportunities for underemployed immigrant women.  For more information on Upwardly Global visit www.upwardlyglobal.org.

WK Kellogg Grant to Connect Entrepreneurs

In May 2002, Three Guineas Fund received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg foundation to launch a new initiative, "Connecting Social and Business Entrepreneurs."  The work will center on the cross-sector community of business and non-profit entrepreneurs located at the Women's Technology Cluster and its Social Entrepreneurship Incubator.  This initiative will create an intentional community to foster social invention and demonstrate the value of a cross-sector environment.  It will build bridges between social and business entrepreneurs, help them to develop an appreciation for the challenges faced by one other, and provide opportunities for them to collaborate and learn from one another.  Lessons learned from this innovative work will be broadly disseminated in the field.

This project is partly funded by a 2-year $211,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan.

LESGC to Build Manhattan's New Girls Club

3GF Grant partner, the Lower Eastside Girls Club (LESGC), is thrilled to announce that it has secured site control to construct an 82,000 square foot world-class facility for girls and their families in the Alphabet City section of the East Village in Manhattan-- a neighborhood hungry for services.  The new center will house an expanded Sweet Things program a baking and catering company run by girls and their mothers (partially funded by 3GF).

The 82,000 square-foot building is expected to contain classrooms and recreational space to be shared with a school, an adolescent health care center and a daycare facility.  The project may also include a space for job training and extracurricular programs.  Community classes within the facility will combat issues such as poverty, smoking, negative body image, asthma, depression, STD's, teen pregnancy, and more.  The total cost of the development is estimated at $17.8 million.  For more information on the LESGC, visit www.girlsclub.org.

Girls as Grantmakers Tool Kit

In 2002, the Girls as Grantmakers Network released the first-ever Girls as Grantmakers Tool Kit: a comprehensive resource packet of materials any organization would need in order to start its own girls grantmaking program.  The Tool Kit was unveiled at this years Women's Funding Network conference in Chicago, where over 25 girl-grantmakers young women spoke about the positive impact these programs have had on their lives.  Many women's funds were excited to return home with a Tool Kit in hand, as this collection of materials was precisely what they were looking for as they began to move towards better integrating young women into their grantmaking processes.

Girls-as-grantmakers participants at the 2002 WFN conference were from the following Women's Foundations:

• Girls' Best Friend Foundation (Chicago )
• The Women's Foundation (San Francisco)
• The Boston Women's Fund
• The Michigan Women's Foundation

These young women facilitated workshops and engaged in dialogue with other women's funds.  This effort builds on the Three Guineas Fund's publication of a Girls Grantmaking Handbook.  To view the handbook you must have the Adobe Acrobat plug-in.

For more information about the Girls as Grantmakers Tool Kit please contact Stephanie Yang at The Women's Foundation at . To order a copy, contact Anita Lalwani at the Women's Funding Network at .

SF League of Women Voters Honors Catherine Muther

Catherine Muther, founder of the Three Guineas Fund and the Women's Technology Cluster, was honored by the League of Women Voters San Francisco (www.leagueofwomenvoterssf.org) at their annual "Women Who Could Be President" awards luncheon on May 23rd at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Other 2002 honorees are Pamela Erwin of the Wells Fargo Foundation, San Francisco Commissioner of Police Pat Norman, and Judge Lillian Sing of the San Francisco Superior Court.

3GF Grantee Whirlwind Women Receives Leadership Award
In February, Whirlwind Women Program Director Alicia Contreras was honored with the prestigious Paul Hearne Leadership Award for promising leadership in the disability movement.  Whirlwind Women, a Three Guineas Fund grant partner, promotes economic opportunity amongst disabled women in developing countries by providing them with the skills needed to build and repair their own and other's wheelchairs.

Prior to her involvement with Whirlwind Women, Alicia was successful in leading the effort to pass an important disability act in Mexico in 1997.  In many countries, there is no comparable edition of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other social, economic, and political rights and supports.  Millions of people try to live and pursue their dreams without wheel chairs, other assistive devices, and without respect and equality.  As an awardee, Ms. Contreras will meet disibility leaders who she believes will give her "immeasurable knowledge".  Alicia was one of seven awardees.  Read about the other honorees at www.aapd-dc.org/docs/2001honorees.html.

3GF Welcomes Girls for a Change to its Social Entrepreneurship Incubator

In February 2002, Girls for a Change became the second resident of the Fund's new Social Entrepreneurship Incubator (SEI). In October of 2002, Girls for a Change (www.girlsforachange.org) will launch the first groundbreaking and historical gathering of 1,000 girls to kick off a local, national, and international movement. The girls of Silicon Valley will come together to identify and initiate a ripple effect of change within themselves, their communities, and the world. Over the course of the next three years, Girls for a Change will train 5000 girls to be activists and change makers.

The SEI helps startup nonprofits aligned with the Three Guineas Fund mission turn innovative ideas into leading organizations. The nonprofits pay rent, and receive office space, furniture, paid utilities, T1 lines, and access to the 3GF/WTC community of resources and experts. The inclusion of social entrepreneurs in the WTC community of business entrepreneurs creates an opportunity to connect these sectors, who face similar challenges and share similar entrepreneurial spirits.

To read more about this new program, visit the SEI Program page.

Nonprofit Venture Forum for Organizations Empowering Women and/or Girls

In February 2002, the Craigslist Foundation's held a Nonprofit Venture Forum, in partnership with the Three Guineas Fund and the Women's Funding Network, focused on San Francisco Bay Area nonprofits serving women and girls. Five young nonprofits in this field had the opportunity to present their business plans to an audience of potential partners -- funders, professionals, and other potential supporters. Results for past presenters include new donors, new Board members, pro-bono services, and great connections.

The five presenters were:

• Bay Area Teen Voices: arts and journalism workshops for incarcerated/on-probation teens
• CEOWomen: microentreprise business training for new Asian immigrants
• GirlSource: technology and leadership training and college planning for at-risk girls 14-18
• Woman's Will: creating theatre opportunities for women
• Women's Community Clinic: free health care for low-income women

Read more about the presenters here:
www.craigslistfoundation.org/nvf/sf_feb2002/presenters.html

Learn more about the Nonprofit Venture Forum program:
www.craigslistfoundation.org/nvf/index.html

Young Women's Dynamic Leadership Seminar Series

In collaboration with the Woodhull Institute and The Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation, Three Guineas has sponsored professional development seminars for young women who work in the Bay Area non-profit sector serving girls and women. The seminars took place in November 2001 and March 2002, and served over 30 young women from twenty Bay Area nonprofits serving girls and women. The series offered a chance to network with other like-minded women; an opportunity to hone professional skills; and a place to meet inspiring faculty. Issues addressed included:

• Ethical Leadership
• Advocacy and the Law
• Making the Media your Ally
• Breaking Barriers to Foundations
• Public Speaking
• Building a Network
• Avoiding Job Burn Out

Catherine Muther is Honored at 15th Annual 'EOY' Awards

Catherine Muther, the founder of Three Guineas Fund and the Women's Technology Cluster, was recognized for her support and service to women entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. At the 15th annual awards ceremony in Palm Springs on Saturday, November 17, 2001, Muther received the award for "Supporter of Entrepreneurship." Among more than 4,000 individual nominations, Muther was the only woman to win in any category that night, underscoring the leading edge work being done at the Women's Technology Cluster.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award is jointly sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP, the Kauffman Foundation, USA TODAY, and the Nasdaq Market. The award is presented in 22 countries around the world to the most successful and innovative entrepreneurial business leaders. The winners are selected by an independent judging panel in each country. Entrepreneur of the Year winners represent virtually every industry-from high tech to high touch-where innovation and new methods improve the quality of life for everyone. Now in its third year, the non-profit Women's Technology Cluster leverages women business owners who are starting new companies in the tech sector. Read the Entrepreneur of the Year Magazine 2001 in PDF format. Ms. Muther is featured on page 27.

3GF New Grants

At its October 2001 meeting, the 3GF board of Directors approved a revised set of grant making criteria designed to leverage the Fund's assets and expertise by focusing on grants and partnerships that explore new approaches to creating economic opportunity for girls and women. This represents a more narrow grant making lens for the Fund, and an opportunity to practice more strategic grant making. Please visit our Mission page to read the new grant making criteria. In addition, the Fund's newest grants are profiled on our Grants & Projects page.

Girls as Grantmakers

In 2000, the Three Guineas Fund sponsored young women from five Girls-as -Grantmakers programs to attend the Women's Funding Network conference in Los Angeles. These programs train young women in grantmaking and leadership. The girls develop requests for proposals, review grant applications, conduct site visits, and make important funding decisions. They are, in essence, being trained as the next generation of philanthropists. Last year's gathering in Los Angeles became the seed for an active "Girls as Grantmakers" network. The network now includes 10 organizations, including five women's funds who have girls as grantmakers programs up and running. We meet (via conference calls or in person) monthly to discuss programs, evaluation, and to plan for the future.

In 2001, the Three Guineas Fund sponsored a larger group of young women philanthropists to attend the Women's Funding Network conference in Philadelphia in April. Here, the network conducted a day-long working session to discuss best practices and share strategies for developing and improving girls grantmaking programs. The network will conduct a second workshop for other women's funds interested in adapting the model to their organizations. We have developed a handbook outlining all of the Girls as Grantmakers programs, and are disseminating the model at WFN and other venues. You can view the Girls as Grantmakers handbook in PDF format (323KB). If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat plug-in, you can download it by clicking on the button.

Participating girls-as-grantmakers programs include:

• Girls Grant Project, a project of the The Women's Foundation of Greater Kansas City
• GirlWorld Resource Pool, a project of the Alternatives, Inc. (Chicago)
• Sisters Empowering Sisters, a project of Girls' Best Friend Foundation in Chicago
• The Sisterhood Fund, a project of the Women's Foundation in San Francisco
• Young Sisters for Justice, a project of the Boston Women's Fund
• Young Women for Change, a project of the Michigan Women's Foundation

One young philanthropist from the conference in 2000 reflected "the weekend really did re-direct my life; I think philanthropy is where I want to go!"