A WELCOME NOTE FROM OUR NEW SOS PRESIDENT

Dear Friends,

As we embark upon a new year, we have a lot to celebrate.

It’s been a very exciting summer for SOS! In May, we granted $224,000 to 13 wonderful non-profits who are making a significant difference in our community.

Reporter Aisha Sultan wrote a fantastic feature article about SOS, which was published in the July 21st edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Since July 21st, 22 new members who learned about us from the article have joined SOS.

Our story is getting out and women in our community want to be a part of it.

As I begin my term as president, I am very excited about our future and honored to be surrounded by such an incredible group of women.

Together we’ll continue to learn and grow to be more impactful investors in our community; provide important resources for our grantees; and welcome new like-minded women who share our passion for collective giving and supporting small but mighty non-profits.

A quote from the St. Louis Post Dispatch article by SOS member and grantee Shawntelle Fisher sums it up.

“Nobody does anything like a woman,” Fisher said. “Having a whole group of us
together is unstoppable.”

I want to thank Amy Inman for her inspired leadership over the past two years. On behalf of SOS, we appreciate her hard work and dedication as our president. Her presence has and will continue to make a big impact on our community.

I hope to see you at our Fall Kick-off Event on September 19 th at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild featuring guest speaker Kristy Klein Davis, MSW, Vice President of Strategy and Learning, Missouri Foundation for Health.

All the best,
Amy Garrison
President and Proud Member
Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund

Welcome new members to the Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund!
A big SOS welcome to you all!

New Members

Maureen Connolly
Pat Crowe
Andrea Engebretson
Trish Gormley
Carla Hayes Hill
Coke Hennessy
Kathy Holman
Amber Howlett
Marilyn Intagliata
Debbie Kopff
Carolyn Landry
Kirsty McDonald
Gina Merenda
Bryan Miller
Elaine Miller
Coledia Poole
Sally Sandy
Jennifer Voelker
Elizabeth Wattenberg
Sandy Welgus
Eleanor Withers
Sarah Woodburn

The power of Women was evident on July 12th as nearly 20 SOS members gathered at the St. Louis Community Foundation to hear about impact investing in women-led companies.

Heidi Patel , Founder of Rethink Impact, a venture capital firm with a strategy of gender-lens investing, and Mark Wilkins of The Wilkins Group, shared the philosophy that private capital and philanthropy must work together on the eco-system for making the world a better place.

Investing in this way, in accordance with the values we hold, can be profitable.

Attendees learned that only 6 percent of venture capitalists are women; women with means are vastly under-invested (keeping much of their wealth in cash), and men are still three times more likely to receive venture capital in the $1-5 million middle stage where it is most critical for sustainability and growth.

Interestingly, above this, mid-level women ARE getting funding because the investment decision is based in proven metrics and data.

Parting thoughts around actions we can take included: taking a greater role in asking more questions about how our funds are invested, committing to support high quality early childhood education, and getting middle school girls into coding and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

There was so much excitement and energy around the topic that the
Community Foundation followed up to see what was next for ReThink Impact and if there would be an opportunity to participate. Interested SOS members and friends may contact Wendy Witte at wwitte@stlgives.org or 314-880-4962, to learn more.

Stay updated on the latest news from the St. Louis Community Foundation on their LIVE HERE. GIVE HERE blog.

Did you know that you can enhance the SOS brand by using hashtags in your social media posts?

A hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash mark (#) that is used within a message to identify a keyword or topic of interest and facilitates a search for it. When you use hashtags, you help people who are interested in your topic find your posts and Tweets.

As an example, you can add #soswomengive to any social media post or tweet which becomes a searchable phrase for anyone who is interested in SOS, women and/or giving. Once you search for these items on any social media outlet, your post will appear as one of the search results.

Listed below are recommended hashtags to use in future social media posts.

#soswomensfund
#sosspiritawards
#soscollectivegiving
#soswomengive
#sosgives
#womenscollectivegiving (include with SOS hashtag above)
#collectivegiving (include with SOS hashtag above)

Questions about SOS Social Media, please contact Communications/Marketing Co-Chairs, Anne Volland at anne.volland@nursesfornewborns.org  or Gretta Forester-Gaffney at  g4sterg@gmail.com

Please click this link , then Like , Follow and Share

Collective Giving Research Group is currently conducting a follow up study on giving circles members.

They are interested in learning more about how being a member of a collective giving group such as Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund is associated with philanthropic behaviors such as donating time and money.

They have asked our members to participate in a web-based survey. The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes of your time.

This survey is completely confidential and voluntary. At the end, you will have the opportunity to include your email address for a chance to win a donation for the charity of your choice. Five survey respondents will be randomly selected and a $100 donation will be given each to a charity of their choice.

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about the research, please contact Dr. Julia L. Carboni, Associate Professor, at jlcarbon@syr.edu or 315-443-1462.

Please click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser to take the survey: https://syracuseuniversity.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eJ2iqzrAJ0IvdU9  

Join an LOI Review Team by September 6!

• Attend an introductory team meeting in early October (date determined by availability of team members)
• Personally review 10-15 LOIs, at your convenience, during the month of October
• Attend a final team meeting in early November (date determined by availability of team members)

Remember to sign up by September 6!