As all of us know, we are experiencing an unprecedented time in our history. I don’t think any of us could have imagined where we are right now a few months ago, and yet here we are. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic is hard for all, and extremely hard and nearly impossible for many.
Times like this only make the inequities in our community more prominent, and as The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem,
we realize that we have a unique position and responsibility to be responsive to what is happening to women and girls in our community during this time
. Here is what we have planned:
We are committed to our current grantees.
We have heard from several grantees who are having to adapt their programs and services, and we have reached out to all of them to let them know that we are flexible when it comes to their current grant. If they need more time or need to reallocate grant funds to continue to meet the needs of women and girls, we will support them in doing that.
We are committed to our 2020 Grants Program
and ensuring what we offer will meet the needs of potential grantees during these unprecedented times. We recognize that this will mean making changes to the grants process, and we are committed to keeping all of our current and prospective members informed; we will provide a detailed update in April. For now, please know that we will continue to address the economic security of women and girls in Forsyth County and that currently the grant cycle is set to begin in mid-May as usual and conclude with member voting in the fall.
We are continuing our work on the 2020 Gender Lens Report.
We recognize that data will look very different for months to come, but at the same time, we know it is important to provide data that purposefully disaggregates women and women of color so that our community can have a better understanding of what women in Forsyth County are experiencing. The Gender Lens Report will have a very different look, be more interactive than ever before, and be able to be updated more regularly. We look forward to providing this resource to our community later this year.
We are committed to you.
The Women’s Fund would not be what it is without its members. Your support is what makes it possible to be responsive to our community in times like these, and the Women’s Fund is the only local funder doing so specifically with a gender lens. We are committed to finding ways to stay connected with our members and to help our members stay connected with one another while still practicing social distance. The Membership Committee is working hard to think of creative ways to engage, so stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have suggestions on how best we can do that or if you have any questions or concerns, we would love to hear from you.
Wishing you health and peace,
Andrea
Director, Strategic Initiatives
336-604-5034
