Member News
Quote of the Month


"Promise me you’ll always remember that you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.

Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh




Upcoming March Events
Gullah Days Virtual Book Talk & Signing - March 3, 10 A.M.

Be sure to attend the Zoom event with Carolyn Grant, author of Gullah Days, and Gullah descendent herself. Carolyn will explain Hilton Head history leading to Mitchelville, which happens to be where our Women's History Month program will take place outdoors and in-person later in the month.

You can join us for the book event, on Zoom, March 3 at 10:00 am. Here is the link.

During this event, we'll listen to a talk by two of the three authors of Gullah Days: Hilton Head Islanders Before the Bridge 1861-1956. Carolyn Grant and Emory Shaw Campbell will take us on this walk through local history.

The Gullah culture, though born of isolation and slavery, thrived on the U.S. southeastern sea islands - from pre-Civil War times until today - and nowhere more prominently than on Hilton Head Island. On this small barrier island, descendants of the first generations of Gullah people continue to preserve Gullah language, customs, arts and cuisine.

The three authors are among those descendants, and in this book, they chronicle the amazing history of their secluded community, from the Civil War through the 1950s, when real estate development connected Hilton Head Island to the mainland with a bridge.

Signed copies of Gullah Days are available at the Coastal Discovery Museum and Sonesta Resort. We will send the Zoom link prior to the book talk.
Celebrating Women's History Month - March 20, 10 A.M.

As we continue our celebration into Women’s History Month, hold the date for March 20 at 10:00 a.m. at Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. We'll experience more local history with a focus on women’s roles - learning about the contributions Clara Barton and Harriet Tubman made right here on Hilton Head Island! Watch for a flyer with sign up information!

Note: These are excellent member/guest events. Bring a friend and suggest membership.
Introducing Our 2021 Grant Recipients!
For our 2021 grants theme “Provide a New Major Impact Program for Assisting in Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Three Areas: Medical and Mental Health Issues, Education Issues and Employment Issues,” 18 applications were received. Over the course of three Zoom meetings, grants committee members reviewed and discussed the projects looking for relevance to the theme, innovation, impact and sustainability. One finalist in each of the three areas was recommended to the advisory board and all were approved for funding at $25,000 each

Volunteers in Medicine Hilton Head Island – Medical/Mental Health Issue for a program to expedite vaccination of the at-risk Hilton Head Island low-income population. A bilingual and knowledgeable patient navigator will contact 3,500 most recent VIM patients to convince them to commit to receiving the vaccine, help them find the best source for receiving the shots and follow up to validate they actually did receive the vaccine. Once the process is working, they will address the 6,500 additional VIM patients.

Foundation for Educational Excellence – Education Issue for a program to identify 60 third- to fifth-grade students who are three grade levels behind - for the purpose of providing high-quality reading instruction at two Beaufort County low-income schools (Joseph S. Shanklin Elementary and Robert Smalls International Academy). There will be four cycles where students will be grouped based on skill gaps and will receive a three-week instructional plan with pre-and-post testing; then evaluated and moved to the appropriate group for the next cycle. Final outcome is that students score 80% higher on last post test.

Antioch Education Center – Employment Issue for a “Getting to Work” program to provide express bus service at a reduced rate between Jasper and Beaufort County. The grant will address high unemployment, void in available transportation since the pandemic and will attempt to decrease travel time for riders. Initially, 200 workers a day will be transported via two busses to Bluffton and Hilton Head Island; after vaccines are received, 400 workers a day is the goal.
Grant Allocations Explained               
For those WIP members who have wondered about how we determine the amount we can grant each fiscal year, this may be of interest to you. Our WIP Guidelines address our spendable funds for grants on an annual basis as follows:

  • Members’ annual gifts during a fiscal year are split evenly between the endowment fund and the grant allocation for that fiscal year.

  • Women in Philanthropy is a designated fund of Community Foundation and therefore is subject to the Foundation’s endowment percentage spend policy. The endowment fund spendable amount for grants is based upon Community Foundation of the Lowcountry’s portfolio restriction of 4.5% of the endowment fund’s market value. The market value used for calculation is a past five-year average.

  • On an annual basis, the member grant allocation plus the 4.5% of our endowment fund, as specified above, determine the grant amount.
 
The only other endowment expense we have is the quarterly WIP portfolio management fees paid to Community Foundation of the Lowcountry and Fund Evaluation Group (FEG) in Cincinnati, OH, which totaled $14,600 (1.22% of our endowment) in 2020.

All this may sound more complicated than it is. It is conservative, however, and it serves WIP well.
Deep Well Reports Our Sock Drive Was a Hit!
Here's an excerpt from their report:

"The 300 pairs of socks donated by Women In Philanthropy in December were a wonderful bonus for the families coming to The Deep Well Project in mid-
December to select toys for their children from the Santa Shop. Almost 400 families were served by the Santa Shop, with a total of 707 children. That
meant the majority of families got toys, books and stocking stuffers for each child AND they got to choose either adult socks or children's socks to round out their Santa Shop visit.  

Each family could select one package of new socks (either adult or child size), and we did re-package some of the socks that arrived in large packages, to be able to help as many families as possible. The volunteers who welcomed families to the Santa Shop under a tent set up in the parking lot reported that the families were delighted to select socks from the large display - an unexpected and welcome surprise.
 
Thanks again for the efforts of Women In Philanthropy - you're keeping lots of toes warm!"
 
Sandy Gilles, Deep Well
Update on the Brick Project
Thanks to those of you who have contributed to the WIP-inscribed brick for the Heritage Cemetery walkway. There is still need for two more donations, but the brick has been ordered and as soon as it is engraved and installed, all donors will gather for a newsletter picture. The cemetery has been named to South Carolina Liberty Trail and will be part of the state’s 250th Anniversary Celebration of the American Revolution! Women in Philanthropy members can be proud that we are supporting the preservation of this local historical site

Pictured: Tom Martin, Heritage Library

Welcome Our New Member                   

Gloria (Gigi) Maxfield is a Bluffton resident and is a financial advisor (Women's Financial Network) concentrating upon women’s financial issues. She has attended several WIP luncheons and her interests span the fine arts, women's issues and sea life. It's our pleasure to welcome her as our newest WIP member. 

Read the Latest Installment of WIP History
Follow this link to read more about former WIP leaders and the awesome projects WIP accomplished years ago. Many of those early members are still with us and we owe them our appreciation.

These histories have been written by one of our members, Susan Hooker. Susan is serving as Women in Philanthropy’s historian, capturing the organization’s growth, challenges and accomplishments over the 18 years of our service to Beaufort County.

Here's a little more about Susan:

She and her husband came to the area in 2001, first to Windmill Harbour, and, in 2012, to Colleton River. Susan joined Women in Philanthropy in 2008. She served on the grants committee for four years, then for six years on the board as chair of communication, writing our newsletter. Susan’s other local service has included seven years on the board of the Boys and Girls Club of Bluffton, where she served as president while they raised funds and built the new literacy center addition. She also served as a volunteer for the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head Island, facilitating the Great Decisions discussion groups.

Before coming to the Lowcountry, Susan and Jim and their three children lived in Crystal Lake, IL, where they still have a summer home. After completing an MS degree in Organizational Behavior, she joined Motorola in 1981 just as the cellular telephone industry emerged. Over the 20 years with Motorola, Susan traveled many times to Asia, Europe and Latin America on that same mission.

Since retiring, Susan and Jim have enjoyed traveling together, with Europe as their favorite destination. They have also spent many months captaining their boat around the southeastern U.S. and the Bahamas. Susan’s greatest joy now is spending time with her three adult children and five wonderful grandchildren, ages 10-16.

Women in Philanthropy is a Fund of