June/July 2017 Newsletter





Welcome to The Link, which is a fresh take on TPC’s Update and Newsletter. We’re combining these two publications into one and, while the look may be a bit different, the content will remain largely the same. You’ll still receive an in-depth interview with each of our fabulous Grantees along with member news and important upcoming TPC events. We’re also combining the four warmer-month issues into two – the August/September issue will arrive in your in-box later this summer, before we move back to a monthly schedule. For now, we hope you enjoy this jam-packed summary of TPC’s past year. It’s longer than usual… perfect time for a cup of coffee and a comfy chair.

 

Whew, We Were Busy!
Summer has finally arrived, bringing with it the close to another busy, successful year at TPC. As any in attendance at our Annual Meeting on June 1 could attest, each of your contributions during the year culminated in the election of an outstanding roster of Grantees. We could not be more excited or hopeful as we look ahead to what the coming year will bring.

 
Grant Review Teams

A massive thank you to TPC’s Diversity Task Force (Barbara Gaskin, Chris Letts, Pat McSweeney, Courtney Scrubbs, and Chrismaldi Vasquez) for giving their time and energy last summer to revamping our grant-making process.

This streamlining and revision of the documentation used was invaluable. The Grants Committee spent the fall recruiting and training TPC’s 17 Grant Review Teams comprising 138 members. Their hard work is summarized to the right.

Thank you, Grant Review Teams, for making us proud of our new Grantees. If you’d like to read more about the impact TPC’s funding had on last year’s Grantees, please visit the Members Only web page where each organization’s final report has been posted.


Member Impact: Returning Grantee Boston CASA

Charles Lerner, Executive Director of returning Grantee Boston CASA, would like to share some of his thoughts with you regarding his work at CASA and the sometimes profound, always tangible, impact of TPC’s support.

As Boston CASA’s ED and a previous foster youth who himself got lost in the shuffle, CASA’s volunteers have strengthened my faith in the kindness of others. Following are just two examples of the countless stories of CASA volunteers making a difference in the lives of our community’s most vulnerable children. Between CASA’s volunteers and the generosity of TPC and its members, we will almost double the number of children with volunteer advocates in Boston. (Read more)


Membership

We were delighted that Sacha Pfeiffer interviewed Susan Benford, TPC’s President, for The Boston Globe in May. Often we gain members through existing members, or because someone attends a TPC event. But Young Philanthropist (YP) Cynthia Andre joined after reading the interview with Susan. She says,

I read about TPC in The Boston Globe and decided to learn more, so I checked out the website. I saw the good work TPC enabled and supported among non-profits. One in particular was School on Wheels Massachusetts, where I had been tutoring children impacted by homelessness. Their grant made me so happy to see. (Read more)


What Did We Learn?

Many of you participated in one or more of our educational opportunities this past year. From a Connect the Dots gathering to learn about TPC, to a seminar hosted by Cambridge Trust to discuss effective giving techniques, to one of our Philanthropy Dialogues, there was a full slate of interesting, practical, and fun activity squeezed between September and May.

We’d like to highlight one of the Dialogues, which are held four times during the year and typically attended by 20 to 40 women. The topic for this past April gathering was “What Can Non-Profits and Their Allies Do to Advance Social and Economic Rights for Women?” A thoughtful, provocative discussion followed the presentation by our three panelists. TPC Co-Founder Marla Felcher tells us more… (Read more)

Young Philanthropist Initiative

This was a busy year for TPC’s Young Philanthropists (YPs) as their number nearly doubled in 2016. YPs (members 35 years old and under) accounted for nearly a quarter of TPC’s membership! These young women were very active on Grant Review Teams, with 65% participating and over a third of that number in leadership roles as captains, deputy captains, or finance leads. They were also active on a number of other committees including the Marketing and Communications Committee (55%) and the Membership Engagement Committee (50%). (Read more)

Governance

We are very excited to announce that we have added six super-charged women to the Board of TPC. Welcome Melanie Calzetti-Spahr, Barbara Gaskin, Jesse Hatfield, Sandy Lawrence, Pat McSweeney, and Cheryl Wakeham. Read about these dynamic women who some of you may already know given their many contributions to TPC.

Winding It All Up

Your next issue will be chock-full of information about the coming grant year. In the meantime, we’ll be gussying up TPC’s website and working on some new initiatives that we believe will reinforce (or help you to make) your decision to become a member. Till then, enjoy the summer!

Cheryl Wakeham
Chair, Marketing and Communications
cwakeham@thephilanthropyconnection.org

 

Lead Corporate Partner:   

Copyright © 2017 The Philanthropy Connection. All rights reserved.
Contact email: connect@thephilanthropyconnection.org

The Philanthropy Connection’s mission is to inspire and enable a community of women to learn, grow, and engage in collective giving to support nonprofit organizations that address systemic inequities impacting individuals and families within the greater Boston area.

Email: connect@thephilanthropyconnection.org
Phone: 617-544-7812

TPC members include all women who identify as cisgender, transgender, agender, gender queer, and femme. TPC welcomes everyone for whom “woman” is a meaningful identifier or experience.

TPC qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) for US tax purposes. Our EIN is #46-0665444.