“We are Women

difference in the lives of some of the Women in our community and meeting some a m a z i n g W o m e n along t h e W a y ” colleen Berger- WiP council chair

women in philanthropy | 2015 grant celebration

United Way of Central New Mexico

Women inPhilanthropy ®

Women strengthening our communityand effecting change through giving and leadership.

We Give.

m a k i n g a

Order of Celebration

i. Women’s self sufficiency grant & endowment

ii. Women in Philanthropy year in review

iii. Passing of the WiP Whip

iv. Presentation of funded agency Programs

Accion - Creating Jobs and Economic Growth for Women Entrepreneurs - $25,000

Precious Gifts - Educational and Career Coaching Program - $19,300

Southwest Creations Collaborative - Employability and Adult Education - $60,000

WESST - Enhancing Employability for Women 50 Plus - $35,000

v. go forth and do good!

give to the Women’s endowment today!

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HELPING WOMEN TODAY!The purpose of UWCNM’s Women in Philanthropy Women’s Self-Sufficiency grants is to help create sustainable systemic change in our four-county community through grants that address a continuum of services and the most pressing issues for women. The 2015-2016 grants are awarded to agencies that enhance women's employability in one or more of these focus areas:

Improve high school graduation rates and/or assist with GED completion.

Support transitional and/or permanent housing for women.

Provide job/skill training and/or retraining for womento secure gainful employment.

HELPING WOMEN TOMORROW!What is our Women’s Endowment? It is our commitment to ensure that the funds will always exist to address the needs of women in our community. The Women’s Endowment provides a permanent resource to fund programs meaningful to women through the WiP grant process. More than $920,000 has already been committed to our Women’s Endowment.

Individual gifts of $5,000 or more within 5 years will be matched by the

existing United Way of Central New Mexico Endowment. They can then be

named as the donor wishes.

Donors are making legacy gifts that will fund now and after their l ives for

women’s self-sufficiency needs.

Gifts under $5,000 of any size may be given at any time and will roll into

the general Women’s Endowment through the current sub-fund.

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Women's Self -Sufficiency

2014-2015

Kiran KatiraUniversity of New Mexico

Mindy KochIntel

Grant Committee Co-ChairJulie KoontzWells Fargo

Lori LeducBank of Albuquerque

Events and EngagementCommittee ChairNatalie MeadUNM Anderson Schoolof Management

Social Media ChairLisa TalbotCommunity Volunteer

Jeanne VigilUS Bank

Grant Committee Co-ChairErica VolkersCentral New MexicoCommunity College

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WIP Council

Council ChairColleen BergerUS Bank Immediate Past Chair Nadine Miner Sandia National Laboratories

Revathi A-DavidsonPresbyterian HealthcareServices Retiree

Lisa BloomHUB InternationalInsurance Services

Janelle CallahanNew Mexico Gas Company

2015-2016

Council ChairMindy KochIntel Immediate Past Chair Colleen Berger US Bank

Mentoring RepresentativeRevathi A-DavidsonPresbyterian HealthcareServices Retiree

Melecita ArchuletaSandia National Laboratories

Lisa BloomHUB InternationalInsurance Services

Kristina JohnsonIntel

Lori LeducBank of Albuquerque

Events and EngagementCommittee Co-ChairNatalie MeadUNM Anderson Schoolof Management

Melanie VelasquezFirst Citizens Bank

Events and EngagementCommittee Co-ChairJeanne VigilUS Bank

Social Media Chair and Grant Committee Co-ChairErica VolkersCentral New MexicoCommunity College

Joy ZeinerCommunity Volunteer

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By providing access to business credit and financial education, Accion helps central New Mexico women entrepreneurs start or grow their businesses, empowering them to create needed economic change and growth. During the grant period, Accion will issue 131 loans totaling $1.3 million to women-owned businesses that are projected to create/sustain 275 jobs in the community. With United Way of Central New Mexico’s generous support over the years, Accion has been able to propel the success of over 400 central New Mexico women entrepreneurs who reported creating/sustaining 1,061 jobs.

Ervina Castillo-NewtonErvina Castillo-Newton started her own business in 2009 after earning a graduate degree from the University of New Mexico. In just six years, Ervina’s Albuquerque-based business, Quickly Cleaned, has blossomed into a full service commercial and residential cleaning company that provides full-time jobs for eight employees and contract work for

five others. Ervina is driven to succeed as a business owner by the sense of possibility it provides to her 12 year-old son and to fellow members of the Navajo Nation.

Heather Smelser Heather Smelser, owner of Mi Vida Yoga, has transformed her life through practicing yoga. With the help of Accion, Heather—an accountant by training—opened her studio in January 2014. In addition to yoga classes, Heather also manages yoga support groups for people recovering from breast cancer and for victims of domestic violence.

2000 Zearing Ave NW | Albuquerque, NM 87104 | Tel. 1.800.508.7624 | www.us.accion.org

AccionCreating Jobs and Economic Growth for Central New Mexico’s Women Entrepreneurs

$25,000

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The Precious Gifts Transitional Housing Program provides a structured living environment for women with substance abuse problems designed to support them to become financially independent, develop a recovery lifestyle and become active in their community.

Letitia’s Success StoryLetitia, who has spent more than 18 years of her life incarcerated, struggles with being able to accept and deal with success. She entered the program when she was 33 years old, and was a recipient of the UW Entrance Fee scholarship and received eyeglasses. Upon entry to the program, she immediately began working with her WSS Coach and secured employment, then began to pay back her delinquent student loans (which allowed her to

Kacee’s Success StoryKacee entered the program at age 28 after being in prison for five years. She filled out her FAFSA in prison with the help of her WSS Coach and upon release to Precious Gifts, quickly enrolled in college courses at CNM. She graduated the program in August of 2014 and moved into her own apartment. By practicing what she learned about financial literacy, she now enjoys being financially self-sufficient and has purchased her own home! Kacee continues

Through coaching services funded by the WSS grant, these women quickly obtain a NM ID card, social security card, résumé development, and eye glasses to secure employment, attend college or GED classes and reunite with their families. The services this coaching program provides are extremely effective in supporting our residents.

PO Box 20003 | Albuquerque, NM 87154 | Tel. 505.688.6408 | www.transitionalhousing.org

Precious GiftsEducational and Career Coaching Program

$19,300

return to college). She graduated the program and moved into her own apartment where she has been reunited with her son and continues to live a successful life!

at CNM in pursuit of her Associates degree in Accounting while working part-time at a realtor’s office.

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Employability and Adult Education$60,000

1308 4th St NW | Albuquerque, NM 87102 | Tel. 505.247.8559 | www.southwestcreations.com

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Southwest Creations Collaborative

Southwest Creations Collaborative is a women-driven contract manufacturing organization with a social mission to alleviate poverty and build economic opportunity across generations.

The WSS Fund supports the Employability and Adult Education programs addressing the multiple barriers women from low-income communities experience in securing fulltime employment. These programs improve GED completion rates, build academic, language, leadership and professional skills, and provide quality on-site childcare for $0.25 an hour allowing women to balance successful parenting and employment.

Rosa Silvia Ramirez, 39Seamstress and mother of five children (ages 18, 16, 13, 6, newborn)

“My biggest success has been getting my GED and enrolling in classes at CNM. I have a dignified job that I enjoy, my life is more stable, all of my children are doing well in school and I’m growing as a person. After taking some time off, I will bring my baby to the on-site childcare in August so I can continue nursing her and seeing her during the day. Having access to on-site

daycare is so important and I don’t have to worry about my job or her during this important time in both of our lives.”

Rosa Plata, 50On-site Childcare Supervisor and mother of three children (ages 28, 23, 9)

“The most important thing is that my children are proud of me. Since I’ve been working at Southwest Creations they’ve seen how hard I’ve worked to learn English and study for and earn my GED. I have been promoted to run our on-site daycare center (in my opinion, the most important job at Southwest Creations), and now I

am studying early childhood education at CNM. My children can see that I haven’t stopped growing. And, as I achieve more, I have more goals and they can imagine themselves achieving more, too.”

Enhancing Employability for Women 50 Plus $35,000

Employability and Adult Education$60,000

WESST has always provided entrepreneurial training to women of all ages, ethnicity and socioeconomic status to help them achieve self-sufficiency in their lives. Through research and observation, they prepared the pilot program, “Enhancing Employability for Women 50+” in order to help unemployed women 50+ assess current job skills, acquire new organizational, financial, communication and computer skills and help them create an action plan to start on a new path to financial self-sufficiency through employment orself-employment.

Kris T.“I think the biggest help for me was the ‘why’ statement ~ it gave me a new way to focus my energy. I felt I knew why I do what I do for my living, but to get help to focus the why into a single statement as a way to talk about what I do was/is so very helpful. Ro’s worksheet was fun and insightful and was a good tool. All the other segments were really beneficial as well, and helped to bring me up to date with the current way HR looks for new employees, with all the social marketing tools, etc. The session on presentation skills was awesome, I loved how this piece empowered us women.”

Wendy F.“My participation in the Enhancing Employability for Women 50+ Program created a lot of traction for my business as a Relationship Coach. I received tips and tools that are continuing to enable me to start up my business on solid footing. Six months after completing the class I have made major strides in creating my business plan, marketing plan, accessing needed IT training, and developing adequate financial resources for local and internet launch in January of 2016. Without a doubt it was because of the support, the encouragement, and education that the teachers in the WESST program provided. I am confident and able to now re-enter the work world with both my feet firmly planted underneath me. I highly recommend that any woman over 50 years of age take this program when needing to make the decision between self-employment or working for someone else.”

Enhancing Employability for Women 50 Plus $35,000

609 Broadway Blvd. NE | Albuquerque, NM 87102 | Tel. 505.246.6900 | www.wesst.org

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W esst

Agency Visits:CLN KidsComadre A ComadreAccion

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Year In Review

Connecting to Philanthropy

POP Events:Holiday Extravaganza

Gertrude Zachary Mansion

Mentors & Mentees

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United Way of Central New Mexico

Women inPhilanthropy ®

all invitations go out via email approximately 3 weeks prior to the event

August 18th: UWCNM Ambassador Training Become a spokesperson for UWCNM.

Contact Kat Bradley for info and registration at kat.bradley@uwcnm.org.

August 26th: UWCNM Campaign Kick-off/Grant Celebration

September 2nd: Saranam Agency Visit

September 19th: Second Annual Loyal Contributor Day

October 8th: The Gift of Giving Combo Event

November: Fall Power of the Purse

December 5th: Holiday Combo Service Project

For more info and to join WiP,please contact Chris Morrisonat chris.morrison@uwcnm.org.

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