Women in Philanthropy

Dear Women in Philanthropy Investors,

Thanks to the generosity and efforts of so many women over the past eight years, WIP is a vibrant, dynamic organization today.  They gave us a solid foundation and a blueprint for success.  As a new year begins for WIP, your executive board is excited about the momentum that we have achieved in the last twelve months, and we are eager to continue the legacy of leadership we have inherited. 

Special thanks to my predecessor, Stacey Atkinson, for all her hard work as chair of the executive board.  Her leadership, enthusiasm and can-do attitude have brought us to a new level, and we are very grateful to her for all she has done.  Stacey is a great coach and motivator.  Stacey used the children’s classic story “The Little Engine That Could” to keep the executive board motivated and moving forward.  Stacey encouraged, motivated, and pushed us to be better than we thought we could be.  She made us hear that little voice saying “I think I can, I think I can…” and we did!

My vision for Women in Philanthropy is that we will be recognized throughout the Midlands as so effective and successful that WIP will be among the top priorities for philanthropic women when they consider their charitable giving.  That vision is based on that of our founding members whose example of philanthropy and caring stands as a model for us all.  The women who founded WIP are smart, effective and successful, and that is what I want for WIP – for us to be smart in how we manage, effective in meeting our goals, and successful in fulfilling our mission to support organizations that help women and children.

In order to meet those expectations, the Executive Board has set these goals for the coming year:

1.  Growth – we have great momentum with a 45% increase in the number of investors in the last year.  We want to sustain that growth, and we want to grow in more than one dimension.

2.  Diversity – we want to continue to broaden our membership to reflect our community.

3.  Retention of current investors; sustain the level of investment.  Communicating clearly and regularly with our investors is vital, as is offering opportunities to member/investors to be actively involved. 

4.  Succession plan – we want to identify future leaders by carefully populating our committees and identifying potential for leadership among active investors.

Advocacy and education are important to our ability to have a positive impact in our communities. In partnership with the United Way and the Central Carolina Community Foundation, we will continue to educate our members about issues relating to children and women so that we can be informed advocates who can influence decision makers.

Of course, our primary goal is to increase our ability to give generous grants to worthy causes, and we are able to do that only if we grow.   

That is my vision for WIP and I invite you to join me in making it happen.  As the founders knew and demonstrated, we can achieve so much if we work together.

It is an honor to be elected as chair of the executive board, and I pledge to do my best to meet your expectations.

Sincerely,

Nancy Parsons