$100,000 surprise gift to Women’s Fund Endowment – and more!

Great news!   Women’s Fund member Jackie Inskeep made July seem like Christmas when she surprised us with a $100,000 gift to the Women’s Fund Endowment. 

In making her generous donation, Jackie applauded the work of Women’s Fund volunteers, saying “I am so pleased and proud of the women who make the Women’s Fund possible.”  She added, “I made the gift because I am confident that intelligent women are making informed choices for the good of the community.”

Challenge Grant

And there’s more good news!  An anonymous Women’s Fund member wants us to grow our endowment by another $100,000 and will donate $25,000 toward that goal if we raise $75,000 for the endowment from other sources by August 2016.   

In hoping to stimulate others to support the endowment, our anonymous challenger said, “I feel grateful to be a part of keeping the Women's Fund strong into the future, regardless of the downturns that will inevitably occur in the economy. The endowment will help nourish and support women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County long past my lifetime. I sleep a little better knowing this.  Maybe you will too."

We are grateful for the generous $100,000 donation and the challenge grant offer and we want to be sure you have an opportunity to contribute if you are looking for an additional way to support the Women’s Fund mission. 

Actually, it was our members who stimulated the creation of the Women’s Fund Endowment in 2012. Members asked us how they could contribute larger gifts over time, how to honor friends and family with memorial gifts, how to include the Women’s Fund in estate planning. The answer to all these questions is the Women’s Fund Endowment.

Of course the primary focus of the Women’s Fund remains the same: to build a robust annual grants pool through annual memberships and to give it all away within the year. But as stewards of this collective giving model, we felt compelled to consider additional ways to ensure the longevity of our unique organization.

The Women’s Fund Endowment simply provides you with an additional tool to support our mission and to help sustain the financial health of the Women’s Fund over time.  When the Women’s Fund Endowment reaches a sufficient threshold we will be able to draw from it to add to our annual grants pool.

We hope this $100,000 “vote of confidence” gift and the $25,000 challenge grant encourage you to consider an endowment contribution. For further information, please contact us.