This year's International Women's Day on March 8th serves as a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
But The Dallas Foundation also sees it as a great day to celebrate the valuable contributions of women in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
"The role of women in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector has actually grown over the last several years," says Kim Montez, Senior Director of Gift Planning & Donor Services at The Dallas Foundation. "Women are making more and more of the financial decisions for their households and that includes their charitable giving. We really feel it's important to celebrate and support these women and help support the nonprofit organizations on the front lines of ensuring Dallas is a brighter and more equitable community for everyone."
The Dallas Foundation, established in 1929 as the first community foundation in Texas, has played a pivotal role in bringing together people, ideas, and investments to help individuals and families reach their fullest potential. An impressive testament to their impact is the awarding of over $1,000,000,000 in grants to local nonprofits, striving to elevate the lives of North Texas residents.
As part of their initiatives to amplify the impact of women in philanthropy, The Dallas Foundation established the Women's Philanthropy Institute.
"We created this program to meet women at every stage of their philanthropic journey to connect them with the needs of the community and the organizations addressing those needs," Montez says.
The institute recently announced its focus on four critical issue areas for the year: children and women's health, reentry programs for the formerly incarcerated, affordable housing, and childhood poverty.
"In the area of children and women's health, we're going to be visiting Abide Women's Health Services. We'll also be visiting Exodus Ministries to learn about reentry programs for formerly incarcerated. Affordable housing is an important topic right now, so we'll be visiting Urban Specialists Housing to learn about their work. And then of course, something that's on so many people's minds is childhood poverty and we'll be visiting Vogel Alcove," Montez adds.
"So through this program, our members have gained firsthand observations of the works of these nonprofits through site visits and engagement with nonprofit leaders. But we also have educational sessions by bringing in subject matter experts to learn more about these particular topics and how they're affecting and impacting our community."
So what's a great way to celebrate International Women's Day?
"Be curious," Montez says. "Learn about some of the issues affecting women and girls in our community."
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