Sarah Owen & Cathleen Morgan
FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 16, 2016) – The Women’s Legacy Fund recently hosted its spring luncheon on May 12 at Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club exclusively for its WLF contributors and Prima Donors.
The “working” luncheon featured table discussions exploring cause areas identified and researched in our region to determine the Fund’s next cause area for grants benefiting women and girls in Southwest Florida. Discussions focused on intergenerational activities, career exploration and youth activities for women, young women and girls.
“Our contributors are interested in taking a deeper dive into the WLF grant focus areas before making their votes on what to fund, so we formatted the luncheon to be a more intimate gathering in order for everyone to explore and discuss cause areas as a group of collective philanthropists,” said Sarah Owen, president and CEO of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. “This type of thinking and talking together further proves that we can do so much more together than we could ever do alone.”
The feedback and votes will be used to determine the next area of funding for the WLF’s 2016 grant recipient.
A fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, the Women’s Legacy Fund is a group of women who foster the immersion of women in philanthropy and develop the region’s next philanthropic leaders. Since 2008, the WLF has provided more than $120,000 in grants to benefit people and communities in Southwest Florida. Currently, it has more than $500,000 in endowment that will continue to help fund local issues now and in the future.
Contributors to the WLF give a minimum of $250 each year ($100 for women younger than 25). The first half of contributions is pooled for the purpose of immediate annual grants, while the second half is pooled into the WLF’s endowment fund, which provides additional grants to be made both now and in years to come. Prima Donors are local women who have contributed $10,000 or more to the WLF endowment and are committed to making an impact in their community through charitable giving.
As leaders, conveners, grant makers and concierges of philanthropy, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation is a foundation built on community leadership with an inspired history of fostering regional change for the common good in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the Community Foundation connects donors and their philanthropic aspirations with evolving community needs. With assets of more than $93 million, it has provided more than $63 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. Last year, it granted more than $3.2 million to nonprofit organizations supporting education, animal welfare, arts, healthcare and human services, as well as provided regional community impact grants and scholarship grants.
For more information about the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, call 239-274-5900 or visit www.floridacommunity.com.
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