Written by Stephanie Doty, who is working towards an MS, Management, Non-profit Leadership degree, from New England College in Henniker, NH.
Funding support is critical to many (if not all) non-profit organizations. Frequently, funders’ guidelines indicate a desire to provide financial support for programs that will create dramatic changes in peoples’ lives, thus establishing a legacy for the organization as well as the funder-participant. This is definitely an admirable goal. The difficulty this goal presents is that too often organizations, in an effort to secure funding, will develop programs that do not necessarily have the underlying and ongoing support necessary to maintain the new program when the initial funding expires. Consequently, as a development professional, I’ve focused my attention on where financial support will provide a long-term impact that results in dynamic social transformation.
Many non-profit leaders and senior managers, as well as staff, benefit greatly from education, training and professional development in order to lead, guide and carry out the work of their organizations. The foundation of the organization must be strong and able to withstand the stressors of shifting economies that result in whether funding is available. As a result, funding that provides capacity-building support is essential. Having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in women studies I have long believed that women have a unique perspective from which we view the world and how to create long-term solutions. This underlying belief led me to create the Women’s Philanthropy—Women’s Issues blog (http://womensphilanthropy.typepad.com/stephaniedoty) as a clearinghouse for providing information and resources to a widely diverse audience that encompasses the broad spectrum of issues confronting not only women, but also society. As the National Council on Research for Women declares of its programs, “If it matters to women, it matters to everyone.”
Women and the Arts provides an extraordinary opportunity for women to share their experiences and helps to strengthen society’s awareness and consciousness about women, gender issues and overall connections that significantly shape and dramatically transform lives. As a result, I was gratified to learn about WAM Theatre and its philanthropic mission to raise funds through grants, sponsorship and individual donations to create professional theatrical events that explore issues relating to women and girls, then donating the proceeds from those events to organizations that benefit women and girls worldwide. (https://www.wamtheatre.com).
More importantly, when I realized that Kristen van Ginhoven and Leigh Strimbeck, Co-Artistic Directors of WAM Theatre, are both professional actors, directors and theatre educators who believe theatre is a force for good in the world and focus their attention on philanthropy as an outgrowth of their personal experiences, it seemed a natural “fit” for inclusion as part of the Women’s Philanthropy—Women’s Issues intention. Indeed, how WAM Theatre came into existence is a great example of what I alluded to at the outset about women’s unique perspectives. Consider this: WAM Theatre is the result of a group of enthusiastic runners who decided that they would run and raise money for important causes at the same time. Now we take it for granted that a runner may be running for the Cure. WAM Theatre wants to do the same with theatre.
I am convinced this synergistic force of energy, passion and commitment is instrumental in creating long-term dramatic, dynamic social transformation IN society — where women’s experiences, voices, contributions and participation are as necessary as the air we breathe.
After exploring various avenues in life, including clinical psychology and public administration, Stephanie Doty discovering a niche for development in 2002, and is now working towards an MS, Management, Non-profit Leadership degree, from New England College in Henniker, NH. She will have her degree by June 2010. Her thesis led to the creation of WPWI, her Women’s Philanthropy—Women’s Issues blog.