MY TURN: Women’s Gift Alliance looking ahead to another decade of making a difference through philanthropy

As a proud member of the Women’s Gift Alliance for 20 years, I am here to tell you that philanthropy does indeed benefit those who give, as much if not more than those who receive. Through the years, WGA has donated more than $1,726,000 to Kootenai County nonprofits, ranging from local chapters of large national organizations to small grassroots operations whose “financial statements” may be nothing more than a check register. Through the years, WGA has funded programs providing services to infants, foster kids, the elderly and veterans. We’ve helped with construction of kitchens, roofs, play areas and gardens. Our community is safer because of WGA grants to support search and rescue efforts and AED devices in the schools. Our community has been enriched with grants to projects supporting STEM education, literacy and the arts. All of this is possible through the collective giving of the members of the Women’s Gift Alliance, of course, but even more importantly through the inspiration, passion, commitment and just plain hard work of the grantees and their volunteers who accomplish so much with so little. 

As a member of WGA, I’m able to contribute a modest sum each year, which is then pooled with other members’ donations to allow for major gifts to our local nonprofits. This year alone, WGA donated $125,750 to local nonprofits. We all get to experience the joy of giving on a far grander scale than writing an individual check.   

The Women’s Gift Alliance was the brainchild of our founder, Janice Baldwin, who sought out seven fellow visionary women to establish WGA in March 2004. In its first year, 52 founding members joined together to combine their resources to address the philanthropic needs of the North Idaho community. Today, WGA has 156 members and is continuing to grow. 

WGA inspires both new and experienced donors by offering women the opportunity to participate in educational forums, to direct the grant making process and to gain a better appreciation for our nonprofit community. The goal of the Women’s Gift Alliance is to create a pool of educated philanthropists who wisely invest their resources in their local community. Pooled grant requests are evaluated based on their ability to: 

• Respond to an urgent or critical need 

• Seek to solve a community problem with a unique approach 

• Create a bold new venture 

• Make a significant community impact 

Consider some of the other values of collective giving using the WGA model: 

• Achieving greater impact — Members give a relatively small donation but participate in making a significant impact in the community. 

• Practicing the craft of grant-making — Members have opportunities for education around proposal review, nonprofit financials, site visits and evaluation. Members also learn how to say "no" or “not now.” 

• Learning the issues — Members have the opportunity for an in-depth policy education from our grantees, experts in their fields with creative answers to social problems. 

• Catalyzing individual giving — As members become more sophisticated philanthropists, they often give more money to more organizations. 

• Sharing skills through engagement — WGA allows members to see philanthropy as more than just a money transfer and encourages members to share talents by volunteering or offering other expertise to grantees. 

• Focusing community attention — Many WGA grantees report increased awareness in both the funding community and broader community due to press exposure from WGA grants. 

Not to be forgotten — the process yields another perk, a network that includes a diversity of women — professionals, business owners, educators, retired folk, moms, grandmas and more. Over time, there’s no doubt that we have built long-lasting friendships through our participation in WGA. That’s our gift back to each other. 

We hope you will consider joining the Women’s Gift Alliance. For more information, check out our website at www.womensgiftalliance.org, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, join us for an event or just phone a friend who is already a WGA member. We’d love to tell you more!   

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

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Janet Robnett is a founding member, past president and board member emeritus of the Women’s Gift Alliance.