Where the Money Goes . . . and How to Become Involved

Very simply, the money raised helps children in need. Believe it or not, that's it. We have no large overhead, no staff salaries or rent. No fundraising events or silent auctions to plan. No solicitations of your friends and business contacts for dinner tickets or auction items. No contributions to large, national organizations where your money is just another drop in a very large bucket. Instead, we invite you to join with other successful local women to put our money quickly to use in a powerful, immediate way.

The Everychild Foundation provides a unique opportunity for us to give back to the children of our community in an immediate, efficient way. We have brought together a select group of pioneering women philanthropists who:

• Share our passion for improving children's lives in our community.
  
  
• Are ready to commit $5,000 each year to a project with tangible results.
  
  
• Want to partner with other women to make a significant difference without a major time commitment.
  
  

Each year, after a long and thorough evaluation process, our Grant Screening Board presents our members with the two projects it feels best match the mission and goals of Everychild. We encourage (but do not require) our members to attend the Grant Hearing in October, where each of the two finalist agencies presents its project to our members in person. We then vote for one of these projects - and it is always a difficult decision. Although our grant recipient is announced in November, members are also invited to attend our annual luncheon in March, totally underwritten by generous outside sponsors, where we formally present our grant to that year's winner. And, of course, along the way, we keep everyone apprised of the progress of our prior years' grant recipients.

We also have opportunities (always optional) throughout each year where our members can network and socialize. A strong goal of the Foundation is to build a community of women who enjoy working together. We organize member-hosted cocktail parties/salons at members' homes with special speakers on children's issues. All of these activities are underwritten by outside private and commercial sponsors, not by membership dues.

If you would like to be more involved, you can participate on one of our committees or boards. If you have already had your fill of committee participation, you can simply contribute funds. But whether you volunteer your time or not, each member has an equal vote in selecting our annual grantee.

Volunteer Opportunities

Everychild Foundation provides its members with a different kind of philanthropic experience from most other non-profit organizations. One very critical distinction is that we do not require a time commitment from our members. However, for the many of you who have expressed an interest in more in-depth involvement, we offer a variety of stimulating opportunities.

• The Grant Screening Board. Grant screening is the most crucial work we perform; in many ways it is the heart and soul of our organization. Because we only make one grant a year, we cannot afford to make a mistake. Consequently, membership on this board requires a significant commitment to attendance and work load, but the work is enormously rewarding. With the assistance of our consultant, Marcia Antopol, the GSB analyzes and evaluates the proposals of the many applicants who apply for our grant each year to determine whether they fit our rigorous grant criteria. Small teams of GSB members then perform an exhaustive evaluation of each applicant agency to ensure that our two finalist projects and their agencies meet our high standards before they are brought to our membership for a vote. For further information, click on Grant Screening Board.
  
  
• The Grant Monitoring Committee is open to both members and Advisory Board members and has a maximum of 7 spots. Members of this committee perform the important task of monitoring our grant winners to make sure their projects continue to comply with commitments made to us during the grant selection process. Members of this committee visit grant recipients and, depending on the particular grant, assess whether agreed upon benchmarks for payment have been met. Terms on the Grant Monitoring Committee are generally limited to three consecutive years.
  
  
• The Everychild Newsletter is published annually and posted on our website to help our members stay abreast of everything happening in our organization. Anyone interested in helping to write, edit or take photographs for this publication is encouraged to sign up. To see past newsletters, click on Newsletters.
  
  
• The Public Policy Committee was formed in March of 2007 by committed members who seek to ease the suffering of children through advocacy and education. Committee membership is open to all who wish to learn or become involved in children’s advocacy. No prior advocacy or policy experience is required! Committee members are offered policy workshops and training in selected children’s policy issues areas as well as given opportunities to participate in community forums and workshops, educate local legislators on pressing needs of children, and work in committee with local leaders on practical and legislative policy solutions. The committee also offers opportunities for less time consuming participation such as editorial writing or writing children’s policy news for the membership. Committee policy interests include, but are not limited to, foster care issues as well as efforts to increase government and philanthropic support and investment in the needs of very young children ages 0-3.
  
  
• The Public Relations Committee. More and more, Everychild is approached by various publications about potential stories on our foundation and the projects we have funded. As an innovator in philanthropy, our group has already inspired the formation of four other organizations and is in a position to generate further replication. This committee helps to write press releases when needed and forges contacts with the media for stories about our work that can help to educate others about our giving model.
  
  
• The Salon Committee. Everychild salons are evening cocktail parties at members' homes where experts can speak to us about relevant children's issues or other topics of interest to us. A lively discussion typically ensues. Spouses and guests are welcome. This group arranges these enlightening evenings and finds the speakers.
  
  
• The Holiday Committee. Agencies who have received our grants in the past often serve children for whom the holidays are a particularly sad time. This committee works with these agencies to provide interested members with opportunities to brighten these children's lives through holiday gift giving.
  
  
• The Family Day Committee begins its work in the springtime, culminating in the fall with an afternoon event at which our families join together and our children (all ages) participate in an activity that helps other children in our community. Interested members select the activity and work to seek outside sponsors to underwrite the event. Meeting attendance is important.
  
  

  If you are interested in volunteering in any of these capacities, please complete the following form...