President Liz Colucci on May 20:

The CFWO has had quite a year! Last spring, at the May, 2018 Annual Meeting, the CFWO past president, Diane Shafer, announced some “new news.” In short, she reported that CFWO was no longer considered a “public charity”, but, instead, a “private foundation” which would mean we would be required to distribute a bit more funds going forward; that the grant cycle would be split so that $5,000 CFWO grants would be awarded each Fall and $10,000 Innovation Grants would be awarded each Spring instead in the Fall; and that a new type of grant option was to be introduced: a $1,000 Unexpected Needs Grant, which is available on a rolling basis throughout the year.

The CFWO Board spent the year working to improve our procedures and programs to accommodate these new projects, and be sure our work continues to adequately address the needs of women and girls in Tompkins County. Every Board Committee had its work to do!

Thank you to the Finance Committee for working through the new requirements related to our private foundation status – meeting with our investment manager, revising spending and investment policies and managing CFWO finances to be sure sufficient funds are available for grants as needed.

Thank you to the Program and Communications Committee who care for so many details of CFWO work. The CFWO website was updated and made secure; the details of the TC3 scholarship program and new endowment were worked out under this Committee’s leadership. And, all of our public gatherings – Fall Grants Info Session, December Grant Award Ceremony, and the May Annual Meeting are planned and organized by this committee.

Thank you to the Nominating Committee worked with the Board to understand the skills and focus that Board members felt were important for the Board to take its next steps over the coming years. This committee has developed a new slate of officers and five candidates to fill the positions of retiring board members. Not an easy job, but the Committee accomplished these tasks beautifully.

And, thank you to the Grants Committee. This is the Committee that manages the grant application process, and tracks the progress of funded projects to be sure agency reports are submitted. The Committee organizes and leads the Board’s hours-long grant review and selection sessions. This is no easy task. And, this is the Committee that responds to the public and applicant agencies’ questions and other communications.