Archive for May, 2010

Good evening! Karen Snow and I are honored and excited to serve as your Giving Circle Co-Presidents this year, and we are looking forward to a great year because of the efforts of many women who made the commitment to be part of the Giving Circle Board and leadership team.  So I’d like to introduce this group and then say a few things about the upcoming year.

I’ll start by thanking Peggy Morrison-Curtis for being willing to serve as President ALL BY HERSELF and for helping the Circle grow a pretty remarkable community gift in the midst of a recession that feels endless.   Peggy will remain on the Board with Holly Sloan as President Ex-Officio.  Thank you both for your leadership!

Now, I would like to introduce the officers since there are a couple of new ones in addition to Karen and me. Read the rest of this entry »

Public Relations – The Giving Circle needs someone dedicated to external communications. This person would need to write press releases from content provided by members of the Board (approximately every 4-6 weeks), maintain a press list and spend some time developing those relationships so our press is published.  There are not a lot of meetings associated with this and the work can be done from your home during whatever hours make sense for you.  Great for someone someone who is taking a career break but wants to keep one foot in the field or someone who already writes well but wants to learn PR work.  Interested? Know someone who would be good at this?  Contact Jane Knops.

Members to serve on work groups for 2010-2011 Priority Community Gifts.  Choose from:

A lot has been going on in the last couple of months! But there were so many emails about gifts, elections and the Spring Celebration and elections that we opted not to send a newsletter for May.  It is time to catch up….

Our Spring Celebration was a lovely event! Many thanks to Lori Morris for so generously hosting us in her beautiful garden.

For those of you who were unable to attend, we announced this year’s Community Gifts…$50,000 dedicated to sustaining and expanding playgroups in Alexandria and another $10,000 for Developmental Gifts…and also the new Board of Directors and Officers.  Details about the Board and this year’s gifts are on the web site.

The Developmental Gift application process is now open! We’ve already notified many agencies and organizations but please feel free to let others know.

Next year’s Officers and Management Committee are already planning for next year and have identified some new and different volunteer needs.  Please read on to find out more about them and don’t be shy about getting in touch for more information if you are interested or know someone who would be a good fit.

Also, there will be Circle Time in June to kick off the summer. This month’s event will be Wednesday, June 16 from 9:00 am to 11:00 am at Panera located at 3201 Duke Street.  Come as you are, with or without children, for a coffee break.

In the next newsletter you receive, the Notes section will be from our new Co-Presidents, Cathleen Phelps and Karen Snow.  It is hard to believe my term is at an end and that I am graduating to Ex-Officio!  Thank you, all, for your hard work, your support and your commitment to giving every child in Alexandria the best possible start.  Have a glorious and happy summer!

The Giving Circle of Alexandria is pleased to announce that we are now accepting and reviewing applications from Alexandria’s non-profit organizations for Developmental Gifts up to $5000.  These grants are intended to support non-profits and initiatives that contribute to the success of Alexandria’s children.  On behalf of the Giving Circle, I invite your organization to apply for one of these grants.

If you are interested in applying for a Developmental Gift, please submit a letter of inquiry by July 1, 2010 to Kelly Donovan.  Your letter should be no more than three pages double spaced, and should address the following items:

• Name of your organization, location, and contact information  (please provide all contact information including telephone, mail and email addresses).
• Your organization’s mission
• How long has your organization been in existence?
• Who does your organization primarily serve?
• What specifically is prompting your request for funding?
• What is the annual budget of your organization and the project for which you are requesting support?
• If your project budget is greater than $5,000, please explain briefly how you expect to fund the remaining cost of the project.
• How will a Developmental Gift assist you in helping children, youth, and/or families of Alexandria?
• What outcome or benefit do you hope to achieve from the project/program for which you are requesting support?
• Please include the number of children, youth, and/or families of Alexandria that will benefit from such project/program.

The Giving Circle Board of Directors will decide and announce the recipients of these gifts in October based on the letters of inquiry we receive by the July 1 deadline. For more information about the gifts the Giving Circle makes and the groups we help, please visit the Gifts area of our website. We look forward to hearing your ideas and plans for helping Alexandria’s children, youth and families!