The Minnesota Women's Consortium hosted a wonderful training session today to help feminist groups and other small nonprofits prepare fundraising plans, reach out to individual donors, write socko grant proposals, and connect with each other. Many thanks to wonderful presenters Mala Thao, a private development consultant; Aretha Green-Ruppert of the Girl Scouts of Minnesota & Wisconsin River Valleys; Amy Hellwich of the Women's Foundation of Minnesota; Jody Williams of Community Shares Minnesota; Marilyn Bryant of the Consortium's Seneca Falls Council of Advisors; and Consortium director of member services Bharti Wahi who organized the event.
Left: Mala and Aretha talk about approaching individual donors. Below: Amy, Jody, and Marilyn discuss "do's and "don'ts" of fundraising.
Lloyd Brant from Theater of Fools, and his mom, gave us permission to include this great story. Just a quick note for any who haven't caught on yet to the power and activism of older women! And thanks to NOW's Kathy Ahrens for connecting us. -Bonnie
Mom the Peace Maker
Attached
is a photo of my Mom talking to George Bush. The story is that after
the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, my Mother was working for the
Red Cross as a volunteer psychologist when Bush came to visit the
disaster site. She was one of twenty people selected to greet him. As
the president approached he read my Mom's name tag and said "Why
hello Elaine, how are you today?" My Mom seeing the opening stepped
forward past the Secret Service, shook his hand and didn't let go
until she could say, "Can I say a sentence to you?" Bush answered
back, "Why Elaine you can say a whole paragraph." The attached
photo is of my Mother speaking to Bush about the need for a two state
solution for the Israel-Palestinian conflict. This moment was just
days after she had returned from Africa where she helped dedicate a
bricks and mortar building for the first Bachelor of Arts Degree
Program for Counseling in Tanzania at Tumaini University. She was a
major inspiration for the creation of this Counseling Program and had
just finished teaching what will be the first graduating class. At
this time my Mom was also just recovering from a serious bout of
malaria while in Africa and currently on a liquid diet for a separate
condition that days later she needed major surgery to cure. All of
this at age 83.
If we could all remain this vital as my Mother is at her age, what kind of world would our children inherit? Thanks Mom!
The following is excerpted from a post on Erin Matson's blog, Rad to the Max. Erin is a recent past president of Minnesota NOW. I found her thoughts moving and an important reminder that the personal is political - and sometimes the political is lifesaving. - Bonnie
This is one of my
favorite speeches I’ve given, ever. I gave it at a Young Women’s
Writing Contest sponsored by Santa Fe NOW in April 2007...
Hi, my name is Erin and I’ve got something to say. Before I do, I’ll
tell you a little bit about myself. I’m 26 years old and live in
Minneapolis. I’m lucky to sit on the National NOW Board of Directors as
well as the Young Feminist Task Force. I was also the Minnesota NOW
State President for a few years...
Ten years ago I was 17, and life was pretty good. I had great grades
and great friends, a supportive family and all the other things you see
on happy TV shows. But something wasn’t right. I was uncomfortable in
my skin. I didn’t know why. All the boys who got the grades and
recognition I did were cool. But I didn’t feel cool. I felt awkward and
unfeminine. I didn’t know what to do. So I picked up a lipstick.
I’d chosen not to wear makeup a year before, and I was proud of that
decision. “This is who I am,” I would say to my friends. “If someone
doesn’t like me just the way I am, that’s their problem and not mine.”
But I started wearing makeup to fit in. I also started dieting, even
though I looked exactly the way I do now. It was harmless at first,
switching from Doritos to apples and going for jogs on weekends. But
the dieting started getting more and more intense. The apples I snacked
on turned into no snacks at all, and my runs stretched longer and
longer. Before I knew it I was running more than an hour a day and
going for extra runs if I slipped and ate something outside of my plan.
My meals shrunk smaller and smaller, and so did I.
Before I knew it, I was battling full-blown anorexia and could not
stop to save my life.
Dear Readers, Here's a sneak preview from our Capitol Bulletin newsletter issue being mailed tomorrow. If you're a subscriber, you'll get the whole issue maybe Friday or Saturday. If you're NOT a subscriber, you are sooo missing out on the "Women's Digest"-style summary of everything you need to know about the Minnesota women's community. Send us your check for $35 and you will be in the know for a full year. Meanwhile, I would love to hear your thoughts on Nina's topic ... just click on "Comments" below. - Bonnie
WOMEN UNITING ACROSS DIFFERENCES by Nina Rothchild, Consortium co-founder, board member, & Houston delegate One of the most pernicious stereotypes about women is that we can’t get along with each other. In fact, there’s the expression for it: a “cat fight.” It reminds me of a time in the early ‘70s when we were pressing for more sports for girls in high school. When I met with our school administrators -- all male, of course -- they said with perfectly straight faces, “Oh no, you can’t have team sports for girls because they just don’t know how to get along together.” I was reminded of this stereotype at the recent Consortium conference when we were discussing uniting across differences. While it’s important to acknowledge our differences, we also need to spend some time thinking about what we have in common.
Obviously, we come in different sizes, shapes, and colors -- as well as with different life experiences, income and education. But I think we sometimes obsess about these differences instead of remembering that we are all women together in a male-dominant world. Stereotyping is stereotyping. Making assumptions is making assumptions. We should not stereotype and dismiss women simply because they are white, or old, or straight, any more than we should stereotype anyone else. We will, of course, have honest differences of opinion; but in that case perhaps it is best to gracefully agree to disagree and then move on. Let’s spend more time thinking about what we want to accomplish together, and unite around a vision of the future not based on age or class or race.
In June 2007, the Consortium hosted a Brown Bag Discussion with Cindy Reuther of the Laura Jeffrey Academy, a new charter school with a gender focused learning environment for girls. The Laura Jeffrey Academy is a uniquely designed educational environment where girls learn through problem solving, asking questions and participating in community. Laura Jeffrey Academy leaders hope to create an environment that provides emotional, physical and intellectual safety as well as promotes resiliency.
There is often controversy around gender-focused education, which leaves many feminists feeling torn about this issue.
The following is a quote from Kim Gandy, National Organization for Women, opposing single-sex education:
"Because school is the 'workplace' of children, this kind of segregation is likely to increase sex stereotyping in adulthood by depriving both boys and girls the opportunity to interact daily as peers during their formative years. Separating our daughters from our sons is an ineffective response to a complex problem, and it pulls resources away from dealing with a broken public school system. It doesn't prepare boys and girls for the real world, where they will have to interact with and work alongside each other. Instead, we should expand the use of methods we know will improve learning by both girls and boys, together- like increased funding to schools, smaller class sizes, more resources and training to teachers, and more attention to students."
This clip is from Girls Prep, a single-sex school in New York:
For more information about the Laura Jeffrey Academy call 651/402-9803. Please comment and let us know what you think about this issue. Also, if you are interested in discussing more issues like this please attend our conference on November 15 and November 16. Register at www.mnwomen.org.
Mary Lee Eischen (mixed media quilts) and Nancy Kahlow (paintings and prints) are the exhibitors through August 3 at the Minnesota Women's Building. Come see up close! (Monday - Friday except holidays, 9AM to 4:30PM). Besides brightening our lives , this program supports the mission of the Women's Art Registry of Minnesota to increase exposure and sales of work by women. Here are a few images from Mary Lee's work. For more, including work displayed in previous months, visit previous blog posts or the blog's WARM photo album.
On left is "Tags," commercial fabric & clothing tags, machine stitched 9.25" x 12" April 2007, $82.00
On right is "Springtime," hand painted and dyed fabrics, photo transfers, lutador, sticks, wooden eggs, machine quilting, 17" x 22.5," not for sale.
Pro-Choice Resources sponsors an annual Bowl-A-Thon with teams of bowlers collecting pledges and a fun evening of strikes & spares. This is a great alternative fundraiser! Consortium staffer Erin Parrish bowls for the "Plan Bees," who "Pollinate by Choice." Note the cute antennae. L-R in first photo: Queen Bee Stacey, Erin, Bethany, the other Erin, and Clare. On the right, Erin P and Erin the Killer Bee.
Here are comments from our wonderful intern Karmann Peters on this recent event offered by our member group, the White House Project (click on that link to see photos from the recent event and more). Write Karmann in care of the Consortium’s general email address, and don’t forget your comments are also very welcome right here on the blog, by clicking on “comments” below this post. Oh, that’s (L-R) Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona and U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine next to Karmann, who we know will go far. -Bonnie
On March 23, 2007, I received a scholarship for and had the opportunity to attend The White House Project’s Vote.Run.Lead. political leadership training in Chaska, Minnesota. Over 50 women from all over the state of Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota, attended this event. The purpose of these trainings is to engage women, teach them the political tools they need to run their own campaigns and help them explore the issues that matter to them and the communities surrounding them.
Women want to run for public office for many reasons. I heard stories from many perspectives that all lead to the same place, how conversations would be really different if women’s voices were part of the mix. One woman spoke about a
Want to show that you and your organization are hooked up to the larger community of activist women? You can post a small excerpt from this blog - titles of recent posts and an image - on YOUR website, MySpace account, or blog. At least that's what they tell me. Click on this box and see where it leads you. If it goes kerflooey, write me at Bonnie@mnwomen.org and I might be able to help! The little square that will be posted on your space is called a "blidget" - worth many extra points as a 7-letter word in Scrabble... Bonnie
I'm not sure if you can still get registered for all the workshops, but you can certainly come for the noon rally on Wednesday, possibly some of the training on Tuesday, and other parts of Violence Against Women Action Day on February 28. Click here for details. Hope to see you there!
Feministing says we should all "blog for choice" today, the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that continues to save so many women's lives. Thank you, thank you to all those who have fought for our precious right to control our bodies.
We're delighted to announce that the Women's Drum Center and the Mila Vocal Ensemble will each perform small samples of their work at Celebration 27 -- Wednesday evening, January 31, 6PM to 9PM at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. DO call us at 651/228-0338 to reserve your spot. There will be tables full of Girl Scouts,Vixens footballers, St. Paul Trades & Labor, Democratic Women's Leadership Coalition, MN Nurses Association ... Wow. DO check in a day or so to hear a sample of the Drum Center's work. And meanwhile enjoy this clip - "Bulgaria Begala Evena" from the Mila Ensemble.
That's what the Minnesota Women's Consortium is all about. Shown here are (L-R) businesswoman Mary Tjosvold of Mary T Inc. and staff of the Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) Mayalan Brown and Anusha Ramachandran. They attended an exploratory meeting to learn more about micro-credit and how it can benefit potential women entrepreneurs. Mary serves on the Consortium's Advisory Council, and WISE is a member organization. For more about micro-credit, subscribe to the Capitol Bulletin newsletter, which will feature this topic soon!
In creating this blog, we are envisioning each category as some aspect of quilting or at least sewing. But you know how women are multi-taskers? How many feminists, unlike the sterotypes, are not only changing the world every day but often got a craft project going on the side? How metaphor and fabric can get mixed up in the sleep-deprived brain -- and of course you know what a huge percentage of women are sleep-deprived!
Welll, I find myself wanting the comfort of real comforters, quilts that one could touch, that bring together the beauty of these ideas and the textures and smell of fabric. So please make some for us
Fundraising in Tough Times Training by Consortium funders and friends who raise money from individuals. 550 Rice Street, St. Paul. Cost is $15 and pre-registration is required. bharti@mnwomen.org
Wednesday, July 16, 5:30 - 8PM
Consortium Annual Meeting! Come & meet the staff, board, member groups, vote on the board & budget, yummy supper, and keynote speaker Dr. Rusty Barcelo, University of Minnesota Vice President, on "Making Space for Women." St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Roseville. $45 for meal & program, discounts for paid-up Consortium members. RSVP and directions: Bonnie@mnwomen.org.
Facts/contacts for 40 issues. Posted on www.mnwomen.org.
E-Consortium Notes
Free biweekly email, events & action of 165 member groups. Just write Erin@mnwomen.org
Capitol Bulletin newsletter
Features, kudos, stats... $35 annual scrip to Lorraine, MWC, 550 Rice St., St Paul MN 55103.
Halvorson New Media, LLC
Christine Halvorson Christine Halvorson is a corporate blogging consultant and can help you set up a blog just like this one. She was a huge help to Bonnie in making EqualityQuilt a reality. Email her for more information!
The Minnesota Women's Consortium has co-sponsored this event with the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women and Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault for two years now. Girls age 13-18 participate in the Teen Summit Against Dating Violence on Tuesday evening, and Girls Rock! including the Violence Against Women Action Day rally on Wednesday. The Girls Rock program includes Government 101, a workshop on "the Personal is Political," workshop on "Safety & Self Care for Teens," snarf pizza, meet with their own legislators, and wrap up with a mock committee hearing and cake. This year's hearing had stellar guest chairwomen: Andrea Lindgren from the Office on the Economic Status of Women, Speaker of the House Margaret Kelliher, and Rep. Kate Knuth, at 26 the youngest woman ever elected to the House. Gigantic kudos to the Consortium's Erin Parrish who managed the event every step of the way.
The Consortium's 28th anniversary party was held January 31, 2008 at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. After the hors d'oeuvres and cash bar, we enjoyed a 10 minute video, "Steps Forward," with achievements of the Minnesota women's movement over the past 30 years; an excerpt from the chamber opera, "Meeting At Seneca Falls,"; and honored 12 mazing women.
The Women's Art Registry of Minnesota began managing exhibits of their members' work in the Minnesota Women's Building in February 2007. They inspire and energize staff and visitors for the 15 non-profit organizations housed here. You are welcome to come and see for yourself weekdays from 9AM to 4PM.
In March, 40 women came for workshops on how to lobby, issues like health care access, and much more, then met with their elected officials. A great day!
On November 15-16, 2007, the Minnesota Women's Consortium hosted a conference on "Women's Dreams: 1977-2007 & Beyond." We honored some of the Minnesota women who represented us at the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas, in 1977. We also heard from young women who are moving into leadership in the new millennium. What a pleasure to learn once again that we have so much in common, despite all the ways we and our organizations are different.
Steinem came to the home of Ruth Usem in June 2007 for a breakfast conversation with members of the DFL Feminist Caucus, Democractic Women's Leadership Coalition, and many others. Now in her 70s, she is as thoughtful and articulate as ever.
From the 2 day LOLA training - Latinas Organizing for Leadership & Advocacy - offered at the Women's Building in June by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Local host was the Asociacion Latinas de Minnesota. The event brought together 25 Latinas, including several from Greater Minnesota. They will continue meeting to help each other move forward as leaders & advocates.
