How One Charity Engages Women Through Events
By Margie Fleming Glennon
Chief Content Officer
December 2, 2015 | Read Time: 1 minute
Each year the Jewish Federations of North America, a network of Jewish nonprofits across the United States and Canada, raises more than $900 million, much of it from women. The Federations established the Lions of Judah, a key component of its women’s philanthropy program, 45 years ago. Today’s Lions contribute at any of nine different giving levels ranging from $5,000 to $250,000. The nonprofit offers a variety of other programs to attract female donors at lower levels as well.
According to Ali Margulies Garber, senior director of women’s philanthropy for the Federations, key elements of the organization’s strategy for engaging women include:
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building a cohort, or connecting women to other women within the organization.
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demonstrating the organization’s impact and offering ways to see it firsthand.
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connecting female donors to the people they are helping.
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offering leadership opportunities to women.
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offering a multitude of programs to support.
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frequent outreach and numerous events that build community.
If you provide women with meaning and community, they’ll respond, says Beth Mann, the group’s vice president of institutional advancement. “Once you’ve developed loyalty,” she says, “they’re not going to let [your mission] fail.” Ms. Mann advises groups that are developing or renewing a women’s philanthropy program to make outreach and events personal, to listen to donors, and to remember what’s important to them.
Here’s a sample calendar that represents events held by the women’s philanthropy programs at many of the network’s 151 federations and 300 network communities (independent organizations without staff that are supported by the Jewish Federations of North America).
