Submitted by the San Juan Island Community Foundation
The Women’s Fund members voted to award $8,385 to six local nonprofits during the most recent grant cycle. The San Juan Island Family Resource Center, San Juan Island Library, University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs, Washington Vocational Services, Friday Harbor Elementary School and Mount Baker Planned Parenthood all received funds to help support projects underway this summer.
The Women’s Fund recently celebrated 15 years of giving at their annual membership luncheon held at Brickworks on June 21. After hearing a fascinating update from Jennifer Armstrong of the San Juan Island Family Resource Center, Carolyn Haugen was presented the first annual Joyce Sobel Memorial Award – created by the Women’s Fund Coordinating Committee as a way to honor Sobel’s legacy of service to the community.
Gay Graham, the emcee of this year’s luncheon and a member of the Women’s Fund Coordinating Committee explained the newly-created award: “Joyce Sobel, throughout her lifetime on San Juan Island, contributed tirelessly to the community through her myriad volunteer activities, nonprofit leadership and advisory roles. The Women’s Fund Coordinating Committee decided to create an award to recognize an outstanding woman whose efforts are closely aligned with Joyce’s spirit of giving back to the community. Dr. Carolyn Haugen, for her many years of service to so many different causes, is a perfect first recipient of this award.”
The Women’s Fund was formed in 2003 as a collective giving model to help women participate in philanthropy and make a greater local impact by pooling their funds. It is structured as a donor-advised fund held by the San Juan Island Community Foundation. Membership is $100 per year and is tax deductible. Members vote to award grants three times annually to local nonprofits submitting proposals to the foundation. More than $200,000 in funds have been granted by the Women’s Fund since its inception. To learn more, or to join the Women’s Fund, visit sjiwomensfund.org or contact Amy Saxe-Eyler, the coordinator, at amysaxe@me.com.
