Our Core Values in Action
The Spirit of St. Louis Women’s Fund (SOS) educates and inspires women to engage in informed, collective grant making by investing in Greater St. Louis’ small nonprofits to positively affect change in our communities. SOS operates according to a set of guiding core values – our “how.” As we enter our 16th season of collective giving, please join me in celebrating these examples of our core values in action.
Engagement at Your Desired Level: A great attribute of SOS is the ability to be as involved as you wish. There are opportunities to participate in our grants review process, on committees, on our board, and more.
Philanos, a network that serves to catalyze the movement of women in philanthropy by connecting women’s collective giving grant-making organizations, is a tremendous resource to SOS. In turn, we are of service to Philanos. Two of our members offer their time and talent – going beyond their commitment to SOS – by serving Philanos.
- Thank you to SOS past president and member, Gwen Wesley, for serving on the Philanos board of directors. As Gwen’s term came to an end earlier this year, Paula Perkins of Philanos said, “Gwen has remarkably represented your organization while also leading the national charge in furthering women’s collective giving. Thank you for sharing her with us!”
- And thank you to Amy Conard, the current chair of the SOS Technology Committee, who just began her term on the Board of Directors of Philanos. Amy will be an incredible asset!
Volunteerism and Outreach: Another opportunity for our members to engage beyond their investment is through our Outreach Program which matches our grantees’ volunteer opportunities with our SOS member volunteers. One of our grantees, Eye Thrive, recently honored SOS as their “Volunteer of the Year” for providing 100 hours of service this year. This award is attributed to SOS member Marianne Baer for her leadership of the Outreach Program and to SOS Member Pat Crowe for advising the Eye Thrive team on their media outreach strategy.
Continuously Evaluating Our Approach: Another example of our core values in action is our culture of continuous improvement. In this effort, SOS applied and was selected to participate in Thinksgiving. This program, held November 3, connects St. Louis nonprofits and organizations with innovative teams from St. Louis corporations for a day of creative problem-solving focused on the future. Some of our grantees, including The SoulFisher Ministries, participated.
A sincere thank you to our members who volunteer to make SOS operate. For those members who want to volunteer their time and talent beyond their SOS investment – we welcome you at any time!
Katy Dowd
President and Proud Member
