AWF Board of Directors Meeting
March 29, 2018
Present:Kristin Adams Cari Dawson, Susan Gambardella (via phone) Deborah Goodman (via phone), Nancy Halwig, Jennifer Welch Hightower, Bill Jennings, Becky Powhatan Kelley, Colleen McBride (via phone), Tish McDonald, Lativia Ray-Alston, Sujatha Reddy, Becky Schmitt, Anne Joyner-Sheehan, Michele Sims (via phone), Bentina Terry, Mark Wasserman (via phone)
Absent:Susan Been, Lisa Cannon Taylor
Staff: Kate Balzer, Meredith Broyles, Ali Cobb, Michelle Drummond, DiShonda Hughes, Kari Love
Welcome and Call to Order
Board Chair Tish McDonald welcomed everyone to the meeting and then introduced the newest AWF staff member Meredith Broyles, who has been hired as on a part-time contractor as the Inspire Atlanta Project Coordinator. Meredith briefly spoke about her background as a second semester senior at Emory University about to graduate with a degree in Politics and Spanish.
Approval of Minutes
Both Deborah Goodman and Becky Kelley had grammatical changes for the February minutes. They were noted and the edits will be made. Jennifer Hightower made a motion to approve the February minutes with the noted changes and Bentina Terry seconded the motion. The motion passed.
Tish then asked the Board, going forward, to send any changes to the minutes prior to the Board meeting directly to Kate Balzer.
Financial Report
Treasurer Deborah Goodman presented the financial report. To date, AWF has received income totaling $2,277,617. $2,086,855 of this amount was for the Numbers Luncheon, which includes the $1 million received from The Coca-Cola Foundation grant. $500,000 of the grant from The Coca-Cola Foundation has been received and the other half is booked as a pledge.
Expenses totaling $813,114 are over budget by $34,830 year to date.
Investment income to date is $34,404. There is also an unrealized capital gain of $105,343.
Savings and Investment Plans
Deborah reminded the Board how last year, in order to meet AWF’s entire financial obligation, the Board voted to take funds out of endowment, and then agreed this year to put funds into savings and build a reserve account.
The Finance and Investment Committee has put a plan in place to help AWF rebuild its reserves. Because the AWF checking account is earning no interest, funds will be transferred into a savings account and will be used to purchase CDs that will mature at different times based on when funds are needed.
The Finance and Investment Committee is pleased about the organization’s current financial situation.
Governance Report
Governance Committee Chair Cari Dawson reported on the Committee’s cultivation activities. The Committee has met twice in 2018 and is focusing on Board cultivation. They reviewed the current Board makeup to determine where the gaps are and added additional candidate criteria to the matrix, which focused primarily on areas of employment and skill sets. This year the Governance Committee is also looking at which corporations are AWF sponsors, but do not have a representative on the Board currently and the top 20 companies in metro Atlanta. The Committee is also utilizing Committee Members personal and professional network to a greater advantage.
The slate of Board candidate nominees will be presented for a vote at the May 17, Board meeting. There are no Board Members terming off this year and therefore the Committee’s goal is to add three to five new Board Members.
Grant Report
Grantee Convening
DiShonda Hughes shared that AWF will host a grantee convening on Tuesday, May 22nd. Grantees from all three cohorts (Women’s Pathway to Success Program, Women’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Project, Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program) are invited to attend. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) will provide research and analyses on issues related to the cohort’s program goals. GBPI will facilitate the convening and address related policy issues and utilize the gathering to showcase research and evidence-based solutions to address structural barrier, policy landscape analysis and advice. AWF will guide discussions that result in identification of policy changes that need to occur in order for our grantees to achieve their collective goals. In addition, GBPI will share potential paths to change with cohort members. GBPI will research and recommend feasible and timely policy solutions and research-based models.
Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment for Women Grant Initiative
DiShonda announced that the Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment for Women Grant Initiative funded by the Coca-Cola Foundation was launched on February 16, 2018. Eight organizations have been invited to apply. Applications are due on April 9th. The Board will vote on the Grant Committee’s funding recommendations at the May 17th Board meeting. $500,000 will be awarded through this grant initiative in 2018.
2018 Promoting Women and Girls Mental Health & Wellbeing Initiative
For the Women’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Project, DiShonda informed the Board that Year 3 of this initiative has been very successful. The goal was to reach 3,500 women in year one and in 6 months the project has exceeded that goal, having reached 4.410 women living at or below 200% of the federal poverty guideline. She is confident that the project we will reach and/or exceed all of the anticipated outcomes for this initiative.
With the support of The Jesse Parker Williams Foundation, AWF will add four girl serving organizations to the mental health and wellbeing cohort. AWF received a grant in the amount of $75,000 to support the mental health and well-being of teen moms. AWF will also receive a grant in the amount of $30,000 from the Anne K. Spears Humanitarian Fund. Those dollars will be used to support mental health and wellbeing for senior women. AWF will award a total of $105,000 through this initiative. The Board will vote on the Grant Committee’s funding recommendations at the May 17th Board meeting.
Post-Legislative Session Webinar
In partnership with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI), AWF will be host a post-legislative session webinar on Wednesday, April 18th. The webinar will provide grantees with the latest updates on policy debates and changes as the 2018 legislative session comes to a close, as well as engagement opportunities to lean in to policy and advocacy work moving forward.
Fund Development and Communications Reports
Affinity Groups
Women in Finance (WIF)
Event Chair Nancy Halwig shared that Women in Finance will take place on April 24, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the offices of Nelson Mullins. Former CNN Executive Gail Evans will host a conversation with J. Lacey Lewis, Senior Vice President of Finance for Cox Enterprises; and Lauren Childers, Chief Financial Officer of BeavEx. To date, the event has raised over $22,000 in gifts and pledges, meeting its stretch goal, compared to $8,000 the previous year. Sponsors include The Coca-Cola Company, BNY Mellon, FIS, Nelson Mullins, Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP, RSM, and Wells Fargo. Ali Cobb will send out to the Board the WIF solicitation PowerPoint Presentation to review and to use if they have any potential host committee members or sponsors who would be interested in the event.
Women in Law (WIF)
Even Chair Jennifer Hightower updated the Board about this year’s event. The speaker will be crisis manager and inspiration for the television show Scandal, Judy Smith. One of her causes is helping women to advance. The event will most likely be at the Buckhead Theater; the space should be confirmed today. The venue can have up to 700 people and the Planning Committee is seeking to make this an even larger event this year. It will be June 21, from 6:00 – 8:15 pm with a V.I.P. reception from 5:30-6:00 pm.
The Planning Committee has reexamined the giving levels and decided to both raise certain levels as well as add additional ones. AWF Alumna Mary Gill has already secured Thomson Reuters as a sponsor.
Women in Healthcare (WIH)
Sujatha Reddy has agreed to chair the event. It will take place in August or September of this calendar year. Currently, Sujatha and Ali are working to build the Planning Committee. The Committee will also be discussing the purpose of the event to determine if it should be more networking focused or a community awareness event.
Inspire Atlanta
Kristin Adams briefly updated the Board on the application submission and review process. A total of 75 applications were received for the program. She thanked everyone who helped to review the applications, including Board Member Lisa Cannon Taylor. A total of 47 participants were selected – 28 for level one and 19 for level two.
Board Member Lativia Ray-Alston is serving on the Advisory Council and she spoke about how well the initial meet and greet with the participants went at the post-orientation cocktail hour. She also said the Advisory Council is working to choose a few Key Performance Indicators in order to evaluate the program over the seven months.
Ali then gave a short presentation on the upcoming Inspire Atlanta events the Board Members are welcome to attend and how to register for them via Sign Up genius. She highlighted the Poverty Simulation on April 14, because 8 volunteers are still needed to play roles in the simulation and Board Members are welcomed to sign up as a volunteer. She also showed social media highlights from orientation and the first “Breakfast and Learn” on personal branding, hosted by King & Spalding and presented by AWF Alumna, Danica Kombol.
Website Overhaul Presentation
Kate Balzer gave a brief overview of the new website, highlighting the homepage, the major events timeline on the History page, the Board and Staff page and where the Board Members can access the new Board portal. She will send out an email next week letting the Board Members know when they can register for the portal.
Numbers Too Big To Ignore Luncheon
After a Board Member question about the luncheon, Kari Love gave a brief update on the planning process. The challenge this year has been finding a high caliber speaker that will attract a large audience like the previous two years within the luncheon budget. Unable to find the a high caliber speaker at the current allocated funding, it was determined that in order for the luncheon to continue to remain a viable event and awareness building platform, the funding for a speaker would have to increase. An offer has been made to a high caliber speaker; while lower than her listed speaker fee, it is higher than what AWF has previously paid for a luncheon speaker.
Next Meeting
The next Board meeting will be Thursday, May 17, from 4:30pm – 7:00pm at Alston & Bird. The business portion of the meeting will be from 4:30-6:00 pm and the end of the year celebration will be from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.
Adjournment
End: 11:26 AM
Respectfully Submitted by Becky Schmitt, Secretary
Kate Balzer, Board Liaison