United Way Women’s Leadership Councils
Welcome | Facts at a Glance | The Story | Meet the United Way NWLC | Women in Philanthropy Award
Join the conversation on LinkedIn's Women's Leadership Council Group Site here.
Welcome from Juana Slade, Chair
As Chair of the United Way National Women's Leadership Council, I invite you to join us to make sure every child can read well by the time they enter the 4th grade. We know children need to learn to read, to be prepared to read to learn. We know that learning to read is a critical success factor in increasing graduation rates – and there is something we can do about it. Your part of the solution is simple. Pledge to volunteer as a reading buddy, as a tutor, or as a mentor.
United Way Women's Leadership Councils have responded to United Way's call to action to increase the number of volunteers working on this important issue by one million, as we are committed to recruiting 100,000 volunteers. We know from experience that you begin volunteering to help someone else, and it ends up being you who wins in the end. As Anne Frank so wisely said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
We can help deliver one of the most crucial ingredients to the healthy development of young children. We can cultivate a joy of learning and a desire for education. We can help parents and teachers instill the language and vocabulary skills that children need to achieve their dreams. We can encourage children to choose reading as a free-time activity, to open up new worlds and the promise of a better life ahead.
United Way Women's Leadership Councils believe that when a network of caring, powerful women get together to engage hands on to drive change, anything is possible. Prove us right – start volunteering today!
- Juana Slade
Facts at a Glance
United Way Women's Leadership Council Facts at a Glance
- National network of 50,000 passionate, caring women dedicated to addressing the most critical needs in 120 local communities across the U.S., by giving, advocating and volunteering.
- Mission is to "mobilize the caring power of women to advance the Common Good in our communities" -- members engage hands on in driving change.
- Raised over $700M in contributions in first decade with more members giving more money than any other similar organization.
- Most successful philanthropic organization of its kind in the U.S.; communities including Greensboro, St. Louis, Baltimore and San Antonio lead the way starting the first United Way women's giving programs a decade ago.
- Goals focus on education, income, and health depending on local needs; new emphasis on early grade literacy based on members' alarm at latest statistics.
- Members commit to annual contribution of $1,000 to $10,000 (or more) based on community, and actively engage by giving, volunteering, and advocating.
- Goals include reaching $1 Billion by 2012, putting major dent in early grade literacy statistics; growing locally; increasing awareness locally and nationally; and expanding internationally.
- Women's Leadership Council is an affinity group of United Way Worldwide.
The Story
From a handful of determined and passionate women, this fledgling idea has grown into a national network of some 50,000 members in 120 U.S. communities, and the most successful philanthropic effort of its kind. The United Way Women's Leadership Council was founded a decade ago, based on an ambitious local model seeded in Greensboro, North Carolina four years earlier. Under the visionary leadership of Bonnie McElveen Hunter, later U.S. Ambassador to Finland, the concept recognized women as an emerging and powerful philanthropic force. With more members giving more money than any other similar women's group, the United Way Women's Leadership Council has raised in excess of $700 Million since its inception and set a target of $1 Billion by 2012.
Created and led by women, the Women's Leadership Council is an integral part of United Way. Its proof-positive mission is simple: "Mobilize the power of women to advance the Common Good in our communities." Research has revealed that women's number one philanthropic motivation is "connection to a cause," a point well understood by United Way Women's Leadership Councils' 50,000 members. Grounded in the idea that addressing the most critical local needs lifts the community as a whole and creates a better life for us all, members stand-up, unite, and take action on issues that hit closest to home by giving, volunteering, and advocating.
With a focus on education, income, and health, a sampling of local actions includes: implementation of a nationally-recognized teen pregnancy prevention program in Anderson County, South Carolina; taking-on female foster youth emancipation in Ventura County, California; piloting a new approach to parental engagement in inner city schools in San Antonio, Texas; visiting neighborhood parks to model playtime environments that promote literacy, math and social development activities with young children in Des Moines, Iowa.
According to a recent study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, women are more likely to give and give at a higher amount across most income levels. The United Way Women's Leadership Council is setting the pace with donations that have consistently grown each year. Annual contributions per member range from $1,000 to $10,000 or more.
The corporate community also has taken note of the local impact the United Way Women's Leadership Council is having in its 120 communities. UPS, Best Buy, Macy's, Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo are just some of the companies that have jumped aboard to partner locally and nationally and help further the cause with funding and other resources.
Members' ages, ethnic backgrounds, geographies, professions and interests are diverse, yet the common denominator is a shared belief in the work of the United Way Women's Leadership Councils. A recent survey also showed that members like belonging to an organization created and led by women and connecting with other powerful, committed women in their communities.
The vision of the United Way Women's Leadership Council is to be "the most recognized, esteemed, and flourishing network of its kind to maximize the contribution of women to the Council and their communities – locally, nationally, and globally."
Plans ahead include reaching $1 Billion in contributions by the end of 2012; a major goal to increase early grade literacy; and expansion of membership. If the last ten years are evidence of what 50,000 caring, passionate and powerful women can do, this is only the beginning.
Meet the United Way National Women's Leadership Council
Juana Slade, CHAIR
Director, Diversity and Language Services, AnMed Health
Anderson, SC
Cynthia Gibson, VICE CHAIR
Executive Vice President Legal, Scripps Networks Interactive
Knoxville, TN
Maria M. Blet
Managing Director, KR Financial Services, Inc.
Miami, FL
Taylor Foss
Vice President, Human Resources, LifeBridge Health
Baltimore, MD
Artyn Gardner
Community Volunteer
Irvine, CA
Lourdes German
Vice President, Fidelity
Boston, MA
Margaret Grioli
Vice President, Macy's
New York, NY
Debbie Hubbell
Community Volunteer
Des Moines, IA
Paula Green Johnson
Community Volunteer
Salt Lake City, UT
Gail Lione
President, Harley-Davidson Foundation, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI
Carol MacPhail, CPA, CFP
Former Partner of Deloitte Tax LLP
Pittsburg, PA
Randi Menkin
Director, Workforce Diversity, UPS
Atlanta, GA
Peggy Pace
Community Volunteer
San Antonio, TX
Robyn Pitts
Business Solutions Consultant, Microsoft
West Orange, NJ
Conchita Robinson
President, C Robinson Associates, Inc.
Atlanta, GA
Linda Tarr-Whelan
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Demos
St. Helena Island, SC
Nora Lee Zorich
VP, Research and Development, Procter and Gamble
Mason, OH
PAST CHAIRS:
Kye Kilpatrick Fox
Community Volunteer
San Antonio, TX
Patricia (PJ) Mitchell
Senior Vice President, IBM, Retired
Baltimore, MD
Ann Stallard
Chief Executive Officer, Graphic Communications Corporation
Atlanta, GA
Melanie Sabelhaus
Baltimore, MD
2011 United Way Women in Philanthropy Award Recognizes the Honorable Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
United Way Worldwide and the United Way National Women's Leadership Council named Pace Communications CEO Bonnie McElveen-Hunter the first honoree of the United Way Women in Philanthropy Award at the 2011 United Way Women's Leadership Summit in Newport Beach, CA.
"I can think of no better way to celebrate ten years of the United Way Women's Leadership Council than by honoring its founder," said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide. "Bonnie McElveen-Hunter has been not only an inspiration to the whole United Way network, but also a true pioneer in women's leadership and philanthropy everywhere she goes."
Ms. McElveen-Hunter of Greensboro, NC created the United Way Women's Leadership Council with a vision of 100 communities of women philanthropists raising a collective $1 billion to advance the common good through United Way. Today's United Way Women's Leadership Councils have exceeded Ms. McElveen-Hunter's dream – 120 communities engage 50,000 women and are on target to have raised $1 billion by 2012 to help meet United Way's goals in education, income and health.
Bonnie is one of the country's leading women entrepreneurs. Her recent roles as U.S. Ambassador to Finland, board member for Habitat for Humanity and Chair of the American Red Cross indicate her lifelong commitment to service. She has led Women Business Leaders Summits in Helsinki, Finland, Riga, Latvia and Amman, Jordan to advance entrepreneurship and encourage businesswomen from the Baltic Region to the Middle East to launch or expand business opportunities in their native countries.
"We are so pleased to recognize Bonnie McElveen-Hunter for her trailblazing efforts to create United Way Women's Leadership Councils. We've established the biannual United Way Women in Philanthropy Award to honor women who passionately advance the mission of United Way through innovation and dedication," said Kye Fox, former Chair of the United Way National Women's Leadership Council.
