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Tuesday Blast: Want the 411 on our grants?
Delivered July 13, 2010

July 2010 Edition

We're proud to announce new grants to 30 Chicago-area nonprofit organizations that are working to make our community safe, just and healthy for women and girls. The spring grants, which come from our General Fund, The Sophia Fund for Advocacy, the Irene Bayrach Anti-Violence Legacy Fund and our five Leadership Councils' funds, total $411,000. Learn more about all of the grantees on our website.

It was a record-breaking year for our five Leadership Councils, which altogether gave $42,000 to nonprofits working in diverse Chicago communities. At a June celebration of the Leadership Councils, Nicole Prichard (pictured below), outgoing steering committee co-chair of the Young Women's Leadership Council, shared a story about her first steps into philanthropy.

"The council helped me learn the importance of women's philanthropy and feel comfortable asking people for donations," Nicole says. When she asked some family friends for a $1,000 contribution, Nicole was nervous—it was the largest donation she'd ever asked for—but her friends quickly said yes. Nicole says, "It made me realize that they had heard me talk many times about the council and my passion for helping young women and girls. All those offhand conversations were really about stewardship. Without realizing it I had paved the way for them to make a generous gift."

As Nicole humbly points out, she is not the only council member to succeed in raising money. This year the Young Women's Leadership Council's fund benefited from amazing growth in membership, event proceeds, and donations large and small. Nicole says, "Every dollar the fund gets comes in because a young woman had the nerve to ask for it. And that's no small feat."

Left: More than 60 Foundation supporters toasted the Leadership Councils on June 23, in spite of a riotous thunderstorm. Left to right: Jane M. Saks, Lesbian Leadership Council co-chair; Sharmila Rao Thakkar, board member; Mae P. Hong, Alumnae Council member and past board chair; and Queta Rodriguez Bauer, board secretary.	Right: Three Leadership Council co-chairs were recognized for two years of service: Sheeba Suhaskumar (Young Women's), Lilliana De Santiago (Latina) and Nicole Prichard (Young Women's). Sheeba and Nicole are stepping down as co-chairs this year.

Our updated grant guidelines and forms for Fall 2010 are online now.
Applications are due by Friday, Aug. 20 at 5 p.m.



Thanks to a detailed report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), leadership from Attorney General Lisa Madigan and media pressure, last week Illinois became the first state to pass a law requiring the testing of all DNA evidence gathered from people who have reported being raped or sexually assaulted. The HRW report suggests that in Illinois, up to 80 percent of such evidence—known as rape kits—are never tested. The new law "is expected to unearth thousands of unexamined rape kits from police vaults" when it goes into effect Oct. 1, according to the Chicago Tribune.

However, advocates remain skeptical of the law because of a big loophole: funding. The law says that once rape kits are collected, they must be sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab within 10 days and examined within six months—as long as there are "sufficient staffing and resources," but the law currently has no state funding. Meanwhile, Attorney General Madigan is seeking federal funding to support enforcement of the law, the New York Times reports.

Community Response
Local anti-violence grantees offer their expert opinions on the new rape kit research and Illinois law:

• Anne K. Ream, founder of the Voices and Faces Project, says, "The Human Rights Watch report reminds us that rape and sexual violence are violations of human rights, happening right here in our community. My hope is that the passage of this law kicks off a broader discussion about what survivors endure in the wake of an act of violence, too often because of the institutional failures of those who are charged with protecting or securing justice for victims. This law is just one tool for victims seeking justice--but it can be an important tool. These policy failures exist in the first place because the public does not take violence against women seriously enough."
• Kaethe Morris Hoffer, legal director at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, says: "While most men never use force to obtain sex, research suggests that many (if not most) of those who do, do so repeatedly. For too long it has taken a second victim to be raped in order for a first one to be believed, and while rape kit testing may not undo that problem, we believe it helps move our society in the right direction by taking all rape complaints seriously."
• Sharmili Majmudar, executive director of Rape Victim Advocates, says, "Unlike most other crimes, in rape the victim's body is the actual scene of the crime. Survivors of sexual violence submit to a process that renders them vulnerable and often re-traumatized: a stranger photographing them naked, swabbing the most intimate parts of their body, pulling pubic hairs and other procedures that makes most of us cringe. The Human Rights Watch report reveals that the painstaking evidence collection that so many Illinois victims go through, in good faith and believing that they are helping to apprehend their assailant, is not treated as the valuable evidence it is."

Save two Sundays this August for the Women's Empowerment Summer Film Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, featuring four powerful documentaries about women's and girls' lives. The films are free and open to the public, with the support of Chicago Foundation for Women, Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. After each film, stay for panel discussions with some of Chicago's foremost experts and activists on the issues brought up by the films. 

On Aug. 15, we'll focus on economic security and community organizing. First, "Made In L.A." documents the lives, struggle and personal transformation of three Latina garment factory workers over a tumultuous three-year period. Panelists will include Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) and the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center. Next "Taking the Heat" explores the history of women firefighters in America and the price they paid to serve their communities, with a focus on Captain Brenda Berkman of the Fire Department of New York. The panelists will come from Women Employed and Chicago Women in Trades.

On Aug. 22, watch films about girls and young women. Start with "Going On 13," and follow four girls of color through puberty as they let go of childhood and fumble—or sprint—toward an uncertain future. Alternatives, Inc., Girls in the Game and Women and Girls Collective Action Network will be on the panel. Finish the festival with "Troop 1500" about a unique Girl Scout troop in Texas that unites daughters with incarcerated mothers, who are facing steep sentences from the courts and tough questions from their children. Learn more about the issues from Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM) and the Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. 

Learn more about the film series on our website.



Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) is working with women on Chicago's West Side through the "Lawndale League of Extraordinary Women." This appropriately named group is offering information on building assets and managing money to address an entrenched community problem. As WBEZ's Natalie Moore said in her July 6 story, "Too few [Lawndale residents] have assets they can tap if they hit on hard times. That can mean the difference between surviving a lay off, or slipping into poverty." Listen to the WBEZ report or read a transcript.



Visit our website calendar to see all our upcoming programs and events.

JULY 19 (Mon.): Proyecto Latina featuring Cristina Correa, 7 p.m.
     (cosponsored by the Latina Leadership Council)
AUG. 15 (Sun.): Women's Empowerment Summer Film Series: "Made in L.A." and "Taking the Heat"
AUG. 20 (Fri.): Grant application deadline for Fall 2010, 5 p.m.
AUG. 22 (Sun.): Women's Empowerment Summer Film Series: "Going On 13" and "Troop 1500"
SEPT. 30 (Thurs.): 25th Anniversary Luncheon with Soledad O'Brien
     Tables on sale now!

Job Openings at CFW
Visit our jobs page to see job announcements for President and CEO and Development Associate.

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