Tag Archives: Funds

AAUW Funds & Living Our Mission of Equity

AAUW Funds By Charmen Goehring

October was a month full of AAUW Funds activities. Members in California enjoyed two online Funds events, previously the Funds Luncheons, each of which highlighted many CA-based recipients of AAUW grants and fellowships.

Their topics of study were diverse and fascinating! While we again missed the in-person opportunity to see friends and meet the recipients, dozens of members who might not otherwise have attended a lunch in the past were able to participate on Zoom. It is always inspiring to see how our contributions have provided support for these young women, some of whom might change the world! There will be one more opportunity to enjoy presentations by a few of our wonderful recipients during the final event on Nov. 7. You can register to attend at www.aauw-ca.org.

Many thanks to those members who consistently send in donations to the AAUW Funds throughout the year via the AAUW website. This is an easy and convenient way to provide funding for our wonderful organization and its programs!

As always, I wish to encourage you to consider honoring your passion for AAUW by joining the Legacy Circle. The Legacy Circle is composed of dedicated AAUW members who have included AAUW in their estates in order to ensure the organization is healthy and able to help women and girls far into the future. If you have been a member of AAUW for 30 years or more, you are passionate about AAUW. Why not take the simple step of joining the Legacy Circle? You can join online at www.aauw.org or contact Charmen for a brochure.

AAUW Sacramento is close to becoming the CA branch with the most Legacy Circle members!!

Living Our Mission of Equity Book Discussion By Charmen Goehring

We hope you will join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases, and what actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. Each month, we read a section of our selected book and then meet to discuss what we have learned, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. This is a joint CHAR/Sacramento activity.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780, or you can join using this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7374203780

We will be discussing the second half of “You Are Your Best Thing” on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen. Charmen’s contact information can be found in the branch Membership Directory.

AAUW CA FUNDS EVENTS COMING SOON!

AAUW CA FUNDS EVENTS COMING SOON! By Charmen Goehring

 Mark your calendars for the inspiring AAUW Funds Events on Zoom on Oct. 23, 2021, and Oct. 30, 2021, both at 10am. We have more than 30 recipients of AAUW grants and fellowships in California and because of the online format, you will have a chance to hear from most of them. The women share their research and how our Funds awards are meaningful to them. Usually, luncheons — two in Northern California and one in Southern California — are held. Being on Zoom makes them accessible to everyone, with no driving and free!! I would like to suggest that you might donate to the AAUW Greatest Needs Fund in lieu of purchasing a luncheon ticket!

You can find out more and register at https://www.aauw-ca.org/aauw-2021-fund-events/ .

AAUW Sacramento Funds & Legacy Circle

AAUW Sacramento Funds & Legacy Circle By  Charmen Goehring

AAUW Sacramento members continue to generously support the AAUW Fund. This is a suite of funds including the Greatest Needs Fund, the Leadership Fund, the Governance and Sustainability Fund, Economic Security Fund and the Education and Training Fund. You can either send a check to our branch, designating where you would like your contribution to go, or safely online via the AAUW website.

Another opportunity to support AAUW and our mission of working to advance gender equity for women and girls is to become a member of the Legacy Circle. There are many ways to recognize AAUW in your estate and the form to join online takes 2 minutes to fill out. I can also send you a hard copy form if you choose. AAUW Sacramento added several new Legacy Circle members last year, giving us the second highest number, behind the AAUW CA Online Branch!!

Please contact Charmen Goehring (charminme@yahoo.com or 207-756-0406) for more information on either contributing to Funds or joining the Legacy Circle.

Membership Renewals and Donations

Membership Renewals and Donations By Sharon Anderson and Liz Jordan

Sharon Anderson, membership treasurer, and Liz Jordan, finance director, want to thank the members who have so eagerly renewed their membership and made significant donations to our branch outreach programs, and to our Dues Assistance Fund and General Branch Operations Fund.

As of the date of this writing, May 15, 2021:

  • 107 branch members have renewed membership on time. Thank You!
  • 49 renewing members used the convenience of online renewal. Last year, at the end of renewal season, a total of 41 members used the national Membership Payment Program (MPP). Conclusion: we are already more efficient this year, in mid-season than we were last year at the end of the renewal season.  This saves hours of branch volunteer time. Good Job!
  • Members have generously donated $7,006 to our local branch activities!
  • Many of our 50-Year, Honorary Life members (MBHL) who do not have to pay branch dues, faithfully send in their $20. We are so appreciative.

The deadline to renew is June 1. Because our newsletter comes out very close to this deadline, we urge every member:

  • If you have not yet renewed, do so as quickly as possible.
  • Whether renewing online or by check and snail mail, all members should return their Renewal Form to Sharon Anderson to update contact information. Did you find that conveniently addressed envelope?  If you can’t find it, Sharon’s address is in the directory.  Her contact info is 916-396-9790; aauw@att.net.

The renewal process requires many hours of volunteer time:

  1. Making trips to the bank to deposit checks.
  2. Updating membership and bank records (lots of data processing).
  3. Notifying Interest Groups and branch committees of members who have indicated an interest in their area of responsibility
  4. Calculating next year’s branch budget, which is based on dues collected.
  5. Updating and preparing the branch directory starting July 1
  6. Printing and mailing the directory to the membership in early August.

Sharon Anderson and Liz Jordan want to thank all members for their timely renewal and for the generosity of their donations to local and national needs. Thank you!

Funds Update

Funds Update By Charmen Goehring

Do you remember the statewide Legacy Circle contest that ends June 30? AAUW Sacramento is close to winning!! If you have been thinking about remembering AAUW in your estate, this would be a great time to make that commitment and join the Legacy Circle! Call me if you have questions, or find a brochure on aauw.org.

Between January and May, our branch has contributed more than $2,700 to the AAUW Funds. Thank you to each of you who has made a donation. The majority of those monies went to the Greatest Needs Fund, which allows AAUW the maximum in flexibility to address needs as they arise, as well as fund the majority of our signature projects and staff. Please consider a gift to AAUW’s Greatest Needs Fund today!

AAUW Membership Renewal

AAUW Membership Renewal By Sharon Anderson

The branch renewal letters went out in the mail on Monday, April 19. The day before that, I sent out, to all our members, a mass email that includes National’s invoice form. If you will use National’s emailed invoice form to renew this year, to that we say: Yippee!  It saves us a lot of time and trouble, getting all the dues in the right slot very quickly.

The invoice was mailed out from my computer, but it doesn’t look like it because I have to use National’s program. The email will be from memberinfo@AAUW.org.

National’s email invoice is easy, as you no doubt learned last year, but here’s a refresher, just in case:  1) open the email with your credit/debit card in hand; 2) click on the blue (aqua?) highlighted option 1: “Click here to use debit or credit card”; 3) fill in the blanks; 4) click “next”; 5) click the “submit” button at the end.  Besides dues, you can also donate to any of National’s Funds on this invoice.

For any donations that you wish to make to any of Sacramento’s programs with your renewal, please include a check mailed with your renewal form, because National will not process our branch donations.

If you have any problems, please call me. Please be sure to postal mail back your paper application to me, as we do need it for our bookkeeping purposes. If the emailed invoice gets lost in your inbox, just let me know and I’ll send you another one.

If you haven’t renewed as you read this, renew now! Thank you!

Sharon Anderson, Membership Treasurer
916-396-9790

Funds Update, Legacy Circle, and Living Our Mission of Equity

AAUW Sacramento Funds Update By Charmen Goehring

Many thanks to those of you who send in regular gifts to AAUW to help our beloved organization advance our mission of gender equity. Making a regular monthly gift that is automatically withdrawn from your account is very easy to set up online. No more remembering to write the check! I love how easy it makes it to give on a regular basis, and it also allows AAUW to plan for the contributions.

I was talking the other day to an AAUW friend, who is on the state board, about the Legacy Circle. She revealed to me that she thought one needed to have a healthy bank account in order to become a member. I thought that if she has this assumption, others might as well. The answer is, no, you do not need to be well off to be a Legacy Circle member! A Legacy gift is not something you give during your lifetime — it is given by your estate. There are many ways to leave a gift, including making AAUW a beneficiary on an insurance policy or annuity (this is what I have done), donating a set sum or a percentage of your estate, creating a charitable gift annuity, or even creating a COD account at your bank (You deposit money now, either one time, or several deposits, and it is payable to AAUW upon your death). Knowing that I am a part of helping secure the future of AAUW, an organization that I have contributed my time and talents to for 28 years now, makes me feel proud.

I would love to welcome more AAUW Sacramento members to the Legacy Circle. Please reach out to me for more information! Or go right to the AAUW website to enroll!

Living Our Mission of Equity By Charmen Goehring

We invite you to join us in a monthly equity conversation looking at our own biases and what

Charmen Goehring

actions we can take to attract diversity to our branch and become better people in the process. We are reading the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and discussing what we have read, along with exploring other issues related to race and equity. We meet the second Wednesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom.

The Zoom meeting code is 737 420 3780 or you can join using this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7374203780.

We will discuss Part 3 on May 12 at 7 p.m. If you have questions and to RSVP, please email Charmen at charminme@yahoo.com.

NCCWSL Update

Update from our First NCCWSL Attendees By Gloria Yost

In 2019, the Sacramento Branch sponsored Billie Veerkamp and Alexis Jimenez to attend the prestigious National Conference for College Women Student Leaders — NCCCWSL.  Here, Billie and Alexis reflect on what NCCWSL meant to them and share their new plans.

Billie and Alexis fly for the first time as they travel to NCCWSL

My name is Billie Veerkamp, I’m currently a senior at Sacramento State, majoring in women and gender studies with a minor in anthropology. I’m graduating in May and plan to remain in the Sacramento area and work for a year or two before pursuing further education. I have been involved with the student chapter of AAUW for four years now, and have had many opportunities to learn and grow from my experience with the organization. In May 2019, I had the privilege of attending the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. One of the most important things I learned at NCCWSL was not to take myself out of the running. Out of the many workshops and panels I attended, this small piece of advice stuck out to me because it is the encouragement I need to push back against limiting beliefs of what I can accomplish. I’ll be keeping that piece of advice in mind over the next year or so while I apply for jobs and master’s programs.

Hello, I am Alexis Jimenez in my fourth year of college at Sacramento State. I’m double majoring in anthropology with a concentration in archaeology and biology, and women’s and gender studies. Currently, I’ve been working as the women’s and gender studies department student peer mentor, and my planned graduation is spring 2022.  My connection with AAUW started in 2019, where I’ve been able to develop personal and educational growth. I was luckily able to attend the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders and, through this honored experience, I got to meet amazing people and take away knowledge from each keynote speaker. NCCWSL exposed me to so many fresh and invigorating minds. My most prominent takeaway was being able to be in a room with so many young people, all aspiring for better change in their communities. I, too, am striving to create spaces for thoughtful and cooperative change in my communities. It’s special and liberating to be involved with others, and understand their efforts for equity in their work and bring that experience to my future academic endeavors.

Update on Funds, Legacy Circle, AAUW CA Annual Meeting

Update on Funds, Legacy Circle, AAUW CA Annual Meeting By Charmen Goehring

Although I had planned to host a silent auction to benefit the Greatest Needs Funds in April, I

Charmen Goehring

have yet to hear from anyone expressing interest in participating. Generally, we have benefited from a small auction in January at the annual Interbranch Council luncheon — we did not have that opportunity this year with the event on Zoom. I am looking for members to donate items. (It can be a service offered, physical item or specialty — for example, I just won a bid for three months of oranges delivered to my house next winter in another auction.) I just need a picture or two of the offering and a sentence or two describing it. If we have sufficient interest, we will run the online auction in May.  Please contact Charmen Goehring for more information.

Legacy Circle

I would also like to congratulate and thank Ruth Werner for making the decision to join the Legacy Circle. By pledging to leave a gift to AAUW, Ruth is living her values and dedication to equity for women and girls. If you would like to follow Ruth’s example and join the other Sacramento members who have already made plans to support AAUW’s mission into the future, click here or visit https://www.aauw.org/resources/member/support-aauw/leave-a-legacy/ or contact Charmen Goehring.

AAUW CA Annual Meeting  – April 17, 2021, 9:30am-1:00pm

From the comfort of your home, come hear how AAUW CA and its branches fared during the past year!

Named Gift Awardees and Activity of the Year will be announced, Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson will be honored for her many years of support, and we will receive an update from National Board Chair Julia Brown. The Speech Trek finalist videos will be shown and the winner named. Jo Harberson’s daughter will announce her final gift and share some words on what AAUW meant to her mother. Legacy Circle members will be recognized (including those in the Sacramento branch!) and we will meet the candidates running for the State Board next month. The event will wrap up with a special treat — the play “We Did It For You”, directed by past State President Cathy Foxhoven.

Register to attend the online event at aauw-ca.org. For more information, contact Charmen Goehring.