News / Impact

/ 12.24.19 /

That’s a wrap – our first year of impact

Here at Working for Women, wrapping up 2019 also means wrapping up our first year as an organization.

We have learned, connected, evolved, and met amazing new people on the journey so far.  Our partners continue to do great work on behalf of women, and it is pure joy to be able to support them and help expand their capacity. Our members are experiencing a deeper connection to their work as they see their impact on those in need. Here’s a quick look at W4W at this moment in time:

Year-One Milestones

  • We directly impacted over 75 women with tailored workshops on negotiation skills and Imposter Syndrome, to help them grow personally and professionally.
  • We found new sources of funding for our nonprofit partners, empowering them to expand their programming and capacity.
  • We built tailored skill-based engagement programs for our corporate partners, which resulted in better programming for the nonprofits and talent development for employees.
  • We expanded our reach from the NY Metro Area to the greater Philly area.
  • We worked with two agencies to coordinate their complementary mentoring programs for women, which increased both programs’ impact and extended the length of time these women are supported from one year to two.
  • We welcomed new members like Scout, whose founder made a commitment to invest 1% of revenue and 1% of time in women and are already experiencing rewards. As Scout’s Rose Chan Siow says: “I’m not just working to work, I’m working to make a difference.”

Year-Two Goals

As we enter our second year, the focus is on expansion:

  • We’ll grow our network of members and nonprofit partners, with a goal of 100 members supporting 10 nonprofits by the end of 2020.
  • Through programming supplied by our members, we’ll increase the number of women directly impacted by a factor of 5.
  • We’ll develop a regional expansion model which will allow us to bring our work to additional geographic areas in the U.S.
  • We’ll raise awareness of our work on behalf of businesses and nonprofits, which will in turn increase the impact of moving resources from the business world to those in need.

Personal Stories of Impact

In the end, we find a great measure of success in first-person stories shared by our nonprofit partners, business members, and corporate partners:

Impact for nonprofits and the women they serve
Our efforts help women like Amanda. Getting bullied as a preteen led Amanda to serious drug and alcohol abuse. After rounds of recovery and relapse, Amanda joined Unshattered, where she could finally stay sober and take control of her life path. Today, Amanda in Unshattered’s creative lead and production manager, as well as a mom and community leadership trainee. Working for Women will continue to provide programs and financial support so Unshattered can reach more women.

Impact for business members
Jennifer Willey, founder/CEO of boutique consulting firm Wet Cement, has built her brand around women’s empowerment. Being a member of Working for Women enables her to reinforce her brand and follow her passion. Jennifer says: “Joining forces with Working for Women allows us to be more effective in our corporate giving than by doing so alone, and as an ambassador to others who want to help women.” After conducting a workshop on Impostor Syndrome with our nonprofit partner Raising HOPE, which supports women rebuilding their lives after significant trauma, Jennifer shared her reflections: “Two years ago I decided to make a bigger difference in the world and help others achieve their potential. Last night felt like the true realization of my vision…This was the most rewarding experience I’ve had so far in my professional journey.”

Impact for corporate partners
Hensley Evans, Principal at ZS, a global marketing consulting firm and a W4W founding partner, says, “Our partnership with W4W is both a great cultural fit for ZS and a great opportunity to better serve ZS employees, where giving back is part of what they look for in an employer.”

To sum up 2019: we started this first year with an idea, and in twelve months we have seen that idea in action many times over, changing women’s lives and giving us tremendous momentum for 2020 and beyond.

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