AAUW SAR Sharing Session
VA Contribution
June 8, 2002
Tampa, FL
Speaker: Neola
Waller, President
(757) 464-6553
AAUW OF VIRGINIA
BEST OF THE BEST PRACTICES IN 2001-2002
I. Taking advantage of our proximity to Washington, AAUW of Virginia
has held an annual Capitol Hill Lobby Day for many years. On May 9, we gathered
in the Gold Room of the Rayburn Building for a continental breakfast and legislative
briefing. The group of about 35 persons included Nancy Zirkin and Jamie Pueschel,
AAUW Public Policy staff members; Marion Stillson, Association Director of Public
Policy; Peggy Stotz, Chair of the Capitol Hill Lobby Corps; members of the Capitol
Hill Lobby Corps; and AAUW of Virginia members. Zirkin discussed Hate Crimes
legislation and Pueschel, how to lobby congressmen. Virginia members, accompanied
by Lobby Corps volunteers, lobbied their Congressmen and others who might be
swing votes. The members then regrouped and visited their two Senators to urge
support for this legislation.
Further information may be obtained from Anne Sterling, AAUW VA
Vice President for Public Policy for 2000-2002 at <nimbleleap@aol.com>
or Ellen Buchman, AAUW Public Policy Field Manager, at <buchmane@aauw.org>.
II. To celebrate the 75th anniversary of AAUW of Virginia in 2000,
we undertook the Diamond Donor Project to raise $75,000 in individual gifts
of $1,000 from our members to fund the first Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Cheris
Kramarae, in her research on women and distance learning. We were the first
state to attempt funding a Foundation project and we raised gifts and pledges
of more than $75,000 in 17 months, from November 1999 to April 2001. All funds,
in excess of $77,300, were paid in full by December 2001, just 25 months after
we first began. This remarkable feat remains unmatched in AAUW. Steps necessary
for the success of the Diamond Donor Project include
- Selecting a project of wide appeal to gain the commitment of members.
- Choose a chair or chairs who can work together and teach them how to raise
funds.
- Obtain lists of possible donors but don’t be afraid to ask everyone.
- Gain approval and support of the State Board.
- Establish rules, but be flexible (one donor per each $1,000, accept as many
giving plans as possible).
- Educate members to become and to enjoy being philanthropists.
- Ask members personally to become a donors.
- Don’t hesitate asking donors to give a second or even third gift.
The Foundation staff gave AAUW of Virginia an opportunity during the summer of
2001 to plan and host the public release of Dr. Kramarae’s research, which we
had funded. The event was planned by Virginians and held in Virginia. Members
wholeheartedly supported this event and worked to make it successful. The Virginia
Summit on Distance Learning in Higher Education was held September 8, 2001, at
George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. The program featured panelists from
Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, and Northern Virginia Community College
and included the presentation, discussion, and a question and answer session.
The 125 who attended included Jackie Woods, Mary Ellen Smyth, Nancy Eynon Lark,
and Pamela Haag. Packets of AAUW materials and Dr. Kramarae’s report, The Third
Shift: Women Learning Online, were available to all who attended. AAUW of
Virginia is the first state to have presented the release of a Foundation report.
The Diamond Donor Project benefitted AAUW of Virginia in raising our consciousness
about philanthropy, making us believe in ourselves individually and as a state
organization, and developing a closer relationship with the Foundation with a
better understanding of their work. It gained the approval, applause, and praise
of state members. For further information, contact Neola Waller, President, AAUW
of Virginia, 1998-2002, at the address below. Neola Waller, 1630 Arrowhead Point,
Virginia Beach, VA 23455; 757/464-6553; newaller@aol.com
Back to SAR
2002
Last changed
21-Jun-2002