The Junior League of Portland, ME 2021-2022 Annual Report

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF PORTLAND, MAINE

2021- 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Who We Are MISSION The Junior League of Portland, Maine is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The Junior League of Portland, ME reaches out to women of all races, religions, and national origins who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.

The Junior League of Portland is a member of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc.

VALUES The Junior League of Portland, ME is guided by the following values: • DIVERSITY • COLLABORATION • COMMUNITY

• LEADERSHIP • RESPECT • SERVICE

• EMPOWERMENT

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING

The Junior League of Portland, ME welcomes all women who value our mission. We are committed to creating inclusive environments for all individuals, organizations and communities.

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President’s Message Dear League Members and Friends: Last May, as the incoming President, I asked the membership of the League to go all in with me as we embarked on our 99th year. As many of you have heard me say, League members are ready at a moment’s notice to be called upon as servant leaders within the League and in their communities. In our 2021-2022 League year, the membership rose to the occasion and beyond, proving once again the Junior League of Portland is a powerhouse of women.

I asked for the League’s all as we navigated a changing pandemic landscape, a return to in-person volunteer shifts and committee meetings and taking on planning duties above and beyond as we ready to celebrate our Centennial year. I asked, and the League answered with a resounding “yes!”

Looking back on this year, and the work our committees have accomplished, I see the collective strength of women making an impact on behalf of the League. Our Fund Development committee has continued to strategize and execute new fundraising efforts to sustain the League and our mission. Our New Member committee - and our new members - brought incredible new energy, new skills, and new ideas to our membership. Our Community committee’s continued commitment to Free the Flow week has put the League at the forefront of fighting period poverty. The behind the scenes work of Leadership Development & Member Events, Marketing & Communications, and Placement & Mentoring - the work these women do keep the League moving, learning, and connecting. I cannot overstate how important each committee member and each project is, and how vital to the League’s continued work in the community they all are.

Looking forward, there is much to be excited about. The JLP Centennial: Progress, Powered By Women will showcase all we have accomplished, and will set the stage for our next one hundred years. Next year will not only be different from this year and last as we work toward a post-pandemic normal, but it will be the merging of past and future. Based on the work this year, the previous 98 years, and knowing the women of the Junior League of Portland, ME are at the helm - our future looks bright.

I am honored to have served as President for the 2021-2022 League year, and on the eve of our Centennial, I am beyond excited to see what’s next.

With Gratitude,

Hilary M. Scott President, 2021 – 2022

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Leadership 2021-2022 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Hilary M. Scott President-Elect Belle Bocal Treasurer Alexis Dirkmaat Recording Secretary Natalie Kreckel Community Vice President Emily Machesney Fund Development & LDME Vice President Kristen Preble Marketing & Communications Vice President Kate Reilly Mentoring & Placement Vice President Jess Nason Sustaining Directors Cathy Steele and Diane Lebson

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Chair Allie Gill

2021-2022 COMMITTEE CHAIRS COMMUNITY IMPACT Chair Caitlyn Lloyd Assistant Chair Maggie Fleming

PLACEMENT Chair Eliza Warren Giberson

FUND DEVELOPMENT & LDME Assistant Chair Allie Floyd

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NEW MEMBER Chair Anna Lowell Assistant Chair Maria Maffucci & Sarah Moir MENTORING Chair Lillian Shields Assistant Chair Ellen Berg

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Christine Babb

Community Impact With the continued pandemic, it remained challenging to schedule in-person volunteer activities requiring the Community Committee to employ a hybrid of new and old tactics to support the JLP’s focus area, “Positive Youth Development.”

Despite these continued challenges, the Committee executed a robust calendar of virtual and in person service opportunities and events.

To meet the needs of the growing new Mainer population in the Greater Portland area, the Committee hosted a shoe and sock drive in November, collecting 21 pairs of shoes and 106 pairs of socks, that were distributed by Opportunity Alliance.

“Just today at a meal distribution I was also giving out the socks and boots to some very appreciative people.

It really lifted their spirits to be able to have warm and dry feet in this terrible cold. Your thoughtfulness and partnership have been invaluable.”

- Brittney Sampson, RESIDENT LED COMMUNITY BUILDING COORDINATOR AT THE OPPORTUNITY ALLIANCE In January, the Community Committee hosted a Podcast Discussion of “Sold in America” in recognition of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

“Listening to the podcast and participating in the discussion increased my understanding of the multifaceted issue of human trafficking and connections with the JLP’s issue focus area, “Positive Youth Development.”

- Maggie Fleming, ASSISTANT CHAIR, COMMUNITY COMMITTEE League members also virtually participated in the Red Sand Project, a participatory artwork that uses sidewalk interventions and earthwork installations to create opportunities for people to question, connect and take action against vulnerabilities that can lead to human trafficking and exploitation. Members were encouraged to share photos of their installations on social media.

In March, the JLP helped staff Blizzard Bash, an annual community fun day in partnership with Westbrook Community Policing and the CPPC work group of social service providers. Attendees made art, played pickup basketball with police officers, experimented with giant parachutes, and generally had a blast. Kids took home brand new books of their choosing. The Brownsville neighborhood has a high concentration of new Mainers and the event helped foster community connections for all.

Also in March, the Committee hosted the JLP’s 2nd Annual Free the Flow Week. This public awareness campaign engages League members and the public on period poverty using social media and daily challenges. This year’s Free the Flow week included members assembling menstruation station supplies and culminated with a Virtual Action Hour hosted by the Maine Women’s Lobby. The League collected 4,000 menstrual products during this year’s campaign which will be donated to Preble Street, I Support the Girls, and Camp Susan Curtis as well as other area nonprofits.

The JLP held its 11th annual Kids in the Kitchen in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club in May. This year marked the return of an in-person one day celebration, a welcome sign of normalcy for kids and JLP members alike.

Finally, the Community Committee has begun to look forward to the JLP’s Centennial. We are connecting with past partners and have begun to plan for 100 service hours in celebration of 100 years of the Junior League of Portland. Service opportunities will continue during our normally dormant summer months.

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Fund Development & LDME

FUND DEVELOPMENT

• Held a photography fundraiser in the Fall offering family photos, headshots, and more to members and the public.

• Raised funds for the League through our President’s Annual Appeal - consisting of generous donations from our membership.

• Received in-kind donations from a variety of local businesses including: Shannon Dant Photography, Portland Yoga Collective, Stroudwater Distilling, the Children’s Museum & Theatre, University of New England, Migis Hotel Group, coworkHERS, Back Bay & Hilltop Superettes, Explore Movement, the Maine Mariners, and The Roux Institute.

• Received corporate sponsorship donations from Dirigo Collective, Smart Eye Care and Cornerstone Financial Planning.

• Hosted our Annual One-Day Facebook & Instagram fundraiser to leverage our members’ friends, families, and colleagues on behalf of the League.

• We spent many hours planning for upcoming exciting Centennial fundraising activities.

“I enjoyed being part of JLP’s fundraising efforts – finding potential corporate sponsors to support the League was a great way for me to help as a new member!”- Dorothy VanDine

TOTAL RAISED

Corporate Sponsorships & Other Donations: $2,935 Facebook & Photography Fundraisers: $2,907

“I loved the Sustainer & Active Member Networking event! It was amazing to meet and swap stories with Sustainers who have been in the League for decades.”- Allyson Hitte

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President’s Annual Appeal: $4,835 The above numbers represent net profits

LDME

• Held two member training sessions including a Financial Education night with female leaders in the industry - offering members a chance to learn about best practices and ask questions of trained professionals; we held a Sustainer & Active Networking session for members to discuss their shared experiences in the League and learn from each other on where the League has been and where we’re going in the future.

• Hosted three Girls Nights Out events promoting relationship building among members including a pilates & dinner event at a local female-owned studio, a family-friendly trip to the Mariner’s Game for Women in Sports Night, and a sip & socialize event at a local seltzer & cider bar.

• Coordinated seven General Membership Meetings with venues such as the Black Point Inn, the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, and the University of New England.

• Brought our membership together for a historic Annual Meeting (in-person for the first time in three years!) at the Black Point Inn with guest speaker Mayor Kate Snyder.

Marketing & Communications As the Marketing and Communications Committee of the League, our job is to keep our members informed, engaged and connected. Externally, we work with our community to spread awareness, to listen to our community partners and to help initiate or encourage change where it is needed.

During the League year we introduced a new role on our committee – the League Liaison – who strengthened the bridges between committees and helped us stay ahead of the game with incoming news and scheduled events. We created the League’s first organic social media strategy utilizing the power of Instagram and Facebook to spread awareness and boost our brand. Our strategy included detailed content pillars, a hashtag plan, and guidelines on tone, frequency, and networking.

With this new strategy in place, we saw our Instagram account grow by 141 new followers and our Facebook account grow by 35 new fans. Our engagement rate on Instagram grew from 8.4% to 9.69%, helped in part by multiple reposts from large local accounts like @portlanddowntown (19.4K followers) and @portlanddowntown (57.1K followers). We had 132 Shares from our Free the Flow content and introduced a number of new series including Ask A Member, Local Love, Provisional Placement updates and Meet the Board to keep our followers involved and engaged.

Throughout the year the Marketing and Communications Committee also showcased the JLP at the Maine Women’s Conference, participated in Date Your Slate, refreshed the website with dynamic content, sent out over 40 emails & newsletters to membership and promoted internal and external events from recruitment gatherings to DEI trainings to financial education panels to speed networking with our sustainers.

“MarComm has continued our three-year run as the most fun committee in the JLP! We thank all of our collaborators for their help telling the League story—whether it’s through sharing event photos, responding to a prompt on Instagram or hosting a Facebook fundraiser. Members are our very favorite part of the JLP brand!”

- Abigail Henry,

MARKETING & COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE MEMBER

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Mentoring The Mentoring Committee reflected this year on the importance of relationships in League engagement.

Informal mentoring remains our north star, as we really believe that we are a collective of brilliant and talented women who mentor one another informally at every interaction. Additionally, we have made an investment in actively establishing relationships within the League. These years of pandemic have created a new world of inclusivity, allowing parents to finish a Zoom meeting just in time to walk across the hall and tuck a little one into bed and allowed women from a wider radius from Portland to join our membership.

These years have also created distance and made it hard to share in one another’s energy. It removed excited hugs following League triumphs and the banter and dialogue over dinner at GMMs. In the distance and the exhaustion of the pandemic, the Mentoring Committee actively outreached League leaders and members to establish relationships and began developing a plan for the Mentoring Committee’s responsibility to engagement in the future. We have learned so much from the informal mentoring we have experienced this year and look forward to advancing our commitment to the League experience in collaboration with you all in the coming year.

“When I was a new member and I heard about LDME I thought the “ME” stood for Member Engagement. I then learned about the League and the important role LDME plays. I am also excited about incorporating ME, as I originally thought of it, into our Mentoring work. It’s been a thoughtful, centering and productive year.” - Lillian Shields, CHAIR, MENTORING

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New Member The 2021-2022 Junior League year started off with several recruiting events for prospective new members over the course of the summer. Two of the highlights were the event at Maine Mead Works and a Saturday morning coffee chat at Rwanda Bean.

In September we welcomed twelve women to the League as new members. Our committee’s focus from September to December was getting the New Members familiar with the League’s history as well as our current mission and structure.

We were able to plan and host the Super Saturday in person this year.

A special highlight on this year’s trolley tour was the stop to see the new building and location for the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. New Member Committee also planned and hosted Date Your Slate and we had members from all JLP committees join us to share information about the work their committees do to help the new members decide on their placements for January.

While the 2021-2022 class was small in numbers, they brought an incredible amount of passion, dedication and enthusiasm for the League. This year’s class bonded instantly over the mission of the League and attended many events both inside and outside of the League as a group. From girls’ nights out, to GMMs, this year’s new member class has been engaged in everything the League has had to offer. We are looking forward to all that this group will contribute to the League in future!

“The trolley tour was a highlight of my League year - made new friendships and experienced so much of the rich history the JLP has with the city of Portland!”- Jennifer Higy, NEW MEMBER

2021-2022 NEW MEMBERS

Aubrey Baum Erica Berry Elizabeth “Beta” Eaton Mary Henson Jennifer Higy Jessilin Quint

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Carter Ramquist Alicia Roberts Katherine Smith Kayla Sterling Anna Traugh Dorothy VanDine

Placement Mentoring The Placement Committee started the 2021-2022 League year with a feeling of excitement and optimism as we entered a new League year…back in-person! We were eager to get back to in-person events and finally connect face-to-face with our amazing members.

At our first committee meeting of the year, we worked on assigning each of our members with a Placement advisor: someone our League members can connect with and discuss placement opportunities, trainings and membership status changes, just to name a few.

Conversations began early on around capacity. So much had changed in the last year, we knew that we needed to divide our goals for the year and delegate the workload to meet the capacity of our committee members. At times, that meant a change in our standard League calendar, but we were still able to tackle important milestones…. …Starting with the placement of our President Elect. We notified members who were eligible and started the nomination process. After reviewing our nominees, we began our interview process and were ecstatic to present our 2023-2024 League President, Christine Babb. This year, we were able to bring back our PEE Celebration in person, although we had to postpone the event due to rising COVID cases, we were ultimately able to celebrate Christine at one of our favorite League partners’ new location, Cellardoor Winery.

At our February GMM, Placement Chair, Eliza Warren Giberson, facilitated a dynamic presentation on “Setting Yourself and the League Up For Success” ahead of nomination season. We had a robust conversation with the membership during our virtual GMM and were excited to kick off leadership nominations.

The Placement Committee was ecstatic to see the overwhelming interest our members had in leadership positions this year! Many members have expressed interest in leading committees and expanding their skill sets through the League and we could not be more proud of them!

“We look forward to watching our newest League leaders shine in the 2022-2023 Centennial Year!”

- Jess Nason, VP MENTORING + PLACEMENT

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Treasurer’s Mentoring Report The Finance Council was led by Treasurer Alexis Dirkmaat and Assistant Treasurer Jenney Pantenburg this year.

The Finance Council’s key objectives for the year included focusing on the League’s strategic spending opportunities for long-term sustainment and promoting financial education for our members. Our accomplishments for the year include: • Hosted a Financial Education Panel event to increase personal financial literacy among members • Offered additional tech-enabled methods for both internal processes and member dues paying • Negotiated revised terms to our office lease • Introduced the concept of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) to the Board for future decision-making, in alignment with our DEI efforts • Oversaw endowment fund investments, in partnership with our advisors at Morgan Stanley • Continued to improve business as usual processes supporting budget development and financial reporting.

OUR ACCOUNT BALANCES* Operating Account: $21,326.14 Community Trust: $6,853.09 Operating Reserves: $56,135.17 Endowment Fund: $264,465.60 *BALANCES AS OF 4/19/22

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“Our ​ Financial Education Panel event during the Fall was a fantastic opportunity to learn from female industry leaders about personal finance strategies we can all put into practice now.” - Alexis Dirkmaat, TREASURER

Placement Mentoring Sustainers While the pandemic continued to rage through the 2021-2022 League year, Sustainers remained undaunted in their commitment to fellowship and service. The League year started with a luncheon at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club, generously hosted by Jill Bryant. Following the luncheon, members enjoyed a blissful walk through the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens where we walked amongst giant trolls as part of the “Guardians of the Seeds” exhibit.

We also launched the Sustainer Steering Committee, a group of Sustainers committed to providing insight and counsel to actives and our League’s overall direction. Members of the Sustainer Steering Committee include: Cathy Steele & Diane Lebson, Co-Chairs Jill Bryant Elisabeth Cohen Sandy Couch-Kelly Anne Dalton Terri Decoster Bonnie Dowling Meg Flack Laurie Hyndman Kim Koehler Beth Peterson Martha Sprague Dodo Stevens Sally Vamvakias One of the major activities of this year was a Speed Networking event that was crafted by Sustainers Anne Dalton, Meg Flack, and Laurie Hyndman – it was one of the first maskless, in-person events our League has hosted since the pandemic started. The Sustainer Book Club continued to flourish under the leadership of Sandy Couch-Kelly. We even managed to meet in person when the weather permitted – it was such a joy to talk about our favorite books, podcasts, and streaming binges over a firepit! The Junior League of Portland is grateful to Cathy Steele, our retiring Sustainer Co-Chair. A past president of our League, Cathy’s warmth and grace helped us navigate challenging times. As we look towards our League’s Centennial, we remain committed to sharing our time, talent, and treasure with our sisters in service.

“When I moved to Maine in 2018, I was thrilled to find my tribe in the Junior League of Portland. I can’t imagine being without my Sustainer sisters.”

- Diane Lebson, SUSTAINER TRANSFER FROM THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF WASHINGTON

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JUNIOR LEAGUE OF PORTLAND, MAINE

2021- 2022 ANNUAL REPORT