Working together for causes that matter
Women Giving for Spartanburg Women Giving for Spartanburg (WGFS) began celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2022. The group has awarded $3,142,613 to 77 different organizations serving Spartanburg County Residents. WGFS is a giving circle, a group of women with shared values who pool their resources and collectively determine where to use those resources to improve the community. Memberships ($1,200 per year) collected from January through December provide the collective fund from which grants are awarded at an annual meeting held in May each year. In 2007, Mary L. Thomas (then serving as SCF Executive Vice President) and the late Sally Foster (then serving as an SCF Trustee) approached Angela Smith, Tracy Hannah, and Julie Lowry about the opportunity to start a giving circle. The goal was to gather women to experience the power of collective giving and the joy of helping local agencies change lives in the Spartanburg community. WGFS was born with Foundation staff providing the initial operational support to incubate the initiative. By the end of 2022, the 144-member group, supported by consultant program coordinator Elizabeth-Kelly Pope, refreshed its logo, created its website, and expanded its social media presence. While the Foundation still provides several levels of behind-the-scenes support, WGFS now has a 3-year committee structure to support continuity of leadership for its events, membership development, grants, fund development, education, and communications. Now, post-COVID, the group has been adding to its calendar of social events and outreach to recruit new members and expand its impact. To learn more, visit: womengivingspartanburg.org
Ì This 7-minute Founders Video provides insight into the WGFS heritage of collective giving: bit.ly/WGFSFounders