Women's Fund October Monthly Update
Welcome to the second monthly update of the Women's Fund of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation.  New things are happening with the Women's Fund this fall:

• Thank you, Advisory Council Members!
  In August, we streamlined and simplified the structure of our Women's Fund leadership board. This meant that several members of our Advisory Council stepped down from that leadership role, some of them after many years of service. Our deepest thanks go to these volunteers for their work on behalf of the fund as Advisory Council members in 2009: Nora Bartram, Carol Schlossman, Chelle Lyons Hanson, Karen Robinson, Karen Skjold, Christine Kloubec, Lynne Kovash, Maureta Studebaker, Nancy Frost, Katie Nichelson, Ann O'Connor Sandgren, Bobbi Shreve, Sue Morton and Lori Thallman-Pytlik. Many of these volunteers are continuing to serve as committee members, and we know all will remain friends and ambassadors for the Women's Fund! Thank you!
• Endowment Fund Improving after Economic Downturn
  The Women's Fund Endowment Fund, like all investments, decreased last year with the economic crisis. The good news is that the fund is creeping back upward as the markets have improved. Our goal remains raising a million dollars and more to help women and girls in our communities!
• New Leadership Board Meets, Committees Build
  Our new leadership board held its first meeting in September. Our active committee leads - Debbie Coston (fundraising events), Catherine Black (publicity), Harriette McCaul (donor relations), Lisa Schwinden (grant giving and grant writing) and Janet Drechsel (research) - are now gearing up their committees. As these committees develop their 2010 plans, we will introduce committee members and their projects in future issues of this newsletter.
• Planning Retreat To Be Held in November
  The Women's Fund Leadership Board will hold its 2010 planning retreat in the fall this year. Normally, the retreat is held early in the new year, but at the suggestion of several wise women, we are scheduling it for late fall so we can jump right into the new year with our goals and plans in place. Since our board includes all the committee chairs, we plan to focus on each committee's specific goals, events and deadlines for 2010, all tying in to the mission of the Women's Fund. If you have input you would like to give, please contact Becky at 361-1282 or Karen at 451-7528.
• Pat Hits the Ground Running!
  Pat Jorgensen, the new fundraising manager for the Women's Fund, is well underway in her new position. Working closely with Cher Hersrud, advancement officer with the F-M Area Foundation, Pat is reaching out to past supporters and potential donors. Part of Pat's approach is simply to update our friends on what's happening with the Women's Fund. We know she has already met with some of you. When you meet Pat, you will enjoy her passion for the women's and children's issues that are important to all of us. We are very excited to have Pat help us re-energize and raise more dollars for the Women's Fund!
• Thank you, F-M Area Foundation!
  As you know, the Women's Fund is a component fund of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation. FMAF and its executive director, Steve Guerber (who joined the foundation in early 2009), have been extremely supportive of the Women's Fund. Steve considers the Women's Fund a win-win for FMAF, commenting, "When the Women's Fund succeeds, we all do!" Steve frequently joins us for our Leadership Board meetings, as does FMAF advancement officer Cher Hersrud. Cher is also supervising Pat Jorgensen, the Women's Fund fundraising manager, who was hired by the Foundation using grant dollars received from the Chambers Family Fund. FMAF board member Sandy Korbel has served as our liaison with the Foundation, meeting regularly with the Women's Fund leadership and keeping the FMAF board updated on our activities and needs. In addition, we receive finance and office staff support from Carol Gustad and Nyla Olson of FMAF. Thank you!
• Help Us Build Our List!
  Please feel free to pass this on to other friends of the Women's Fund - and if there are people you want to make sure we have on our e-mail list to receive this e-update, send us their names and e-mail addresses! Thank you!

The mission of the Women's Fund of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation is to improve and impact the quality of life for all people by enriching the lives of women and girls in the Fargo-Moorhead area communities. We continue to build our endowment fund, with the goal of raising $1 million or more to be able to support programs "now and forever" that benefit women and girls. If you would like to make an additional donation to the Women's Fund, visit the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation's Giving On Line page. Thank you for your past gifts of time, talent and money and for continuing to be our "ambassadors" in the community for the Women's Fund!

Becky Bakke & Karen Stensrud
2009 Women's Fund Co-Chairs