Mission Statement
for 99 GAL Friends of Yamhill County

As a growing community of women philanthropists, we pool our funds and resources to award yearly Impact Grants to local organizations for projects and initiatives that will address needs in underserved populations. To further our own education, we are committed to providing opportunities for members to share expertise, build skills, and learn about community, philanthropy, and nonprofit organizations.

Our core values are:

• Integrity
• Compassion
  
• Service
• Diversity
• Teamwork

Our areas of focus for 2025 are:

• Arts and Culture
  
• Children, Education, and Schools
• Senior Citizen Welfare
• Women's Health

"Collective" and the
Other "C's"

• Women are redefining philanthropy by joining together to bring about positive change and find new solutions.
• The circle reflects the fact that the group has power or influence.
  
• The operating principle is that women create a new, often substantial, combined fund that allows them to make investments in projects and causes they believe in every year.
  
• Women are taking control of their finances, whether, earned, inherited, or marital.
• Decision-making, including the grant-making process, is collaborative.
• Women gain confidence in their abilities as financial/community leaders and donors.
• Women celebrate their accomplishments, have fun together, and enjoy connecting. Socializing is a voluntary, but often very important, element of a giving circle.

Women's Giving Circles:
A New Era In Philanthropy

Women's giving circles are being formed-and are gaining influence-around the world. In the U.S., they have grown from a few hundred 20 years ago to more than 1,500 today.

The key word is collective. Members of a circle pool their donations so that relatively large "impact grants" can be awarded annually. Members give, work, and make decisions collectively.


Women are realizing that "one hefty contribution can have an immediate influence in a community." ~New York Times


Generosity has never been the wrong choice for me. Money is only an instrument. Philanthropy has to be rooted in love. ~Abigail Disney

What is the connection between the
Give a Little Foundation and
99 GAL Friends of Yamhill County?

• 99 GAL Friends is a section, or branch, of the larger Foundation that serves as the umbrella (sometimes called the "hosting" or "sponsoring") agency.
  
• Being under the umbrella brings a number of advantages to 99 GAL Friends.
• 99 GAL Friends can build on a network of contacts with local individuals and organizations that is already well established.
• The Give a Little Foundation can lend vital administrative support to 99 GAL Friends.