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Join a Movement in the Making

26/01/10

Join a Movement in the Making

Rosa’s trustees and I have been revisiting her vision. I’d say it’s still a work in progress but essentially, Rosa exists to create positive change and opportunities for women in the UK so that every woman has what she needs to be the best she can. Seen in this broad context, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of you said that’s quite a tall order. Admittedly, our vision is aspirational but we would certainly want to do the best we can to make it as much a reality as possible.

I personally believe that the beauty of our position at the moment is that we still have a relatively blank canvas to work from. My personal vision for Rosa is to create a strong grant-giving and fundraising organisation that listens and responds to the needs of her supporters and followers. Anything we do will be driven by the needs and interests of our beneficiaries, our donors, our supporters and the women and girls who we seek to champion and support.

To listen and respond to you, we want to build a strong community that will be both ‘virtual’ and ‘real’. On the virtual front, our plan is to develop and enhance our web and social media presence. We’ll do this by keeping a finger on the pulse of current topics and issues affecting women, bringing them directly to you and encouraging active comment and discussion. We’ll also comment and respond in the media when appropriate to build Rosa’s profile and reputation as an advocate and champion for women and girls.

Our real communities will involve anything from “giving circles” (more on these in future newsletters) to small, localised events that bring women together to discuss the issues that concern them and to take positive action by raising funds and perhaps (further down the line) making decisions on how these funds should be distributed. In effect, I’d like to see Rosa providing support and advice to women on how to give effectively.

All of this, plus the grant-giving side of our work, needs considerable investment, which is why Rosa’s key focus for the next couple of years will be on developing her fundraising capacity. Over the next couple of months, Rosa will be launching an appeal to raise £855,000 over three years. To help us reach this ambitious target, we would like to engage with philanthropists who have a particular interest in women’s issues. If any of you are willing to share contacts and/or facilitate introductions to individuals, companies or trusts and foundations who may be interested in investing in Rosa, then please do get in touch – we promise to handle this process carefully and sensitively and to be fully led by you.

Likewise, drop me a line, email, phone or even tweet me (@RosaForWomen) to let me know what it is that delights you, worries you, concerns you or even angers you about the position of women and girls in the UK today. It would be great to get the discussion going so that I can begin to form a picture of the issues (both big and small) that concern and interest you most.

Jackie