How do you make bylaws interesting? You put forward a change that will revolutionize your giving circle’s contribution levels.

AAWGT held a membership meeting on August 1 where we proposed that our Steering Committee be allowed to set our giving circle’s contribution levels. Our membership unanimously approved the change, and now the Steering Committee will institute these new levels starting on October 1:

Lifetime: $12,000
Sustainer: $1,075/year
Ally: $575/year
Catalyst: $375/year
Friend: $175/year

Why are the levels revolutionary? Women will be able to join or renew at any of the five levels. All member levels will be equal, with each member continuing to get one vote when choosing which nonprofits will be funded each year.

We would like the demographics of our membership to match more closely those of our community. We hope that changing the contribution levels will move us toward that goal by making membership possible for a broader range of women. At our meeting, the discussion about this change sparked many ideas and comments. Most reiterated the need for us to diversity, and that we want to be sure to meet or exceed the amount of money given out in grants each year.

I know that the adage “walk the walk” can be overused at times. In our case, however, this is really important because we aren’t going to just sit back and wait for women to come to us. We plan to do a lot of outreach to let our community know the value of collective giving and the impact that our giving circle has via our grants to local, small nonprofits that help under-served women and families.

We’ll be keeping an eye on our Grants Fund and membership numbers over the next two years to see if we are achieving our goals. We anticipate that members will not reduce their contributions under this new system, and will perhaps even increase them. We look forward to welcoming many new women into our giving circle.