We Devote Our Resources To You!
By Lina Khan, DC EcoWomen Treasurer
As DC EcoWomen’s treasurer, I’m happy to share how we spend our resources to build programs, workshops, and opportunities for our members. In 2003, the founders of DC EcoWomen wanted to establish a community of women to support each other professionally and personally, and help them become environmental leaders. The DC chapter board works hard to keep that community strong, and we couldn’t do it without the funds we raise from member donations. So where does it all go?
About 90 percent of our yearly budget goes to professional resources like mentoring dinners, interview and resume workshops, and to support our monthly EcoHour speaker series—featuring experienced women who have made inroads in the environmental field. Even though some of these events have fees for participants, this does not cover the entire cost of the event, as we strive to keep costs as low as possible for attendees. Even free events like EcoHour carry costs, as we provide dinner for the speaker and a commemorative framed picture as a thank you gift.
We also also fund massive events like the 10th Anniversary Ecowomen Gala, as well as our Hallo-‘green’ happy hour, Holiday Party, and other membership happy hours. Finally, it helps us put on awesome local events that celebrate the environment and our region, like our bike workshop in April and our upcoming camping trip to Assateague, Maryland in July. The rest helps us cover operating expenses like our annual board retreat, which helps us plan our goals and events for the year; maintaining our website and Flickr page; electronic payment fees; and other administrative expenses.
Sporting our EcoWomen shirts with the planet Earth.
When our members tell us what they’re looking to get out of DC EcoWomen, we prioritize our resources to it. For example, when our members, many who are entry-level professionals and still getting their feet wet in the environmental field, said that they would like more opportunities to be mentored by experienced women, we made it happen. We started a terrific series of mentor dinners that have helped women gain continued guidance on their careers.
And we are taking it in new directions, like our recent Mentoring Tea held in May. And last year, we took professional guidance to the next level, and held our first DC EcoWomen Conference — an entire day of professional development workshops and networking to help women jump-start their careers. We’ll continue to listen to your feedback — like create or keep going the programs that help you meet your professional goals — and strengthen our network here in the DC/MD/VA region.
Being relatively new to the environmental field myself, the opportunities we offer and the professional women who speak at our events have made an impact on my own goals, and the steps I’m taking to realize them. I hope our events have made a positive difference for you, too. Thanks for being a part of our community! We appreciate your support!
A toast for the 10th Year Anniversary Gala