Soroptimist Programs [Name] Program Chair, [Region] [Date] [Hello and welcome] As the Program Chair, my role is to ensure our region is working towards the Soroptimist mission to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment, and helping to increase our organization's collective impact. Soroptimist Programs [Name] Program Chair, [Region] [Date]

Increase Collective Impact Clubs, Districts, Regions, Board and Staff: Improve the lives of women and girls Measure the level of sustainable improvement in their lives Increase the socio-economic status of Live Your Dream Award recipients Advance SIA’s recognition as an effective global women’s issues organization Attract more resources to further increase impact You’ve probably been hearing a lot that Soroptimist International of the Americas’ big goal for our organization’s future is to increase our collective impact. So what do we mean by that? Collective impact represents the collective effort of SIA’s clubs, districts, regions, board and staff as we all work to improve the lives of women and girls, as we measure the level of sustainable improvement in their lives, as we increase the socio-economic status of women who have won a Live Your Dream Award, as we advance SIA’s recognition as an effective global women’s issues organization, and as we continue to attract more resources to further increase our impact. So, in short, increased collective impact demonstrates the change we all are making together, in the lives of women and girls.

Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women One major way we build our impact is through the Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women, formerly the Women’s Opportunity Awards. Soroptimist clubs have been empowering women through access to education since 1972 with this cornerstone program. The goal of the Live Your Dream Awards is “through increased education, women will secure employment that provides an improved standard of living for themselves and their dependents.” Since the program began, over $30 million in education grants has been distributed to tens of thousands of women to help them achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families.  Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women Goal: Through increased education, women will secure employment that provides an improved standard of living for themselves and their dependents.

Live Your Dream Awards New name New deadline Participate! November 15 Formerly Women’s Opportunity Awards New deadline November 15 Participate! Goal of 100% club participation 16/28 regions reached 100% participation in 2013-2014 The Board of Directors has decided to re-brand our cornerstone award program, Women’s Opportunity Awards, with a new name, Live Your Dream Awards. This is to better reflect SIA’s mission and to better align with building collective impact. The program deadline has also changed. Instead of December 15, Live Your Dream Award applications are now due November 15. SIA Headquarters heard clubs’ concerns about reviewing applications during a busy holiday time, so they adjusted the deadline. They had to make the deadline earlier instead of later because otherwise we would be bumping up against region conferences in April and May when awards are given. This deadline may be difficult to reach for some clubs, so it is fine to use a later deadline this year, but eventually all clubs should use the advertised deadline. Clubs, please begin thinking now about ways to accommodate this earlier deadline. We’re aiming for ALL clubs to participate in the Live Your Dream Awards. Again we have a goal of 100% club participation in this program, so please participate again or consider participating for the first time! Let me know if your club is facing any barriers to participation and I will work with you to address your needs. The Board of Directors is so pleased by our growing participation numbers; please help us continue to grow our numbers!

Impact of Live Your Dream Award 2013-2014: 80% club participation (4% increase) 1,277 women received the award (3% increase) $1.74 million in funding awarded (7% increase) 10 newly chartered clubs received $1000 for their first award SIA gave 28 $1000 awards from at-large applications 328 clubs provided additional assistance to 400+ recipients To give you a sense of the impact of this program just in the past year, we know 80% of clubs participated, which is a 4% increase from last year. We’re so excited by this progress, and still aiming for 100%! 1,277 women received this award; that’s a 3% increase from last year. And $1.74 million in funding was offered to women to pursue their educational goals and achieve their dreams. This was a 7% increase. Ten newly chartered clubs received $1,000 from SIA to give their first award. SIA gave twenty-eight $1,000 awards from at-large applications that weren’t sent to clubs. Three hundred twenty-eight clubs provided assistance to over 400 recipients beyond the cash award. SIA is thrilled by this progress! Look at how much we are able to do when we all work together toward this shared goal!

Live Your Dream Awards New at-large process New online application system Include at-large applications in judging process at club level New challenges After club-level judging: check education and references Be careful when contacting recipients so as not to make mistakes As you can see, our cornerstone program is growing, which is great and exciting! The growth also means we need a new way to handle so many applications. SIA Headquarters has initiated a new process for at-large applications for the Live Your Dream Awards. Women who hear about our program will now be able to apply online. This option will mostly effect our North American clubs, but Federation has received at-large applications from Japan and Peru in the past. If a Soroptimist club is within 75 miles of where the woman lives, her application will be sent to a local club to be judged within their applicant pool. If a Soroptimist club is not within 75 miles of where the woman lives, her application will be included in at-large judging at Headquarters. PLEASE include these at-large applications within club-level judging if you receive them. In the past, there has been some resistance from clubs about including at-large applications in local judging, but it is critical to understand the importance of including every woman in this process. These awards are about providing an opportunity for women to achieve their dreams, and our focus should always be on supporting other women. In one of the regions that was originally hesitant to accept at-large applications, an at-large applicant ended up winning at thei region level and went on to win at the federation level. That region invited the woman to speak at their leadership retreat, and the clubs really rallied in support of her and the response was an overwhelmingly positive one, despite some initial resistance. Hopefully all clubs can provide this kind of response. So, completed at-large applications will be sent to the Live Your Dream Awards Chair; if a club does not have someone registered in this role, applications will be sent to Club Presidents and Treasurers. Live Your Dream Awards Chairs and Club Presidents and Treasurers should regularly check e-mail and will need to correspond with women who apply because SIA Headquarters will not have direct communication with these women before the application system sends the applications. If for ANY reason your club will not include these at-large applicants in club-level judging, you MUST let SIA Headquarters know. We all have an obligation to consider all applications fairly. These women are our priority. Again, the Live Your Dream Awards are about supporting women and providing them with resources needed to reach their educational goals and create better lives for themselves and their families. Women are the heart of this program. If your club does not plan to include at-large applications within your process, you need to communicate that to Headquarters and they will include those applications within judging at Headquarters. As I mentioned a moment ago, our Live Your Dream Award program is growing, which we’re all thrilled about! But with this growth comes a need for more responsibility and care from all of us involved in the process. We need to include all applicants fairly, and we also need to make every effort to not make mistakes. After club-level judging, applicants’ education should be verified and her references should be checked. We need to do this in order to be sure we are awarding funding only to women who meet the award criteria. There was an instance this past year where a club notified a winner, but then found out her references had been falsified. The club did not fully explain the situation to the woman, and she contacted Headquarters very upset about not receiving the award. Headquarters had to explain to this woman why she did not receive the award. It is also very important to take care when contacting award recipients that you contact the correct woman. We had a few instances this past year where a club contacted a woman to tell her she was a winner, and then later had to explain a mistake was made and she was not actually a winner. To a woman who was overjoyed at the new reality of making her dreams come true, who had already contacted her family and friends to share her exciting news, this is devastating. If any kind of mistake is made, club members shouldn’t try to fix it on their own; talk to other club members, the Region Awards Chair and Program Staff. We are a team and we will address any issues as a team. Everyone involved with Soroptimist International of the Americas, from clubs to Headquarters, has worked very hard to build an organization brand of trust and integrity; we can’t take any risks in damaging this brand. We all need to work together to maintain it and help it grow.

Live Your Dream Awards More awards! Provide support to recipients beyond cash award: Mentor Job Support Working with Children Tutoring Financial Support Include in club activities Each year, more than US $1.6 million in club, region, and federation funds is awarded to more than 1,200 women in SIA’s 20 member countries and territories. We’re proud of these numbers, and we want to be able to reach even more women. We want to continue to grow the Live Your Dream Awards in new and meaningful ways in order to increase the program’s impact. One way to do this is to encourage clubs to give additional awards and additional money to award recipients. By giving more awards and more funding, we increase the reach of the program. More women achieve their goals and more women can aim higher with their goals. Another way to grow the Live Your Dream Awards is to provide support to recipients beyond their cash award, which would create longer term relationships between club members and award recipients. Additional support can be provided by mentoring award recipients, providing job and financial support, working with recipients’ children while women attend to education-related responsibilities, and including award recipients in club-related activities.

Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award Before I talk about our new Girl Program, I want to say a few words about the Violet Richardson Award. For more than ten years, the Violet Richardson Award has been recognizing girls for their volunteer efforts. But, the Board of Directors was concerned that the impact of the award on the girls who receive it was not as meaningful as it could be. The Board was looking for a more sustainable change in the lives of girls, so they directed staff to research opportunities and create a program with greater impact on girls’ lives – just as the Live Your Dream Awards has on the lives of the women it reaches. So, Federation support will end for the Violet Richardson Award has now ended. However, Headquarters still provides the resources for the award to clubs who still wish to participate in this program. Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award

And now, a bit about our new girl program – Dream It, Be It And now, a bit about our new girl program – Dream It, Be It! Based on extensive researched gathered by SIA, our new girl program will focus on career support for girls. The goal of the program is “through education and access to role models, girls will be empowered to pursue their career goals and reach their full potential.” Goal: Through education and access to role models, girls will be empowered to pursue their career goals and reach their full potential.

Dream It, Be It Planning Toolkit available to clubs Plan for implementation! Curriculum and Financial Component will be released next year Headquarters has created a toolkit for clubs to use to begin planning for Dream It, Be It at the local level. In order to prepare for this program, clubs should review the toolkit and create a planning committee. The planning committee should conduct a local community assessment to learn what the needs of girls are in the local community, and what kind of support services they do or do not already have. The planning committee should also consider what schools and universities, government offices, girls clubs and other community organizations could serve as potential partners for this program. A girls advisory group will need to be created to get input from girls; we need their ideas and opinions in order to create a successful program for them, and it will be so empowering for girls to know their ideas and opinions are heard and respected by older women. Each club will also need to decide if a one-day conference or small group mentoring is a better fit for them. A planning committee should also start thinking about ways to raise funds, and work with the rest of the club to decide if other projects should be discontinued in order to include this new program within each club year. Headquarters will launch the completed curriculum for Dream It, Be It in January 2015 and a financial component to the program at 2015 region conferences. Headquarters is asking clubs to report on their Dream It, Be It program plans by February 2015.

Support for Local Club Projects Financial Resources Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls Soroptimist Disaster In addition to federation programs, SIA also has financial resources and website resources to support local level projects of clubs. Financial resources consist of Club Grants and Disaster Grants. The Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls are cash grants available for Soroptimist clubs to start or continue projects in their communities that improve the lives of women and girls, in accordance with the mission of SIA. Funding is specifically available for local-level work that provides opportunities for education and leadership to women and girls. This is because each year, on December 10th, the SI President invites all Soroptimists to join her in donating money to be used to benefit Soroptimist International projects related to education and leadership. SIA has designated funds received from this December 10th President’s Appeal to support club projects that are focused on education and leadership through the Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls. So, clubs are specifically encouraged to apply for grants to support their local-level work that provides opportunities for education and leadership to women and girls.   Applications for Soroptimist Club Grants are due on March 12, 2015. Another way to locally support clubs is through Disaster Grants. The Soroptimist Disaster Grants are funded solely by donations to the Soroptimist Disaster Fund, and are available to assist clubs in regions that are recovering from a recent disaster. Clubs may submit a Disaster Grant application at any time; there is no specific deadline for this financial support.

Support for Local Club Projects Website Resources: Members Only  Resources, Information and Forms  Program Resources Model Program Kits White Papers Federation program instructions and public awareness materials It’s important for clubs to know that they don’t have to recreate the wheel to launch a successful local project. There are resources—in all federation languages—to support local-level club projects. By way of SIA’s website, clubs may access all the resources they need to participate in federation programs and many resources clubs might need to address the specific needs of women and girls in local communities. These resources include model program kits, white papers on issues relevant to women and girls, federation program instructions and public awareness materials. All of these materials can be found in the program area of the member’s section of SIA’s website.

Strengths & Opportunities Club Recognition Soroptimists Celebrating Success Awards Certificate of Appreciation Club Road Map for Success Strengths & Opportunities SIA Headquarters also wants to recognize the amazing work clubs are doing! Clubs can be honored in two ways – through the Soroptimists Celebrating Success Awards and the Certificate of Appreciation.   There are some changes regarding the Soroptimists Celebrating Success Awards for the 2014-2015 club year. Headquarters wanted to make recognition for clubs more meaningful and easier, so they put together an awards task force to recommend ways to achieve this. The task force was made up of past and present region governors. From the work of this task force, Headquarters decided to incorporate a region-level of the award. Each region will now have a Soroptimist Celebrating Success! Region Chair, and clubs will apply directly to the region. The regions will then hold a region-level judging and recognize the outstanding work of clubs in the four pillar areas that support the strategic plan: fundraising, membership, program and public awareness. The regions will select a finalist in each of the four areas and forward them to SIA Headquarters to be included in federation judging. SIA will provide entry forms, instructions and judging sheets. Entries from clubs will be due to the region on July 1 each year. Region finalists will be due to SIA Headquarters on November 1 each year. There are also some changes to the Club Award. Instead of applying to the federation for recognition each year, SIA will provide a Certificate of Appreciation to clubs supporting SIA’s goals and strategies. Clubs will not have to apply to receive the certificates because the certificates will be awarded based on information already tracked at SIA Headquarters. Certificates of Appreciation will be given to clubs who participate in the Live Your Dream Awards and report plans to participate in Dream It, Be It, who support SIA’s culture of philanthropy by contributing at least 10% of locally raised funds to Club Giving and donating Founders Pennies for every club member in support of federation programs, and who grow engagement with SIA by providing e-mail addresses to Headquarters, submitting club projects for Soroptimist Celebrating Success! Awards, and recruiting new members into a happy club experience. Each year at the Governors Round Table, governors will receive a “Road Map for Success” to share with clubs in each region. This road map focuses on the four pillar areas of fundraising, membership, program and public awareness and will outline what the organization is asking clubs to focus on in order to shape the Soroptimist future for success. Please review the Road Map and start thinking about how your club can follow the road to success!

I hope this presentation has helped excite you about the future of Soroptimist programs and provided you with the necessary information to implement programs and projects within your club. I’m sure this is going to be a great year for your club and for our global organization! Please remember that I am available for assistance at any time should you ever have questions. Thank you! Thank you!