1. Soroptimist International of the Americas
VOICE YOUR CLUB’S OPINION:
A Request From Your Federation Board of Directors

2. Women and girls need our help
Now more than ever!
For nearly 100 years, Soroptimist clubs throughout the world have helped thousands of women and girls overcome barriers that prevented them from living their dreams. Despite tremendous gains, much more needs to be done. The needs of women and girls to obtain the resources they need to lead full, productive lives far outstrips our current capacity to help them.

3. How can we increase our impact
Your federation Board of Directors is charged with leading our great organization into its next century. But how will we do that?
We know from talking with our clubs and members that we share a desire to continue our good work on behalf of women and girls. But we want to do it in a bigger and bolder way. We want to increase the impact of our programs by reaching even more women and girls.
reaching even more women and girls?

4. We need your voice, energy and passion!
Building our future
We need your voice, energy and passion!
We need your voice, energy and passion to help build our Soroptimist future
So, we have prepared this guide to start the conversation about our future and how we will increase the impact of our programs by reaching even more women and girls.
Please review this guide, take the survey at the end, and let’s start dreaming!

5. Establishing a BIG goal:
A clear, specific description of the impact we will have by working toward a common focus
Specific
Achievable
Realistic
Time-bound
Measurable
The best way for an organization to achieve success is by establishing what’s referred to in English as a SMART goal, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound. This kind of goal would focus Soroptimist so we would all be clear about what we are trying to accomplish on behalf of the women and girls we serve.
This SMART—or big—goal would guide all of our decisions, programs and activities: in clubs, in regions and in the federation.

6. Establishing a BIG goal
COLLECTIVE IMPACT:
Working together toward the same outcome to make a BIG change in the world
There is an African proverb that goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
We already know that Soroptimists are in it for the long-term and that TOGETHER we want to accomplish something greater than anything we could accomplish on our own: as individuals or clubs.
So we’ve been thinking, “How do we transform SIA’s collective impact So we are working together toward the same outcome to make a BIG change in the world?”
And we want you to think about this too because it will require our federation to work together to improve equality and empowerment for many more women and girls.

7. Access to education:
The key to gender equality and empowerment for women and girls
Global agencies and researchers agree: access to quality education is the key to overall gender equality and empowerment for women and girls.
They also agree there is a profound lack of educational resources for women who provide for their families, and who have faced economic and personal hardships.

8. Establishing a BIG goal
Supporting Girls:
Resources, information and mentors can help girls make good choices about their futures
With regard to girls, research tells us they face a gap in resources, information and mentors they need to make good choices about their future.

9. Growing our life-changing programs
That’s why your federation board believes our Dream programs—the Live Your Dream Awards and Dream It, Be it—which are already providing women and girls access to education and resources—should be expanded to help even MORE women and girls.

10. Growing our life-changing programs
We know our dream will not be realized overnight—and that we will need the energy and passion of every single member to begin the changes we need for our future.
Our dream needs your energy and passion!

11. BIG goal ideas
TRANSFORM DREAMS INTO REALITY for one million women and girls by 2031
UNLEASH THE POWER AND POTENTIAL of one million women and girls by 2031
DEVELOP THE ABILITIES of one million women and girls TO MAKE CHOICES WITHOUT LIMITATIONS by 2031
INVEST IN THE DREAMS of one million women and girls THROUGH ACCESS TO EDUCATION by 2031
This is why a big goal that focuses our organization’s collective efforts is needed. We want to hear what you think our big goal should be—how it should express what we want to collectively accomplish. We ask your club to reflect on the four proposed big goal ideas here—and to identify which most motivate and inspire your club. Words and phrases are underlined to highlight some of the differences between these statements. We would also like to know which key concepts underlined here are most important to include in our next big goal.
Transform dreams into reality for one million women and girls by 2031
Unleash the power and potential of one million women and girls by 2031
Develop the abilities of one million women and girls to make choices without limitations by 2031
Invest in the dreams of one million women and girls through access to education by 2031

12. Please consider these questions:
1. On a scale of 1-4, rank the BIG goal statements from the least motivating and inspiring (1) to the most motivating and inspiring (4).
2. Why did you choose this specific big goal statement as the most motivating and inspiring?
3. Which concepts do you believe are most important to include in Soroptimist’s big goal statement?
NOTE: Your club can provide its decisions in the survey found at the link on the last page of this presentation.
Next we’d like you to consider these questions:
On a scale of 1 to 4, rank the big goal statements from the least motivating and inspiring (1) to the most motivating and inspiring (4).
____ Transform dreams into reality for one million women and girls by 2031
____ Unleash the power and potential of one million women and girls by 2031
____ Develop the abilities of one million women and girls to make choices without limitations by 2031
____ Invest in the dreams of one million women and girls through access to education by 2031
2. Why did you choose this specific big goal statement as the most motivating and inspiring? Check all that apply.
____ Resonates with the kind of service our club wants to deliver in the future.
____ Reflects the kind of service our club delivers today.
____ Our club likes the words chosen to express our organization’s collective focus.
____ Our club wants a broad goal to reflect our organization’s collective focus.
____ Our club wants a more narrow goal to reflect our organization’s collective focus.
____ Other comments:
3. Which concepts do you believe are most important to include in Soroptimist's big goal statement? (Note: these words may not appear in the specific big goal you identified above as being the most motivating and inspiring.) Check all that apply:
____Transform dreams into reality
____Unleash power and potential
____Develop abilities
____Choices without limitations
____Live without limitations
____Invest in dreams
____Access to educational resources

13. Please consider these questions:
4. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest), how excited is your club about Soroptimist collectively focusing on reaching even more women and girls in our next century?
5. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest), how supportive is your club of working collectively toward a big goal?
6. What advice would you give Soroptimist as we prepare the organization to adopt a big goal collectively focusing on reaching even more women and girls in our next century?
NOTE: Your club can provide its decisions in the survey found at the link on the last page of this presentation.
4. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest), how excited is your club about Soroptimist collectively focusing on reaching even more women and girls in our next century?
5. On a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest), how supportive is your club of working collectively toward a big goal?
6. What advice would you give Soroptimist as we prepare the organization to adopt a big goal collectively focusing on reaching even more women and girls in our next century? Check all that apply. 
____Grow the Live Your Dream Awards program
____Grow the Dream It, Be It program
____Develop a new program for women and girls
____Try to get grants and corporate sponsorships to accomplish a big goal
____Concentrate on getting more members to help accomplish a big goal
____Grow LiveYourDream.org to help more women and girls
____Other advice:
Your club can provide your decisions in the survey found at the link on the last page of this presentation.

14. The future depends on YOU!
YOUR opinion matters!
“Alone we can do so little; TOGETHER we can do so much!”
—Helen Keller
The future depends on YOU!
We believe that dreams inspire amazing opportunities. We know you do too, which is why your input is so important.
We’re all in this together and the future of our organization—and the service we can provide to the women and girls who need our help—depends on YOU!
In the words of Helen Keller, one of the world’s most inspirational and influential women, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!”

15. YOUR opinion matters! Please complete this short survey:
Questions?
us at or call
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR THOUGHTS!
Please respond to these questions by completing this short survey:
us at or call with any questions.
Thank you for working with us to dream about the future of our organization. Your input through this survey will help guide our next steps.