Looking Ahead to 2022 with WOC
By: Kim Gaudin De Gonzalez, Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy®
Right now, in mid-January, 2022, WOC is leaning into the fabulousness of our community, encouraging—despite ongoing uncertainty that affects you, your family, your event planning, your workplace, your free-time, your job search and everything in between—you continue to hold onto your unique abilities, experiences and radiant beauty, and lean in with us.
Because we will never cease in our work of assisting you in reaching your goals, with joy. Let us be resilient together. WOC is here for you.
To help you set your limits clearly and articulate them, problem solve and create and meet goals. To talk negotiation. To address the ever-evolving changes to event planning, fundraising and philanthropy. To introduce you to other members with shared experiences, and mentors who can guide you. To connect you with recruiters who are seeking to fill positions in fundraising and philanthropy with women like you.
For starters we are kicking off WOC Connections networking hour on January 26 at 6 p.m. ET. It’s a great way to find WOC members in your area. If it’s safe to do so, we have plans to meet with many of you in your own cities this year for WOC Around the World and will continue to provide online opportunities and new ways of connecting.
We will be continuing to plan webinars—last year we hit topics about pay equity, personal finance and collective giving. We’ll continue our C-Suite series, where we feature interviews with women who have reached the pinnacle of their careers. Our WOC’s the Word webcast series will continue to feature diverse voices in the industry digging deep into the changing landscape.
We are not afraid of uncertainty, and neither should you be.
At the end of last year, a WOC survey asked members and executive search firms that specialize in or have a strong practice in placements within the nonprofit or social sector. We identified 10 firms that are especially noteworthy for their approach to and results when working with women of color. We are proud of this list and hope you will be actively utilizing the information in 2022.
If you are involved in a job search, WOC’s Career Center is our toolbox with a mission to connect users with career resources, best job search and interview practices, resume review, salary calculators and more. We hope that you applied for our Mentor Match™ program for members only. This is a twelve-month program that requires an application on deadline, each cohort matches mentees with mentors where they work on challenges and goals the mentee identifies. Meetings will be over video unless face-to-face meetings become available as the year proceeds. Our Check-In Chicas™ program is a similar one, but accountability partners will meet on a quarterly basis over the 12-month period to engage around issues of personal and professional development.
We will continue to offer our stellar self-assessments to help WOC fundraisers and philanthropists analyze their goals, strategies and practical changes and action to take to make a dream a reality.
If your quest is more about soul searching and systemic change, we hope you applied to our Radiant Leadership Institute, where as a courageous influencer, you’ll experience personal growth, community building and leadership initiatives. Radiant offers tools, theories and strategies with an equity plan and a gender justice lens. We are excited to welcome this year’s cohort!
Because we will never cease in our work of assisting you in reaching your goals, with joy. Let us be resilient together.
And you can look for us in your e-communications every week, as we bring you important, relevant quotes from wonderful women of color, news, resources, advice and member milestones. Our WOC Opportunities job listing section continues to grow as organizations realize the wonderful group of women that have joined our ranks!
We are already busy planning Symposium 2022—which was virtual last year and had 300 attendees and 50 speakers. This event is not to be missed, because it is where the real magic, togetherness, and vulnerable talk from an impressive array of experts happens, and connections are made. You can read about last year’s symposium and programs in our WOC 2021 Impact Report.
But as for us, here at WOC, we are looking ahead, continuing to provide you with all the inspiration, information and resources you need to not only get through this year, but make it one that counts in your career. We are not afraid of uncertainty, and neither should you be. Lean into your magic as a woman of color, and we will be leaning alongside you.
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