Grantee Partners

 The Troost Corridor agency will serve 60 recovering women living in and receiving services from Amethyst Place.  Their economic self-sufficiency program will include mentoring and will focus on the following topics:  sobriety, parenting, nutrition, stress reduction, career options, time management, parent-engagement with schools, basic math, filing taxes, predatory lending, credit recovery, energy efficiency, home maintenance, financial literacy and money management skills.  

 This large scale program has grown and evolved (largely through the leveraging of WFGKC’s support) into a full spectrum of services which focus on the improvement of educational, workforce and financial literacy prospects for women throughout Catholic Charities’ service area.  100 women, who are living below 200% of the poverty line, will be served through the Economic Security Program which will focus on financial and educational planning, budgeting, credit and debt management, earning, saving and growing money, resume building and job development.  

 The “New Roots for Refugees” program will support 24 refugee women farmers in Kansas City, Kansas.  The program offers financial literacy education, marketing skills and agricultural training to these women as they develop small scale organic farms.  Refugee farmers are able to develop a viable small business that leads to economic security for them and their families.  

 This first-time grant will support CCO’s Women’s Economic Dignity program.  It will bring together 1500 women from throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area to address issues of wage inequity, gender disparity in economic self-sufficiency and economic insecurity.  CCO will reach out through congregational and community partners for individual recruitment. The program will result in leadership development and a public awareness campaign around predatory lending, low wage worker’s rights and women’s wage equality and increased women’s economic self-sufficiency.  Ultimately, this effort will lead to policy, institution and system change within our region.  

 The “Going Places Network” will serve 18 single mothers (many of whom are also being served by Operation Breakthrough for childcare) who are living at or below the poverty level.  Each woman will be assigned a financial coach to assist in personal financial management.  Along with their coaches, the participants will develop goals and plans, learn financial literacy, conduct job searches, repair/recover credit and documentation, decrease personal debt, establish a relationship with a bank and in many cases, secure viable employment. 

This first-time grant will support the YES (Youth Education Success) program at this family of agencies, which includes Gillis, Healthy Families Programs, Marillac, Ozanam and Spofford, all of whom, serve at risk kids and their families.  13 young women, who are aging out of the foster care system, will be directly impacted thought this grant.  With staff-intensive care, these young women will enroll in high school or post-secondary education, maintain a minimum grade point average, and successfully graduate from high school, college or a vocational certification program.  This program is specifically designed to meet the needs of this uniquely vulnerable population as they transition from foster care to independence.  

 The Ecomomic Empowerment for Youth Girls program will target 25 low-income girls who reside in Wyandotte County.  Using the FDIC’s Money Smart for Young Adults curriculum, the program will provide the girls with the financial tools, job skills, resources and strategies to place them on the path to economic success.  

 This new offering, called the Director’s Leadership Academy, will serve up to 60 new female directors and assistant directors, in early childhood programs throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area through 335 hours of direct education and support.  Topics covered will include ethics, budgeting, supervision, parent-engagement, mission and vision development, curriculum and assessment and networking.  Directors will then be able to implement these topics into their centers, resulting in professional development/career advancement for the directors, better parent engagement for the working mothers they serve and improved outcomes for the children in their charge.  

This grant will support half of the salary costs for one Self-Sufficiency Advocate at the domestic violence shelter.  Through the grant, 250 survivor women will receive training in financial literacy, basic money management, career development, educational advancement, resume development, interviewing skills, securing long-term childcare and ultimately, in creating a plan for their transition out of the shelter and into independence. 

 “Breaking Free, Stepping Up” is a self-sufficiency program at this Northeast area domestic violence shelter.  Our grant will assist with providing the residents life skills training, job readiness assistance, computer literacy skills, financial literacy and money management, goal-setting and career planning.  It will serve 75 women living in the shelter.   

 The Phenomenal Girls and Young Women program at Niles will assist 55 at-risk girls, who are either in or transitioning out of foster care.  The program focuses on 3 basic components, which are self-determination, financial literacy education and education/career exploration.   The program includes classroom learning as well as an interactive, off-site practicum where the girls can apply the skills they learn.  Our grant will assist with covering the costs of implementing the program, including salaries.

 The Employment Advocacy program at Rose Brooks demonstrates a natural programmatic progression from their earlier WFGKC-funded programs.  This program will assist 100 women who might be further along on the continuum of healing and ready to find that long-term source of employment.  While earlier offerings assisted women with basic preparation for a job search, this one actually focuses on job placement and retention.  The Employment Advocate works on behalf of the clients, with potential employers, to ensure an understanding of the unique needs of RBC clients as survivors of domestic violence, which results in better job placements for both parties.

 The “Next Step” program is an expanded, client-centered, tailored approach to help survivors take the “next step” in their journey to financial independence.  It will assist 150 women (many of whom have already completed the Economic Empowerment Program (also funded by WFGKC) and who are ready for advanced information and job offerings.  It will utilize the Advanced Allstate Curriculum and will offer a more in-depth coverage of topics such as, budgeting, credit savings, pay day loans, rent to own companies, savings/college planning, tax preparation and starting your own business.  

 The “Expanding Your Horizons and EYH Expansion” programs ignite 6^th to 8^th grade girls’ interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by providing hands-on, career focused activities in small groups with a female mentor.  Through participation, girls indicate interest in taking more and increasingly challenging math and science courses and indicate more interest in STEM career fields.  The grant will impact 440 girls.  

 Sheffield is the only KC-area focused exclusively on homeless mothers and their children.  The request is for the “Take Charge!” program which teaches residents personal finance, employment skills, time management and computer application skills to 50 homeless mothers.  Sheffield is presenting a number of course-corrections in this grant, based on the feedback of the client participants.  For instance, clients indicated that they need additional assistance in basic math skills.  Sheffield will accommodate by offering additional iterations of this topic. 

 The “Financial Coaching and Credit Building” program is a progression of the previously funded Dimensions program at WEN.  It will assist 125 women with personalized case management, one-on-one financial coaching, credit building/repair, and employment preparation and training.  

An intern will support the New Roots for Refugees program where she will work alongside the refugee women farmers and their daughters, helping them to grow their businesses and provide for their families and transition into life in Kansas City.  The intern will also lead a girls’ group for the daughters of the refugee farmers, focusing on post high school educational opportunities, including tours of local colleges and discussions on financial aid as well as social activities, including cross-cultural cooking classes.  

The intern will implement the second year of MFP’s “Keys to College Success” program for young Latinas, who are the daughters of Migrant Farmworkers.  The course will cover a range of topics including: ACT preparation, excellent study habits, how to find and complete scholarship applications, choosing the right college, college application and essay writing skills, resume drafting, career inventory testing, financial literacy, personal safety for young women as well as the opportunity to network with former and current Latina college students.  .

 Our grant will be used to support the “Go to College-Graduate” program.  It addresses the need of low income girls in the KCMO school district, many of whom struggle to stay in school and lack basic resources, such as engaged parents, encouragement and transportation.  They will be provided a career assessment to determine a possible line of study and then support for planning for that career.  This will include researching colleges, the application process, career planning, improvement of study habits, time-management and mentoring by successful women in that chosen career.  

A second year of funding is recommended to support their “Career Launch” program for girls at the Thornberry unit.  The program consists of career exploration activities and job readiness training for girls, ages 13-18.  This includes decision-making skills, goal setting, interpersonal skills, financial aid/college application information, résumé creation, mock interviews and job shadowing.  Professional females are recruited by the Boys and Girls Clubs to provide mentoring and job shadowing opportunities.  

We would like to support to the “Discovery Girls” program, which targets girls with High-Functioning Asperger’s Syndrome Disorder.  The program will focus on improving social skills, conversation skills and executive functioning, which includes money-management and daily resource-navigation.  Without these basic skills, girls with Asperger’s have great difficulty managing higher education and holding a paying job. 

 Our grant will provide support for the “Latinas Sin Límites” project.   Working with the daughters and granddaughters of migrant farmworkers, this program develops the financial literacy and disciplines necessary to live in a non-cash economy.  The girls learn budgeting, nutrition, goal-setting, resource identification, basic banking, study habits and financial preparation for the future.   Participation in this program and having the support it provides, improves a girl’s chances of moving beyond the seasonal agricultural field and into higher education.  

 This program, called “Launch to Independence Education Program” teaches pregnant and parenting teens girls to set personal and education goals, resume-building, debt resolution, credit recovery, personal budgeting, bill-paying and college exploration.  By participating in the program, teen mothers have a better chance of successful transition out of the shelter and of providing long-term financial stability for themselves and their babies.  

 The Mel Carnahan Public Service Fund - Founded December 2001 by more than 100 individual donors.  Supports efforts to introduce girls to the concept of public service and to prepare young women to assume future leadership roles in public service.

 The Choice Fund - Founded January 1996 by an anonymous donor.  Funds efforts to improve the quality of life for women and girls in the areas of reproductive health and sexuality education.

 Danielle’s Fund for Challenged Girls  - Founded December 2000 by Shirley & Fred Pryor, Sherilyn Coulter & Rebecca Pryor Phillips.  In the spirit of Danielle Pryor Coulter, this fund is intended to help the physically challenged turn their disabilities into possibilities! 

 Gladys Feld Helzberg Fund   - Founded December 1996 by Shirley and Barnett Helzberg.  Funds programs to enhance the emotional health of women and girls, to strengthen their psychological resilience, and to nurture their ability to cope effectively with society’s expectations. 

 Gladys Feld Helzberg Fund   - Founded December 1996 by Shirley and Barnett Helzberg.  Funds programs to enhance the emotional health of women and girls, to strengthen their psychological resilience, and to nurture their ability to cope effectively with society’s expectations. 

 Gladys Feld Helzberg Fund   - Founded December 1996 by Shirley and Barnett Helzberg.  Funds programs to enhance the emotional health of women and girls, to strengthen their psychological resilience, and to nurture their ability to cope effectively with society’s expectations. 

 Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation Sports Fund - Founded December 2000 by Julia Irene Kauffman.  Supports programs promoting increased opportunities for girls and women to participate in sports and enjoy the myriad benefits thereof. 

 Spirituality Fund - Founded November 1997 by Jo Ann Field, Karen Herman and Linda Moore.  Funds efforts to facilitate the conscious consideration and integration of spirituality in women’s lives and to encourage its incorporation as an overt dimension of program design in the organizations and systems in which women live and work. 

 Spirituality Fund - Founded November 1997 by Jo Ann Field, Karen Herman and Linda Moore.  Funds efforts to facilitate the conscious consideration and integration of spirituality in women’s lives and to encourage its incorporation as an overt dimension of program design in the organizations and systems in which women live and work.