“Advocacy will help The Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City galvanize our community of women and girls – to strengthen their financial IQ and to help them break through the poverty cycle.” - Karen Herman, Founder, First Board President
Advocacy Committee Members
A primary focus of The Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City (WFGKC) is economic self-sufficiency for women. Our 2009-2012 Strategic Plan asserts a need for advocacy on behalf of issues that advance economic self-sufficiency through financial literacy, career development and support for working women. We have established an Advocacy Committee that will coordinate with other committees to advance our agenda.
We invite you to help us identify better solutions to the challenging economic conditions faced by women and girls in our community—and to join us as we advocate for initiatives and programs that will create and sustain systemic change. We believe that positive change for women and girls will result in stronger individuals and families and ultimately strengthen our entire community.
We recently completed a detailed study of the Voices from the Heart of America: Concerns, Needs, and Priority Issues involving Women and Girls in Greater Kansas City. Our research has led us to conclude that an emphasis on economic self-sufficiency will improve the future lives and opportunities for women and girls in our community.
WFGKC recognizes that there are diverse strategies for achieving systemic change: community development, media outreach, coalition development, public education and grant-making. Our grant-making cycles for the three years addressed in our strategic plan have targeted the issue of economic self-sufficiency, and all proposals and grants must be directed at promoting this change. Our focus on advocacy will support this undertaking.
We advocate for women and girls because they need a stronger voice
Local statistics support our research:
- Approximately 105,854 women and girls in the Greater Kansas City area live below the poverty level. And, with respect to elderly women (women above the age of 65 and older), 10,629 live in poverty.
- More than 62.5% of Kansas City’s families in poverty are female-headed, single-parent households compared to 8.9% of Kansas City families in poverty that are male-headed, single-parent households.
- Annually, approximately 7,600 girls in grades 7-12 drop out of school in Missouri and Kansas.
- Approximately, 31% of Kansas City’s single mothers are not making enough money to provide for their children compared to 16% of single dads.
The Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City defines advocacy as: Support for an action directed at systemic change by identifying a problem, building support and offering actionable solutions.
“We believe, and our research has consistently shown, that providing the supports these women need to move out of poverty is the most effective way to boost economic security for all America’s struggling families. “ – Women’s Economic Security Campaign, 2010
Intro to Advocacy by the Kansas Action for Children
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