November 6, 2007

Over 75 people attended at our second annual Grant Program Kickoff program at New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) on Tuesday, November 6, 2007.

At this program, Laurie Bacheldor of United Way of the Capital Region shared learning about both the value of collaboration and the challenges found in collaborative efforts. She also presented several examples of successful collaborations, commenting about how the collaborations were formed, the selection of collaborative partners, and how partners overcame threats to the collaboration.

Karen Bilowith, president of United Way of the Greater Capital Region, served as moderator for a panel discussion about the successful use of collaboration in other fields in the Capital Region. Our panel included: Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas from KeyBank, Lyn Taylor from the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce, and Linda Glassman from CARES, Inc. They discussed their successful experiences with collaboration and gave helpful hints to non-profits hoping to work together.

The Women’s Fund of the Capital Region itself is a unique collaboration of the Community Foundation for the Capital Region and United Way of the Greater Capital Region. By working together, our charitable fund promotes the independence, growth and self-determination of women and girls by supporting projects that create lasting change and move women and girls toward financial independence. The Fund has raised over $120,000 since inception and distributed its first grants in spring of 2007; totaling $55,000.

The grant guidelines are now available on-line. If you have any questions about the grants, please contact the Women’s Fund grant coordinator, Jackie Mahoney, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..