The Progress Club met on Feb. 1, at the home of Sharon Mauler. Co-hostesses were Judy Turner and Norma Ward. Attending were 16 members and two guests.
President Sharon Mauler called the meeting to order and introduced two guest speakers whose topic was Prairie Godmothering, Megan Barfield, Community Coordinator of the Golden Belt Community Foundation, and Rachel Mawhirter, Executive Director of the Prairie Godmothers organization. They explained that Prairie Godmothers has an endowment fund under the Golden Belt Community Foundation. This fund was built from donor contributions which are split between the permanent endowment and immediate grant funds. One-time emergency grants are awarded to women with short-term critical needs. Most donations are received each year on Giving Tuesday. Presently there are 321 godmothers who meet once or twice a year. An Advisory Board meets about every one or two months. Applications for grants come from seven partner agencies that fill out the application on the person’s behalf. Applications are received online, sent to the Advisory Board via email and voting is online. Usually there is a two day time span for approval. Grant money is issued directly to the vendor, not to the applicant. There is a $400 per year maximum per individual and a minimum age of 18. In 2015, 60 applications were received and forty-nine were awarded. In 2016, three applications have been received and two grants awarded.
The next meeting will be March 7. Hostess will be Linda Dougherty with co-hostesses Donna Oliver and Kathy Schugart. Guest speaker will be Alicia Boor on “Gardening in Kansas.”