Women's Work

According to the Women's Fund of Hawaii, when women and girls thrive, the community prospers

In 2002, Big Island resident Jeani Navarro developed Kula No Na Wahine Alakai, or Girls' Leadership Academy, as an outreach for local girls who had anything but easy lives. Too often the program director witnessed teens living along the rural Hamakua Coast become hungry, homeless and pregnant. Navarro's efforts to show the girls, many of whom came from old plantation camps, their potential through lessons on health, leadership, community service and career development may not only benefit the kids themselves, but also future economic development.

Laboring Lady: Janis Reischmann chairs the Women s Fund of Hawaii, an organization dedicated to empowering the state s females.

According to an assessment prepared by the Women's Fund of Hawaii, an organization dedicated to funding groups that aim to ensure women and girls are safe, empowered and financially secure, statewide, females are particularly susceptible to economic hardship. It's estimated that a mother raising one child needs a wage of at least $13 to $19 an hour and that almost half of all single women with children live in poverty. Two-thirds of Hawaii's female workforce hold jobs in three of the lowest paying areas: sales, clerical and services. In addition, Native Hawaiian women suffer more socioeconomic hardships than any other ethnic group in the state. "Poor women is a real issue," says Janis Reischmann, chair of the Women's Fund of Hawaii.

At a state level, the subject of female economic vulnerability (and subsequent drain on government resources) plays a subtle, but significant role in the small-business sector. The Service Corp. of Retired Executives (SCORE), an industry reference, estimates that there are currently 10.1 million female-owned firms nationwide that hire 18.2 million employees and generate a whopping $2.32 trillion. Women start businesses at twice the rate of men, but are often confronted by challenges, such as acquiring venture capital, says the Women's Financial Network. In 2004, Hawaii's 28,844 small businesses comprised 96.8 percent of Hawaii's firms with employees and women had control of 46.3 percent of those firms (50 percent or more).

Yet it's estimated that nationally, only 8 percent of philanthropic dollars go to causes for women and girls. In 1989, Reischmann, then the vice president of the Hawaii Community Foundation, and 20 other community members aspired to help rectify the challenges that plague females. Their combined efforts and inspiration became the Women's Fund of Hawaii. "They [women and girls] are the centerpieces of economic activity and community stability," says Reischmann. "If we can make sure women do well and that girls realize their potential, the whole community benefits."

In its first few years, the organization raised $200,000, but over time, interest and financial support grew stagnant. In January 2004, the Women's Fund underwent an internal makeover. Thirteen businesswomen and community leaders gathered together as a new board of directors and developed grant-making priorities. The group also became affiliated with the international Women's Funding Network, an organization that connects hundreds of global women's funds, and received tax-exempt status from the IRS.

Raising $115,000 in 2004 through mostly individual contributions, the organization adopted a grassroots approach in getting its message out. "Most of our outreach is through word of mouth, " says Reischmann. "We're both old and new and don't have lots of history or visibility. Wherever we go we'll talk to folks about the issues that get in the way for women to achieve full status in the community." The Women's Fund focuses on raising awareness along with dollars on a personal level, hosting tea parties and talk-story sessions for women and men. "It's how we work as women," she says. Besides personal contributions, the fund received a $5,000 donation from both the Cooke Foundation Limited and the Atherton Family Foundation for 2004 and 2005. It also secured $30,000 from the Gerbode Foundation, a San Francisco-based organization.

Earlier this year, the fund awarded three grants to Lanai Women's Center, Women in Need (WIN) and Navarro's Kula No Na Wahine Alakai, small organizations that concentrate on females of Hawaiian ancestry. For Navarro's group, which had been running simply on "fumes and the kokua of the community," the $5,000 funding helps the girls beat the summer doldrums with twice-a-week art classes and a community garden in a rural area that lacks transportation and many options for safe activities.

"The bottom line is we believe that when women and girls thrive, the community prospers," Reischmann says. "We need to do everything we can to help them reach their fullest potential and that will help everyone."

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