Valerie Cassity-Special to the Sun

The Kern Valley Rotary Club met last Thursday, March 29, at the Kern Valley Golf Course to hear a special presentation about the Women's and Girls' Fund (WGF) of Kern County. Guest speaker Judi McCarthy, chair of WGF's “Vision Committee,”which first convened in September 2004 to create the fund, spoke of the fund's philanthropic work focusing on improving the lives of women and girls throughout Kern County. McCarthy gave a presentation about the fund's purpose and goals, and asked Rotary members to sponsor the worthy cause.

Kern Community Foundation (KCF) was established in 1999, and has assets over $11 billion, McCarthy said. Thus far, the foundation has given over $1 million in grants to a variety of causes to benefit Kern County, primarily through donor-advised funds. “People don't donate to the Kern Community Foundation, but through it,” said McCarthy.

Kern County’s Woman of the Year, Jeanette Rogers of Kernville, introduces Judi McCarthy of the Women’s and Girls’ Fund of Kern County, who spoke to members of the Kern River Valley Rotary Club at the March 29 meeting. Rogers is one of many Kern Valley women who, individually and collectively, donated $1,000 to become a founder of the fund. Rogers asked her children to donate money to the fund last year in lieu of buying her a Christmas or birthday gift.

Three years ago, when she joined the KCF Board of Directors, McCarthy was asked to establish a fund to benefit women and girls in need throughout Kern County. The reason to establish a fund focusing on the females of our county are many and varied, McCarthy explained. “Twenty-two percent of Kern women live in poverty, including almost half of all female-headed; births to mothers age 15-19 accounted for 16 percent of all Kern births in 2002; the pass rate on high school exit exams for Kern girls lags behind state averages in both reading and math; and from 1998-2002, Kern calls for assistance in domestic violence situations rose 52 percent, while state calls dropped five percent.

“Our county is not a healthy one; Kern County is ranked least healthy in California, and has the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma, and STDs in the state,” explained McCarthy, who heads the Fund as a volunteer.

Currently, the Women and Girls Fund has raised over $270,000, surpassing their initial goal to raise $250,000 by June 1, 2007. Donations are used to create and build a permanent endowment, the earnings of which will become grants for women's and girls' programs. The first grants will be made next year, and will total $15,000 for that first round of giving. Each year, as the principal grows so will the amount of grant monies available. 5.5% of the principal will be granted each year, and donors will have the satisfaction of knowing that the money they give will last for many years to come, and benefit countless women and girls in need.

In addition to their donations lasting as long as the fund does, founders (those giving $1,000 or more) will be directly involved in the grant making. This year, a ballot will go out to all founders to determine county needs, and each year, eight founders, as well as community members and teenaged girls, will be chosen to establish a grant review committee. The teenaged girls will be included to empower them and give them a voice in determining which programs have the most value.

The WGF will choose one issue area each year to which grants are made, such as domestic violence or teen pregnancy. This will change with each grant cycle and be determined by the aforementioned ballots. “It's a slightly different way of doing business,” said McCarthy. “When it comes to philanthropy, usually you send a check to a cause and have no say in what happens to the money. This gives you the opportunity to have input in where your donation goes.”

Originally, the deadline to become a founder was June 2007, but the deadline has been extended to 2010 to give more Kern County residents a chance to be a part of this exciting new fund. Kern County Woman of the Year Jeanette Rogers became a founder by asking her children to donate money to the fund last year in lieu of buying her a Christmas or Birthday gift. Founders do not have to be individual donors; groups can pool their money together to reach that status. For example, the South Fork Women's Club has done so. “The Mountain Mamas,” a group of 20 Kern Valley residents donating $50 each, led by Heather Berry. The group will be recognized for their creative approach to philanthropy at the WGF luncheon in Bakersfield on May 15. “The Kern Community Foundation is very impressed with the Kern Valley members. Your attendance at the luncheons held here for the past two years beat every other Women and Girls Fund event,” said McCarthy.

The mission of the Women's and Girls' Fund of Kern County reads: We will transform the lives of women and girls in Kern County by mobilizing the power and passion of women working together. To learn more about the, or to make a donation, email info@kernfoundation.org, or call (661) 325-5346.