Hello WIN,
What an exciting Grants Celebration we had October 4. Being able to give two grants of $110,342 each to two very worthy causes was so gratifying for all of us. Clearly WIN has emerged as a group that empowers good results for our Nebraska communities and for the University of Nebraska. I am grateful to you for your generosity and your other-focused visionary investments.
The University of Nebraska grant went to the Nebraska College of Law’s Children Justice Clinic. Our investment supports a licensed independent clinical social worker to partner with law students who serve as guardians ad litem for children in juvenile court. Most cases involve family situations that include domestic violence, neglect, unsafe housing and substance abuse. This project is a national model for other colleges of law in the nation and has resulted in the recruitment of more students at Nebraska Law.
The second grant of equal value went to the Nebraska Panhandle Area Health Education Center in Scottsbluff to support efforts to grow the healthcare workforce pipeline in rural and underserved parts of Nebraska.
Our WIN membership for the 2023 grant cycle reached a new high of 259, and this is the first time we have been able to provide more than $200,000 in grants. Together we are more generous and powerful than we ever could be alone.
My sincere thanks to Jaci Lindburg for leading the Grants Committee that sorted through 116 grant applications and did an in-depth analysis of each opportunity, leading to our final recipients based on your informed votes. These are truly bold, innovative projects worthy of our support.
So now we begin our work of building our pool of funds for the 2024 grant recipients. I am hopeful that we might be able to reach yet a new high. What if we could reach $250,000—think of the remarkable positive impact that could have. All funds given to WIN beginning July 1 of this year and through June 30, 2024 will go to the 2024 grants. Your donations are used with a lot of thoughtful care as a true investment in our communities. As of this writing we have 110 members—a great start.
I am so fortunate to be working with three dedicated and talented committee chairs, Jaci on Grants, Jill Davis on Membership and Sarah Button on Education. Our team will be in place for 2024 as well. Meanwhile, I encourage you to think about the possibility of becoming a committee chair to serve on the leadership team for 2025/2026. If that appeals to your sensibilities and use of talents, please let our director Morgan Holen know you would like to be considered. We will identify the next team by early 2024 so the new team has a chance to shadow the current team.
Thank you for your heartful, generous support. Together we WIN.
Meg
Meg Lauerman
WIN Chair