Hey people

Last night at the Vision group meeting we got on to the discussion of what to do with any money we raise. Obviously, Ladyfest Bristol is a non profit event, so any money we have left over from merchandise, advertising etc (which should be some, but prob not much) is going to charity.
The question is : which one?

We have to be careful that any charity we give to reflects the aims and objectives set out by Ladyfest. (the updated and refined aims and objectives list is going up on the website shortly) We need a charity that is inclusive to gender issues, and therefore not specific to one problem. This is why we will prob rule out WomensAid, as although it is an excellent charity (and this is where it gets tricky, as all charities deserve money!) it is for a specific cause, and we felt maybe it would be wiser to go for something more generally about gender issues.

This also led to discussion as to whether we should concentrate on donating money to local organisations that have helped us, or help women in the community, such as Here, Kino, The Feminist Library etc. as we can't expect to make that much money, is it wise to spread ourselves thinly?

The Fawcett Society was mentioned, as that is currently running a campaign on equal pay which is something that effects all genders, as well as being a class and ethnicity issue, particularly for women. Anna is looking in to them for us.

Another idea was an international charity. This stems from the idea that gender inequality is a global issue. however, the argument against this is whether a Bristol festival should be thinking more locally, or whether we want to give to a charity that has an immediate impact on us.

Please have a think about what you feel should be done with the money and what charities you feel best reflect the aims of Ladyfest.

Sian

I definitely think we should go for one that reflects the aims of the festival so promotes gender equality.Charities will have their aims/objectives stated somewhere so we need to find one that will use our money to further this aim.

Therefore, womens aid is probably not appropriate for this event. I'd like to know more about Fawcett and I think that although international charities and issues are important, we should consider helping our community as they will be the ones supporting the event.

Dear Anna
>
> Thank you for your email and thinking of Fawcett.
>
> We, like many small charities, are always in desperate need of support and
> do rely heavily on supporters to fund our campaigns. Donations received from
> supporters are very important to us because they are unrestricted which
> means that we can spend them where there is most need. Therefore, it is
> difficult for me to say exactly what any donation would be spent on unless
> you wanted to sponsor a specific event or campaign report, although we
> usually draw on corporate funds to support such activities.
>
> One area of our work that we repeatedly have problems in funding is our work
> around Women and power, specifically increasing the representation of women
> in Parliament. We find it easier to make a case for support around our work
> to help disadvantaged women, such as our current work around the women's
> debt and savings gap or our work around women's experiences of the criminal
> justice system. However, our view is that if we were able do more work to
> get more women into positions where they can directly influence policy
> making then this would help to eradicate some of the causes of inequality.
> Ultimately any donation that you may make would go towards the campaign for
> equality, whether that is our work around increasing women's access to
> power, money or justice.
>
> However, we do have a Fawcett local group in Bristol and they have done some
> great work locally around the end violence against women campaign. If you
> are interested in supporting a local activity I would suggest that you
> contact Helen Mott from the group, who I have copied into this email above.
>
> If you would like to talk more about any of this or any ideas that you may
> have yourself I would be happy to hear from you.
>
> Please feel free to contact me on the number below, I am in the office most
> days.
>
> Thank you again for your enquiry.
>
> Kind Regards
>
> Lucy
>
>
>
> Lucy Hogg
> *Senior Fundraiser: **
> Membership & Supporter Development
>
> *Fawcett Society
> 1-3 Berry Street
> London EC1V 0AA
>
> T: 020 7253 2598
> F: 020 7253 2599
>
> Our vision is of a society in which women and men enjoy equality at work, at
> home and in public life. Where there is a gap between women and men we are
> working to close it! Join us at www.fawcettsociety.org.uk add your voice and
> ensure that this vital work continues!
>

i think they sound good. i like the idea of grass roots campaigning to get women in to positions where more good can be done. i think that represents what ladyfest is about - ie, working on a smallish level to get more recognition for women's work on a higher level. i also think it works on both a local and national level, in that they do specific work in bristol, as well as being a movement that is around the country.

it is difficult to know what to do about giving to more than one charity, as we don't kow how much money we're going to have. it would be stupid to donate a token amount as it were. I really do want to give to an international charity, as that is my own personal politics, and i think it is important on a wider feminist scale. But, i think the priority needs to be fitting the local and ladyfest goal charity side of things, as liz said, and fawcett fits this well. we don't want to commit to giving to two charites in our advertising, and then backtrack because we simply can't afford it.

the info at the end of the email (undreneath where she signed it) would prob work as a good blurb for the charity.

As I said over the email I think this reflects the three aims of ladyfest Bristol so is an app chairty. I also think we should donate some kind of gift to each local org who has given us time and space for free such as Kino, Here and the Feminist library to thanks them.

i think we've decided to go with the fawcett. we also hope to buy presents for the organisations that have helped us out.

Cool. Does the whole group agree of just the steering committee?