20 Years of Women Giving Together

Twenty years ago, a handful of local women came together around a simple idea: when women combine their generosity, they can make a greater difference together. From that idea, Women Giving Together was born. And now for two decades, White County women have gathered, given, and built a legacy that will continue long after them.

This giving circle that has brought hundreds of women together, invested in organizations throughout White County, created unforgettable community experiences, and built a permanent source of charitable support for generations to come.

And while much has changed over 20 years, the heart of Women Giving Together has remained remarkably simple: women coming together to care for their community.

For 19 completed grant cycles, with the 20th now underway, Women Giving Together members have pooled their charitable dollars and collectively decided how those resources can make a difference. Together, they have awarded 134 grants totaling more than $190,000 to organizations serving White County.

Those dollars tell countless stories.

They have helped women access free breast cancer screenings. They have kept babies fed, clean, and safe. They have provided nutritious meals to homebound seniors. They have sheltered women fleeing domestic violence. They have built pride in our small communities through colorful murals that bring people and places to life.

Women Giving Together also awards an annual scholarship in honor of founding member Connie Neininger, carrying forward her commitment to others by investing in another woman's future. Unique among the Foundation's scholarships, this award specifically supports nontraditional female students in White County, women who are returning to school later in life to continue their education and pursue new opportunities.

But perhaps one of the most remarkable parts of the WGT story is that every gift is designed to make a difference both now and later. Half of each contribution becomes available to support grantmaking the following year. The other half is invested, building a permanent charitable resource whose annual distributions also support future grants.

That means gifts made years ago are still giving today, and gifts made today will help women make a difference long into the future.

The giving has always been important. But so has the gathering.

In 2007, Women Giving Together held its first luncheon, welcoming 87 guests and featuring Indiana First Lady Judy O'Bannon. It was the beginning of a great tradition.

Over the next two decades, WGT would host 16 luncheons, eventually welcoming as many as 300 guests at a time. Along the way, women heard from inspiring speakers, shared meals, invited friends, learned about their community, and discovered new ways to make a difference. The format of those gatherings has changed over the years, but their purpose hasn't.

There is something powerful about bringing women around the same table, not simply to raise money, but to build relationships, exchange ideas, laugh together, learn together, and recognize what is possible when generosity becomes collective.

Sometimes, Women Giving Together's impact has extended beyond a traditional grant.

The group helped bring Holocaust survivor Eva Kor to White County, giving local residents an extraordinary opportunity to hear firsthand her story of survival, forgiveness, and hope.

Nearly two decades after WGT began, its members helped bring another powerful piece of history to White County: The Wall That Heals, the traveling three-quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Thousands of visitors came to White County during its stay, supported by hundreds of volunteers and donors and creating an experience our community will remember for generations.

These moments reflect something that has been true throughout WGT's history: strengthening a community isn't always about funding a project. Sometimes it means creating an opportunity to gather, learn, remember, understand one another, and experience something together.

Perhaps the most meaningful part of celebrating 20 years is looking back at the women who made all of this possible. Some of the first ladies to join the giving circle are no longer with us. But the circle they created continues to grow, and their generosity continues to touch people they could never have known.

Their legacy lives in the scholarship awarded in Connie's honor. It lives in grants made possible by dollars invested years ago. It lives in organizations strengthened by WGT support, in community experiences that became treasured memories, and in the women who continue gathering around the table today.

Twenty years later, new women are making decisions with resources earlier generations helped build. And the gifts being made today will someday be entrusted to women who haven't joined the circle yet.

That's the beauty of Women Giving Together.

It was never simply about one luncheon, one grant, one donor, or even one generation.

It is about what happens when women believe in their community, and in one another, enough to build something together.