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Shaping the future of soroptimistElizabeth M. Lucas, Executive Director &CEO, SIA1/ This presentation has been prepared by SIA to share the direction of the organization. Today I share this presentation to help you understand the direction, as it will require us to shift our perspective to shape our future. (FOR GOVERNORS TO SAY TO DISTRICT DIRECTORS AND CLUB PRESIDENTS: This Power Point presentation is available in the member section of the Soroptimist website. It is too large to e-mail to you. You may download this presentation along with a Word file script to use with your volunteers.)

1The Soroptimist Legacy91 Years of ProgressSociety Influences How We Deliver Our ProgramsConcentrate On Our Mission

2a/For 91 years, Soroptimist International of the Americas has been working to improve the lives of women and girls both locally and globally.

2b/ Today, the quickening pace of society, greater access to people and ideas worldwide, and the continued need to respect and integrate different cultural norms into our programs all influence how we deliver our mission.

2c/ While the world changes around us, to remain relevant and vital we must turn our attention inward. We need to concentrate on our mission if we are to continue the Soroptimist legacy into the future.

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CHANGE3/ In 2004, SIA began the Renaissance Campaign, which was built upon the four organizational categories of Program, Membership, Public Awareness and Fundraising. The Renaissance Campaign has provided an excellent framework and supported our work as a woman and girl-focused organization. We are taking what we have learned from the Renaissance Campaign. We are shaping it to better meet the changing and evolving needs of those interested in our mission. And we are moving forward with a new strategic direction.

3New Strategic DirectionWho we areWhy we do what we doWhat will we do to move forward

4a/ Over the last eight months, our SIA Board of Directors has been actively working to clarify the organizations strategic direction.

As part of the process, the Board has reaffirmed

4b/ WHO we are,

4c/ WHY we do what we do, and has agreed upon a direction

4d/for WHAT the organization will do to move forward.

4Who we are:Global Womens IssuesImproving Socio-economic StatusVolunteer NetworkLive Your Dream.org

Improving the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world5a/SIAs Board has reaffirmed we are a nonprofit womens organization focused on improving the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world. As such, the Board has identified SIA as an organization concerned with

5b/ global womens issues specifically 5c/ improving their socio-economic status. We deliver our mission through

5d/ a volunteer network of members, clubs, regions, the federation and now,

5e/ our online platform, Live Your Dream.org.

5Why we do what we do Our purpose is to enable women and girls to live their dreams

6a/ Our SIA Board has also reaffirmed why we are a women and girl-focused organization. Both men and women, girls and boys, live in poverty, face discrimination and have to overcome obstacles. But, throughout history, in every country in the world, women and girls face additional obstacles and discrimination because of their gender. 6b/ Therefore, the Board has agreed the purpose of SIA is to support programs that enable women and girls to take control of their lives so they can live their dreams.

6Moving Forward

7a/After many hours of thinking, discussing and reflecting, our SIA Board has agreed the best way for women and girls to take control of their lives and live their dreams is by

7b/ improving their socio-economic status through access to the education they need to move ahead.

7c/ This is the social change we seekbettering the socio-economic status of women and girls locally and globally in the 19 countries and territories we serve.

To implement this social change, we wish to effect, the Board agreed upon an overarching goal for moving our organization forward -

7Increase our Collective Impact8/ to Increase our Collective Impact. 8What is Collective Impact?

9/ What exactly does Increased Collective Impact mean? 9Increased Collective ImpactWe are the collectiveImprove the lives of women and girlsMeasure sustainable improvementIncrease socio-economic status of WOA recipientsAdvance SIAs recognition as a global womens organizationAttract more resources, increase impact

Together well work to:10a/ It represents a collective effort of SIAs clubs, districts, regions, board and staff as we work:

10b/ to improve the lives of women and girls in our local communities and throughout the world,

10c/ using measureable evidence to indicate the level of sustainable improvement made,

10d/ for increasing their socio-economic status of the Womens Opportunity Awards recipients,

10e/ to advance SIAs recognition as an effective global womens organization, and

10f/ attract more resources to further increase our organization-wide impact in improving the lives of women and girls.

10Increased Collective ImpactQualityCohesive ActionSocial Change

## Quantity ##11a/ In other words, Increased Collective Impact is about turning the individual work of clubs, districts, regions, board and staff into a cohesive action. Increased Collective Impact demonstrates the change we are making together, in the lives of women and girls. Increased Collective Impact is about the social change we effect, not about increasing the number of projects we carry out.

11b/ Its about quality over quantity.

11The single most effective way to empower women and girlsAccess to Education

12a/In 2011, all Federations agreed through a survey by Soroptimist International that access to education is the top issue we want to address. In support of the Increased Collective Impact strategy, the Board has

12b/ reaffirmed education, which includes vocational and skills training and access to primary, secondary and higher education, as the single most effective way to empower women and girls.

12Access to Education:Womens Opportunity Awards

Sustainable Change13a/ Over the years SIA has been responsive to many good ideas to help the lives of women and girls. And that has served us well. But the SIA board believes focusing on providing women and girls with access to education is our single best chance to create a sustainable change in their lives.

13 b/ By sustainable, we mean long-term, permanent change. This focus requires our regions, districts and our clubs to redouble our efforts to support SIAs Womens Opportunity Awards. The federation is committed to growing the program to reach more women.

13Women helping women

Working together as a team14/ The Board went on to examine the organizations core values and directed our organization to carry out our service with a spirit of teamwork of women working together to help other women. The Board intends for this core value of teamwork to be woven into the fabric of the organization. For if SIA is to be an effective organization, we must put aside individual desires and actions and dedicate ourselves to working together, as a team.

14Measurable Evidence

Case Statement ReportExplain effect of WOA program Convince corporate sponsors to investUnderstand the value of collective impactAdvance our recognition15a/ To further demonstrate our collective impact, the Board has also directed the organization to measure and collect evidence of the success of our programs. 15b/SIA is developing a report called a case statement. It will explain the effectiveness of our Womens Opportunity Awards program, supported by the hard evidence our collective impact provides.

15c/The case statement is a necessary tool if we are to convince potential corporate sponsors why their investment in SIA would be a good return on the social change the corporation seeks to support.

15d/The Board believes our case statement will help all of us members, leadership, staff, volunteers, donors better understand the value Soroptimists collective impact is making in society.

15e/And further believes the case statement will advance our recognition as a vital global organization addressing womens issues.

15SIA Boards Direction:

Increased Collective Impact16/ In summary, the SIA boards direction to the organization is to create and demonstrate a sustainable, measurable, evidence-based change in society (increased) by working together, as a team (collective), through programs that will empower women and girls to take control of their lives to improve their socio-economic status, and live their dreams of a better life (impact). This is what our new direction, Increased Collective Impact, stands for.

16Shaping the Future of Soroptimist

17/The graphic you are looking at is the model we will use to Shape the Future of Soroptimist through Increase Collective Impact. It is conceptualized as three building blocks, each one building on the other for the successful evolution of Soroptimist and the attainment of Increased Collective Impact.

17Greater ClarityIdentifyBarriersBuild NumbersIncreased Impact18/ The top building block, a green diamond, represents the Boards broad strategic direction of Increased Collective Impact. The diamonds top point signifies Increased Collective Impact itself; while the bottom point represents the need to identify barriers to achieving Increased Collective Impact. Barriers such as:

lacking the discipline to stay focused on who we are and what we donot having the sufficient evidence base to demonstrate our programs truly make a sustainable difference in the lives of women and girlsour inability to advance our recognition for its collective affect in improving the lives of women and girlsgiving to other causes, not to SIAs cause, diminishing our resources and making it difficult to engage more people in carrying out our mission.Moving to the left of the diamond, this point represents the greater clarity and discipline needed for staying focused on who we are as an organization and what we need to do to achieve Increased Collective Impact. Whereas the point on the right represents the need for building our numbers our financial resources, the number of people engaged in our mission, and the number of women and girls lives we improve.

18DirectionProgramsRecognitionResourcesConditionsIncreased ImpactGreater ClarityIdentify BarriersBuild NumbersIncreased Impact19/ Moving down, the next building block is the orange circle. It represents how we will accomplish our goal of Increased Collective Impact. It contains a circular flow of five steps all building toward the goal of Increased Collective Impact seen in the center.

Here, organizational direction at the top leads to influencing programming, leading to better recognition, which in turn makes it possible to have greater resources to positively change the conditions of women and girls. You see, its a cycle a cycle of change that with each iteration, refines and betters our ability to advance our mission.

19Change Management20/ And lastly, the pink rectangle, a broad and sturdy shape, represents the foundational change needed to actualize our goal of Increased Collective Impact. It represents the change we must manage and the shift in perspective we must undertake if we are to achieve Increased Collective Impact and leave the Soroptimist legacy for future generations.

20SIA Needs Your Help: demonstrate our impact as a global womens organization help women & girls access educationempower women & girlsimprove their socio-economic statusinspire them to live their dreamsIncreased Collective ImpactTogether we can21a/ Our Board of Directors has agreed the broad strategic direction of Increased Collective Impact is SIAs future state. And to achieve that future, the board needs your help. All Federations have agreed that education is the key to improving the socio-economic status of women and girls, creating the social change to help them improve their lives. To actualize our big goal of Increased Collective Impact, all levels of SIA will need to support this focus. For when all levels of our organization focus on the same issue we will be able to:

21b/ demonstrate our collective impact as a global womens organization

21c/ providing programs that help women and girls access the education they need,

21d/ to effectively empower them to take control of their lives

21e/ to improve their socio-economic status

21f/ and inspire them to live their dreams of a better life. The Board realizes clubs must meet the local need. The Board is not suggesting clubs discontinue their many great women- and girl-focused projects. The Board is simply asking clubs to consider focusing on socio-economic empowerment, particularly by providing women and girls with access to education. In addition to contributing to SIAs collective impact, your focus of providing access to education will support SIs ten year theme of Educate to Lead.

21How can you contribute?Distribute more awardsProvide on-going support to recipientsWomens Opportunity Awards

22a/ The single most effective way clubs can contribute to SIAs collective impact is by growing their participation in the Womens Opportunity Awards program. What does this mean?

It means

22b/ giving more awards

22c/building long-term relationships with and providing support to recipients beyond the cash award.

The program department at headquarters has lots of ideas to help clubs with this.

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How can you contribute?Make Soroptimist your #1 cause!

Give at least 10% of your fundraising efforts to your #1 cause

Increased Collective Impact23/ The Board also understands clubs sometimes feel it important to raise funds and contribute financially to other women and girl-focused organizations. However, for us to successfully Increase Our Collective Impact, we must focus our efforts and reserve our resources in support of our own mission and goals. For how will we be able to effectively increase our collective impact if we dilute our strength of focus and resources by contributing to causes other than our own? Therefore, the board is asking our clubs to contribute at least10% of their funds raised to SIA, while keeping 90% right in their own club.The SIA Board of Directors is confident if we work together as an organization we can successfully Increase Our Collective Impact through focusing on the issue of education. But, as stated, to be successful, they need our help.

23Three ways you can helpFocus on helping women and girls gain access to education: Womens Opportunity Awards programSign up for Live Your Dream: www.liveyourdream.orgGive at least10% of local fundraising to Club GivingIncreased Collective Impact24a/ I am asking you to prepare to do three things:

24b/ Focus on projects that advance the socio-economic status of women and girls through access to education. This means participate in Womens Opportunity Awards. Give more awards and expand support for the recipients. It also means thinking about additional ways to support local projects that help women and girls gain access to education. These two actions will help our organization Increase Our Collective Impact and support SIs Educate to Lead.

24c/ Have all members help to build collective impact by signing up for Live Your Dream, and asking all their friends, family and colleagues to do the same, and

24d/ Make Soroptimist their cause of choice by giving at least 10% of your clubs funds raised to Club Giving. By redirecting a small portion of the money clubs and regions raise, to Club Giving, we can further our collective cause of improving the socio-economic status of woman and girls.

Thats it!

After all, as members, and as global citizens, you are in the best position to Increase Our Collective Impact just by focusing our resources both in program activity and in funds donated.

24Share the messageIncreased Collective Impact

25/ I have been asked to begin the new club year by delivering this message to all of our volunteers and beginning the process of change that starts with shifting our perspective.to embrace Increased Collective Impact.

(For Governors Only: Please share this presentation and message with your volunteers so they can begin the new club year by understanding how we need to shift our perspective.to embrace Increased Collective Impact. A copy of this PPT presentation is available at http://www.soroptimist.org/members/regiongovernor.htmlfor you to use in delivering this message to club members.)

(For District Directors and Club Presidents Only: Please share this presentation and message with your volunteers so they can begin the new club year by understanding how we need to shift our perspective.to embrace Increased Collective Impact. A copy of this PPT presentation is available at http://www.soroptimist.org/members.html for you to use in delivering this message to club members.)

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26/ Are you ready to truly make a difference in the lives of women and girls in a way weve never been able to do before? Are you ready to Shape the Future of Soroptimist through Increased Collective Impact? If you are, please raise your hand to signal your support for shaping the future of Soroptimist. Excellent!

(If You Hand Out Shaping the Future Pins Available Through SIA Product Sales: and accept and wear the pin that is being handed to you as a symbol of your support in shifting your perspective to Shape the Future of Soroptimist).

Thank you for your show of support, for together, through Increased Collective Impact, we can improve our organizations status and ensure we carry the Soroptimist legacy into the future.

26Shaping the future, leaving a legacyINCREASED COLLECTIVE IMPACTThank you, Soroptimists!27/ Our plans for the new club year should be reviewed and adjusted so they align with what headquarters is asking us to do. Lets go through our plan now and look at our programs and projects to ensure they support education and are sustainable in that they have made a difference in the women or girls life. Lets also be sure the four pillars of success are fully engaged to help us move forward.I would also like us look at our budget for the year and determine how to give at least 10% of our funds raised to Club Giving to strengthen our commitment to education and collectively contribute to growing the WOA program with more awards.

For together, with other clubs, districts and regions, by Shaping the Future of Soroptimist through Increased Collective Impact, we can improve our organizations status and ensure we carry the Soroptimist legacy into the future.

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