EWI gets visibility through RaiseForWomen Campaign Milestone and The Huffington Post

Many thanks to all who contributed to Empowered Women International through the online giving event: RaiseForWomen hosted by The Huffington Post, The Skoll Foundation, and Half the Sky Movement.

With your support, so far, we raised $2,293, and a gift of exposure from HuffPostImpact through their Facebook and Twitter accounts (see the prizes below).

The campaign will continue until June 6, and the next bonus challenge started at today for $4,000. Here’s the deal…

The charity that raises the most by May 27 @ 12pm ET will get an additional $4,000.  

Please share our link http://www.crowdrise.com/GiftFreedomandOpportunity/fundraiser/empoweredwomenintl with your friends and help us meet our goal of$15,000 by June 6. 

Many thanks for all your support and dedication to the cause of Empowered Women International.

Learn more about the prizes here. http://www.crowdrisepromos.com/raiseforwomen/index.html

In Letter to the Editor, Good Things Happened on Spring2Action

The April 17 Spring2Action online philanthropic and giving event was a day filled with excitement, energy and dedication. The whole Alexandria community came together to raise money and left a lasting and meaningful impact on all of the non-profits involved during the event.

Perhaps the most important footprint this special day left was none other than here at the headquarters of Empowered Women International. With the help and support of everyone involved we were able to raise $30,497 and won an additional $2,850 in prizes from ACT for Alexandria.

This huge milestone for EWI and the women in our Entrepreneur Training for Success was recently documented in a letter Marga Fripp wrote to the editor in Alexandria Times, which was laster picked up by the Nonprofit Roundtable e-Newsletter. The letter, “When city residents get together good things happen,” highlights the mission of EWI and what it stands for, and expounds how people with similar visions coming together can accomplish huge results in a single day. With ACT for Alexandria’s meticulous work, our contributor’s relentless support, and our wonderful board members, volunteers, and staff we have made great strides to make the world a better place leaving a lasting legacy and a community of change-makers.

We thank Alexandria Time’s for publishing the letter and deeply gratified for the generous and continuous support of all who made Spring2Action a day to remember!

To read the letter, please visit:

http://alextimes.com/2013/05/when-city-residents-get-together-good-things-happen/

Marga Fripp in Montgomery College Publication

As a stand-out graduate of Montgomery College, EWI Founder & Visionary Marga Fripp has been featured in the college’s publication about her story and Empowered Women International. With an oversize picture of an always-smiling Marga, the article talks about her life story, how she traveled from Romania to a foreign country that would become later on her permanent home and the abode to her biggest dream.

Marga Fripp on the Montgomery College publication

From simply wishing to find ways to integrate, to helping and teaching other women to pursue their creative talents, then to founding Empowered Women International, Marga has mobilized and transformed hundred of women into savvy business women and community leaders. Her determination, passion, energy, and creativity has helped her and EWI succeed throughout these past ten years and beyond. Her story never ceases to amaze and ignite interest; she is the ultimate embodiment of success, accomplishment and hope. Her story is a quintessentially American story.

We thank the Montgomery College for including our Marga into their publication and a huge shout out goes to all the people who work tirelessly towards EWI’s success!

Photo courtesy of Ernesto Rivera, to learn more about him go to his personal blog:

http://ernestoarivera.wordpress.com

Upcoming Event! “What Color Is Your Money?”

Renowned CPA, International Chartered Accountant and our ETS Financial Coach Tope Ganiyah Fajingbesi is officially launching her book entitled “What Color is Your Money?.” The event will be held on Tuesday, May 21st at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW, DC 20001.

The program will begin at 6pm and end at 8pm. Get ready to find out your money color is and how to rock it, hear the story of the “2 Benjamins” and get some free gifts! There will also be opportunities to buy signed copies of the book at the event.

Admission is free and you can bring your friends along, but please take a second to RSVP at

http://ourfinancialcoach.com/events/

A High Energy Day at the WVEC Conference!

EWI could not have been more proud to be a part of empowering veteran entrepreneurs this week at the WVEC Conference. Hosted by our friends and supporters at Capital One, a huge thank you goes to Nancy Stark, Senior Manager of Community Development Banking at Capital One in McLean, VA for inviting us to this extraordinary event. We met with many new friends from the ever-so-splendid Count Me In, the main presenter and organizer of the event, and all enjoyed a high energy day full of growth and vision in the empowered women’s entrepreneurial endeavors.

Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence is the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources, business education and community support for women entrepreneurs seeking to grow micro-businesses into million dollar enterprises. Count Me In has inspired tens of thousands of women to take control of the potential of success by providing a wealth of virtual tools and resources, live competitions, and a variety of peer exchange platforms all designed to help women business owners substantially and sustainably
increase revenues and create new jobs.

Jami McDowell (Community Partnerships Intern), Kate Campbell Stevenson (EWI Board), and Charmelle Clark (Spring ETS Student). Not show but in attendance were Dianne Lorenz (Chair, EWI Board), Lizzie Clark (Spring 2012 Grad), Winter Walker and Rashunda Bailey ((Fall 2012 Grads)

Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps (WVEC), an exciting new business growth initiative for women business owners who are veterans or spouses/domestic partners of veterans. WVEC targets women looking to grow their small businesses quickly and sustainably, ready to create new jobs, and contribute to economic growth in their community.

The morning started with a wonderful introduction by the keynote speaker as well as the Founder and President of Count Me In, Nell Merlino. Nell provided wonderful insight and encouragement for being strong leaders and moving forward with the sometimes daunting task of starting a new business. During the afternoon, the participating WVEC participants presented their business pitch to a panel of judges.

The women were critiqued and given some wonderful advice and feedback by Heather Cox, Executive Vice President of U.S. Card Operations for Capital One Financial Corporation’s domestic credit card business. The women were competing with their pitch to be able to participate in the Count Me In Business Accelerator Program, a 9-month curriculum designed to help women business owners with $50,000-$150,000 in annual gross revenues reach $250,000+ within 18-36 months. This program is FREE to all Awardees and valued at $3000. Designed and delivered by People Biz, Inc., the program utilizes an effective combination of group coaching and training in business education, expert support and peer accountability.

At the end of the day, all women were winners of the Business Accelerator Program which was a pleasant and well deserved surprise to all that made the effort!

By Jami McDowell, Community Partnerships Intern

Marga Fripp takes EWI to the Woman’s National Democratic Club

Want know more about EWI and the extraordinary league of women changing the world? Come join Marga Fripp at the Woman’s National Democratic Club on May 9, 2013 as she introduces EWI to a growing and vibrant audience.

The WNDC is located in The Whittemore House in the greater Washington, DC area and engages men & women in public policy paving the way for future democratic leaders. The club hosts outstanding speakers who have dedicated their lives for public service from first ladies, to ambassadors, to renowned authors.

EWI is honored to be included in the up and coming speaking engagements featuring journalists, authors and among them our own, Marga Fripp.

She will be presenting about Empowering Women and Creating Social Change Through Entrepreneurship from 12pm to 2pm with brief recess for Q & A. There will be open bar and lunch and participation prices vary from $20 for members, to $30 for non-members (includes lunch), to $10 for lecture only. Learn more and buy tickets here.

Currently Accepting ETS Applications!

Do you know an immigrant woman ready to make a living doing what she is passionate about? We can help!

We work with talented and high-potential immigrant, refugee and low-income women and help them monetize their creative or cultural assets, artistic abilities, knowledge and skills.

Perhaps you know someone who loves to bake, cook, make art, design clothes or teach your skills to others? Whatever her passion might be we can help turn it into business.

We are currently accepting applications and conducting intake interviews. The application is free and available online through the link below.

Tuition scholarships are offered based on need and merit to qualified women applying for our program. Learn more and apply now

Mondays with Marga. It’s All about Love…

Today is about love; our unique ability to make the world a better place.

A chance to reflect once more on what makes us rise above ordinary… It is not about what we possess, but about what we give. The extraordinary actions we take everyday that change people’s lives.

And that’s just what we do. It’s all wrapped in love.

So, to this note, I want to add without writing a book that these past 6 weeks of the year (when you haven’t heard from me a whole lot) I have been everywhere along with our team making change happen.

EWI is growing by leaps and bounds, and as exciting as it is, it’s also incredibly intense and transformational in all ways.

We’re revising our core entrepreneurship curriculum and the schedule of classes based on feedback from our students, trainers and mentors. This took a little longer than we have expected, but we have some awesome new features in our training.

The revised entrepreneurship training offers more hands-on mentoring with industry experts, a more effective financial planning module and applied learning through guest speaker entrepreneurs, peer support and networking with successful entrepreneurs and women leaders.

We are also developing a new nine-month business accelerator program to support women entrepreneurs growing their micro-businesses. This program will include monthly group advising sessions with established entrepreneurs, financial advising, one-on-one business coaching, and micro-loan applications.

The ultimate goal is to help our graduates’ startups grow and go the distance. A business pitch contest will complete the program, and graduates will have the chance to win cash prizes to support their business.

As I write to you our team is busy interviewing amazing women for our Entrepreneur Training for Success starting in April.

If you know of an immigrant or low-income woman who wants to make a living working for herself, doing what she loves, send her our way. We provide scholarships for qualified low-income women. Read more and refer her to EWI.

We work with a wide community of talented and skilled creative entrepreneurs who start micro-businesses to support themselves, their families and communities. Some are entrepreneurs in art, music, film, food and the beauty industry, and others in education, business consulting, nutrition and wellness, cleaning services and other home based services.

These entrepreneurs are the backbone of our local economy, and their innovations, passion and dedication make the world a better place for all.

Read more in the next sections about amazing EWI entrepreneurs who break societal barriers through their work and inspire us all of us.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you supporting our journey to empower changemakers to act on their passion and skills.

Onward and Upward!

Marga C. Fripp
Founder & Chief Visionary
Empowered Women International

(originally published on EWI’s Newsletter 02/15/2013)

Bits + Pieces

1. Perri, EWI’s Outreach Coordinator, and Mariana, EWI’s graphic design volunteer, attended Language ETC’s Community Services Fair in DC on Tuesday

2. On Thursday, Perri and Mary, EWI’s Program Manager, had a great social media planning meeting at Cosi in Virginia Square!

3. This week EWI graduate and volunteer, Velma Crawford, was interviewed on Mining the Heart radio show on XM radio.

4. EWI graduates Aida and Lizzie came to our office (just in time for some surprise VDay chocolate covered strawberries!) in preparation for the Micro-Business Lending Conference in Richmond on February 25th and 26th. The two fantastic food entrepreneurs will be part of the “Meet the Micros” segment of the conference. Marga will introduce the women entrepreuners and discuss the role that technical assistance plays in the development of micro enterprises. She will moderate a discussion with the women about their work, needs, and their business goals for the future.

5. Development Associate, Alexandra, met Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor while out and about in DC! So exciting!

6. We celebrated Valentine’s Day with lots of roses, chocolates, heart shaped brownies, and a lovely Lebanese lunch! We hope you all had a great day celebrating loved ones, too!

Happy weekend, everyone! Don’t forget to check back on Monday for a Mondays With Marga post and a new Coach’s Corner!

Wanted: Interns!

Have you ever wanted to become more involved with EWI’s day-to-day activities and projects?! Now’s your chance!

EWI is looking for two passionate, hardworking, creative, and enthusiastic people to fill our two open intern positions for the Spring! We have openings for a Program Associate Intern and for a Community Partnerships Intern.

EWI’s Fall 2012 Interns (Jeremy, Charlia, Mina, and Melinda) celebrating EWI with staff members Mary and Alexandra!

The Program Associate Intern will…

Work closely with EWI’s Program Manager and the Executive Director to assist in the coordination and execution of a series of organizational projects.

1) Prepare and support EWI team for the launching of the Entrepreneur Training for Success, Grow My Business, the Mentor and Business Coaching Programs
2) Assist in providing client services (client intake management, follow up with clients, research and client resources and referrals)
3) Contribute to organizing events (home parties, artist marketplace, business plan pitch, graduation, etc. – calendaring, logistics, coordination, planning)
4) General office administration (data entry, research, ordering supplies, etc.)
5) Assist in planning and organizing fundraising campaigns and events

To read the full position description and apply for the Program Associate Internship, click here!

Summer 2012 Interns Hellina, Sallie, and Teal enjoying some cake at our Spring 2012 graduation ceremony!

The Community Partnerships Intern will…

Work closely with the Program Manager and the Outreach Coordinator to
1) expand EWI’s outreach efforts to culturally diverse communities in the Greater Washington DC area
2) expand recruitment efforts to sustain an on-going enrollment of client applicants for our entrepreneur incubator,
3) develop and implement strategies to recruit and manage mentors, volunteers, and business coaches
4) build new strategic partnerships, cultivate existing ones, and develop mutually-beneficial incentives.

To read the full position description and apply for the Community Partnerships Internship, click here!

Jeremy, Alexandria, Charlia, and Perri at EWI’s Holiday Marketplace!

We hope you’ll join us for a fun-filled and energetic Spring of Empowering Women!