“I give because I believe women-owned businesses enrich communities.”
Sonya McCullum Roberts, was recently asked what motivates her to give to WomenVenture in support of female founders.
“I believe women-owned businesses enrich communities. I believe in the mission, the work, and the team at WomenVenture. They are there to support women attaining economic self-sufficiency by helping them lead businesses that provide a living wage. The work they do changes lives of women, communities, and possibly generations. It’s good work.
“I also give because I am proud and envious of each of these women entrepreneurs.”
“Because of their passion, these women have the courage to lead their own businesses, sometimes with very limited safety nets. I don’t know if I could be an entrepreneur but I’m so excited that I can support those that can,” said Sonya.
Sonya makes her gifts through a donor advised fund, which provides a way to easily gift cash, assets, and appreciated securities to a charitable organization. This method can provide additional tax benefits, but first talk to your financial planner to see if this is right for you.
Donor advised funds also provide flexibility on the timing of charitable contributions for tax purposes, allowing the possibility for charitable deductions to be “bundled” into one year and the charitable grants themselves made in different tax years.
“Donor advised funds provide a convenient way to complete and track charitable grants on an ongoing basis. My family has had this set up for a few years through Schwab and we use it for just about all of our charitable contributions,” said Sonya.
A donor and WomenVenture board member, Sonya is in her second term serving on the board and has been a great advocate for WomenVenture at Cargill in her role as President – Salt Group. She encourages her colleagues to volunteer their expertise to help WomenVenture clients and has been able to secure Cargill’s support as Dessert Sponsor for Women Mean Business, WomenVenture’s annual fundraiser.
“If you’re thinking about donating to WomenVenture, I’d highly encourage it,” says Sonya. “As a board member, I know how important individual donors are to our program’s success and see firsthand the impact of these gifts.”
Learn more about how to donate to WomenVenture by visiting our Donate page.
