Fund Turns 20 Among Friends and Feminist Leaders

Read more about the Community Fund for Women & Girls 20th Anniversary celebration.

Teresa Younger and Gloria Steinem at the Community Fund for Women & Girls 20th Anniversary celebration. Photo by Gale Zucker Photography

The excitement was palpable in the Omni Hotel Ballroom on October 30th as The Community Fund for Women & Girls celebrated its 20th Anniversary.


In a true spirit of sisterhood, attendees expressed gratitude with booming applause, cheers and standing ovations throughout the inspiring presentations.

The tremendous energy was warranted as The Fund's successes were celebrated, most notably its remarkable growth, which has enabled the Fund to distribute a total of $1 million to over 200 programs benefiting women and girls in the region.

Nearly 600 guests were welcomed by The Community Foundation's president, Will Ginsberg, and US Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, who presented Fund Chair and event Emcee, Nancy Yao Maasbach, with a plaque of the Congressional Record congratulating the Fund on reaching its 20th Anniversary.

Maasbach then welcomed feminist leaders Gloria Steinem and Teresa Younger to New Haven.

Steinem and Younger's featured conversation was "a bucket list" experience, as one attendee put it.

The two women stressed the importance of fully understanding feminism as equality for all human beings. Steinem spoke of the hallmark of effective women's philanthropy: supporting individuals and organizations providing services and offering solutions. "Trees grow from the bottom to the top. So do movements. So does change," she declared. A lifetime of advocacy work led her to conclude that participating is, "Better than wondering what might have happened," because, "Walking around saying 'What if?' is the worst punishment."

It was a call to action that left attendees poised to dare to be bold and even audacious in support of women and girls.

Younger advised attendees to, "Put your heart, and your head, and your money, and your voice into the things that are most important to you."

Watch a video of the event, view a photo gallery and learn about Investing with a Gender Lens.