After three years of helping women and children in Southern Arizona, Dawne Bell is heading back home to continue that legacy.
Bell, CEO of the Womenβs Foundation of Southern Arizona, will leave her post here the second week of July to return to Michigan, where sheβll lead the Lansing-based Early Childhood Investment Corp.
Under Bellβs leadership, the foundation here became one of four recipients of a national award supporting βtwo-generationβ solutions to poverty that focuses on helping women in need as well as their children.
The $150,000 award from the Womenβs Funding Network and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will help create public-private partnerships to bolster workforce development and career opportunities for low-income women. It will also increase access to quality child care and early childhood education.
Bell said her Tucson job βnever felt like work.β
βItβs such an inspiring cause and this is such a great group of smart, smart individuals,β she said of the foundation.
βI canβt wait to see what they do with their next chapter.β
During Bellβs time here, the foundation invested more than $700,000 that helped 9,286 women and girls increase their income and assets by $4.6 million through higher wages, decreased debt and increased savings. The foundation also helped 258 women find housing and 233 women find employment.
A nationwide search is underway to replace Bell, said Deb Dale, board chair for the foundation. People interested in applying can find details on the foundation website, www.womengiving.org
βI think weβre on a really good trajectory,β Dale said. βShe made a significant impact in a short amount of time.β
Thanks to Bell, the foundation had a presence at the Arizona Capitol for the first time, Dale said, and worked to secure more assistance and opportunities for working-poor mothers.
Bellβs other accomplishments include:
- More than two years ahead of schedule, the foundation reached its goal of raising $1 million in order to receive a matching donation from the Connie Hillman Family Foundation.
- The foundation increased its assets by 70 percent.
- The foundation tripled its annual operating revenue to $1.4 million through sustainable fund development.
- The foundation doubled its grant-making efforts.
