As a board member of The Women’s Fund, I first heard about Girls Give in 2017. Wow! What a wonderful idea! We could start a fund with a reasonable amount of money and start our teenage daughter, Marissa on a journey of educating, demonstrating and inspiring her “give!”
Marissa was soon to be a high school freshman and our thought was we would earmark each year with an additional give in the amount we initially funded. Each year the “Marissa Victoria Houff” fund would grow and provide funding for our Girls Give programs.
Marissa was new to this idea and was curious how “interest” from her fund would grow. This provided us with the opportunity to teach Marissa about the process of an endowed fund and how it works.
Our daughter has learned so much more than the concept of “interest.” Girls Give has taught Marissa what a grant request is, how to do a “deep dive” on a request and then present to our group her thoughts on this submission. Not only has Marissa successfully mastered this new skill, she was able to persuade the group to grant to a new organization!
Marissa now understands the great needs in middle Tennessee for girls. She has been shown a wide spectrum and she is learning how to successfully navigate the granting process.
The hands on experiences of Girls Give have been so inspiring! Marissa has personally been touched by the Girls Scouts 6000 Troops here in Nashville. These are girls who are homeless or in transit. We met with the scouts and have made holiday gifts and taught them calligraphy. But what they taught Marissa was so invaluable! One of Marissa’s take-aways was that they were really a lot like her even with their unstable home situations.
For me as Marissa’s mother, Girls Give is so rewarding! I get to see my daughter be thoughtful, inspiring and she has grown so much in the area of philanthropy and giving.
As Marissa finishes high school this year, we are excited about her future in college. We also look forward to her continued work with Girls Give!
