The Women's Achievement Network and Development Alliance (WANDA) is a powerful group of philanthropic women investing their collective resources in strategies that will increase the economic self-sufficiency of low-income single mothers in San Mateo County. A partnership of the Women’s Foundation of California and Opportunity Fund, WANDA will support financial education and matched savings programs to enable single mothers to build assets, such as a home, a small business, education for themselves or their children or a retirement account.
What makes WANDA important?
According to a 2007 Forbes magazine survey, Silicon Valley is currently home to 47 of the world’s estimated 946 billionaires. Yet, beneath this façade, there is a fast-growing population of working poor--one that is disproportionately female. California has a substantially higher poverty rate than the rest of the nation: 16.1 percent versus 12 percent. In addition to economic changes, two demographic trends contribute to the higher prevalence of poverty in California than other parts of the United States: rising numbers of immigrants and families headed by single mothers.
Children in families headed by a single mother have much higher poverty rates than do children in other families: 41 percent versus 13 percent in 2004.
Statewide, 37 percent of single mother-headed households live in poverty, making up nearly one-quarter of California’s poor.
In San Mateo County, there are more than 13,000 single mothers with children under five. Thirty-six percent of them live in poverty.
The economic downturn that decimated the safety net across the nation since 9/11 hit Silicon Valley harder than other counties in California. Working families have borne the brunt of job loss and rising cost of living:
As of March 2007, the average two-bedroom, one-bath apartment rental in San Mateo County cost $1,643 per month. Child care costs $1,663 or more per month for two children. These combined costs far exceed what a low-wage worker can afford.
A single mother of an infant in San Mateo County must earn $24.01 an hour--or $50,000 annually--to be economically self-sufficient.
How does WANDA work?
Members of WANDA each contribute a minimum annual tax-deductible donation of $5,000 that is collectively invested in financial education and matched savings. This contribution covers the enrollment costs of financial education classes, case management services and a 2:1 savings match of up to $4,000 for each participating single mother over the course of two to three years. Ninety-five percent of your contribution goes directly to the program.
There will be three to four events per year for WANDA members to hear from experts about the California and Silicon Valley economies, their unique impact on families, strategies promoting the economic well being of women—particularly single mothers—as well as opportunities for members to network with other women in the region who participate in donor circles operated by Women’s Foundation of California.
The Women's Achievement Network and Development Alliance (WANDA) is a powerful group of philanthropic women investing their collective resources in strategies that will increase the economic self-sufficiency of low-income single mothers in San Mateo County. A partnership of the Women’s Foundation of California and Opportunity Fund, WANDA will support financial education and matched savings programs to enable single mothers to build assets, such as a home, a small business, education for themselves or their children or a retirement account.