How eWomenNetwork Gives Back: Starting a Business Foundation, Grant Programs, and Community Impact

Sandra Yancey [00:00:00]:

I mean, you have to believe in something so much that when others don't believe you, they don't get in your way. And that's what happened with Hurricane Katrina, right?

Kym Yancey [00:00:08]:

Yeah. But I mean, but for me it was, you know, you can't— this is a business lesson. Okay. You can't have someone who doesn't believe.

Sandra Yancey [00:00:14]:

Yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:00:15]:

Do something that you believe in.

Sandra Yancey [00:00:17]:

Right, right. We found out about a woman who it had happened in her personal family, a sister-in-law or something like that, who had a baby that ended up being very sick and never being able to come home. And she was a professional photographer and she came in and took photos Because one of the biggest regrets is that— One of the questions that I get asked a lot is, how did you start a foundation? We have the eWomen Network company. It's a for-profit business. And then we have eWomen Network Foundation, which is a not-for-profit 501. And people have asked me why and how we did it. And it's really quite an interesting story. And what I love about dedicating an episode to this is because I want you to know that there are ways that you can take some of the personal values, some of the things that are really important to you, and actually integrate them into your business.

Sandra Yancey [00:01:24]:

We have always believed in giving back. We've also, you know, we were both raised Catholic. My mother was an orphan and raised in a convent. Kim went to all-boys Catholic schools. And so, you know, we spent a lot of time growing up in church. And so we've always known about the giving basket, you know, and the offering basket. And so it was something that we had in common when we met each other. And we've always believed in it.

Sandra Yancey [00:01:53]:

We've always gone to church and all the things. And so when we started eWomen Network, we just had this little conversation in the very beginning.

Kym Yancey [00:02:03]:

Very beginning.

Sandra Yancey [00:02:04]:

When we were in the spare bedroom above our garage, that we do some kind of giving back. You know, that if we want people— fundamentally, we had this belief that if we want people to help us, and we knew we were going to need help, we weren't— we didn't know how to build this network, that, you know, we needed to show up for other people. And that the whole law of reciprocity would start to take motion and that it was the right thing to do. There were always people that were in need of more help than us. Right.

Kym Yancey [00:02:35]:

Totally. Yeah, I love that because like you said, from the very beginning, beginning, it was built into eWomen Network. You know, it wasn't, it wasn't an afterthought conversation. It was, we're going to have eWomen Network. And, you know, the thing is, you know, we also knew that, like our chapters, that we wanted a way that we could impact local charities within the markets.

Sandra Yancey [00:02:58]:

Oh, yes.

Kym Yancey [00:02:59]:

That we served. As we grew, we wanted to be able to inject, you know, funding and resources to help.

Sandra Yancey [00:03:07]:

So let me tell you what I didn't know. And that is, and that's why I talk about, You know, once you declare your moonshot, don't worry that you don't know how to do things. I mean, it will reveal itself and you will see all the things that lead you to where you wanna go. So I go to open up the bank account, our very first bank account. I go up the street and I walk in and I tell them that I wanna open up a for-profit and a not-for-profit. And they take me in and they gimme the paperwork. And she asks me, after we get the corporate side done, the business side done, Mm-hmm. she asks me for my 501 papers.

Sandra Yancey [00:03:43]:

And I'm like, come again? Like, I had no idea. I didn't. I'm like, what's that? And they said, well, you can't, you know, you can't have a nonprofit, a true nonprofit, and get the fee, the monthly fee in the bank waived. So you get that waived. I think at the time it was like $16.95. We will waive that, but you have to have your 501 papers. And I said, well, I don't have my 501 papers. And what I was so clear about is I didn't need to go away and figure that out and come back.

Sandra Yancey [00:04:13]:

I said, I still want to open up an account, go ahead and charge me the $16.95. I'll figure this out in the next month or two. So what's it going to cost me? You know, $35, something like that. And so she says, well, we can't call it a nonprofit. And I said, well, what can we call it? And she said, we can call it the eWomen Network charity account. And I wish I still had those bank statements.

Kym Yancey [00:04:35]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:04:35]:

You know, you shred all that stuff over the years. I just didn't know what I didn't know. I said, great, let's do that. And we opened it up. And I'm telling you, we launched September 18th, 18th, 2000, and we gave our first grant of $3,000. It was just $3,000 to Attitude and Attire. It was a kind of a, you know, helping women who are getting back on their feet and trying to find employment. In May, we did our first conference that year in May of 2001.

Sandra Yancey [00:05:09]:

And we just were like, we're going to set aside a form of tithing, just like for those of you that, you know, tithe at your church. We said, how can we integrate the values we have at home to the values in the business to this day. And then we started figuring out how we could do it with our chapters so that when the chapters raised money, they don't— by the way, it's totally volunteer. Our managing directors are not mandated, but they love it. They love being able to say that we give back. We know there are others that are in need, and we're going to tell them that we see them and we support them. So the money that's raised in the chapter is given away in the chapter. So if you're in New Jersey, the money that's raised in New Jersey is saved in a New Jersey account.

Sandra Yancey [00:05:56]:

When they reach so many dollars, they give a grant or they give a conference scholarship to an emerging leader of a young woman between 22 and 29. And we've done it from day one.

Kym Yancey [00:06:10]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:11]:

And about how many grants have we given?

Kym Yancey [00:06:15]:

I wanna say it's like 177 grants.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:17]:

Closing in on it. I was gonna say, and then we've got—

Kym Yancey [00:06:19]:

200 and some. scholarships to American heroes.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:22]:

Over the years.

Kym Yancey [00:06:22]:

Over the years.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:23]:

Right. And we've identified a Humanitarian of the Year almost every year, I think, except for the year of COVID you know, because we didn't do a conference that year. But we— and for that, we raised tens of thousands of dollars and we give back. We've been named a CNN American Hero for all the work that we did with Hurricane Katrina.

Kym Yancey [00:06:45]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:46]:

You know, and I mean, you have to believe in something so much that when others don't believe you, they don't get in your way. And that's what happened with Hurricane Katrina, right?

Kym Yancey [00:06:55]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:06:56]:

Like, we, we knew there were people that were really suffering. We'd gotten wind that there was this young high school basketball team in Pasco, Cheyenne. By this time, we had hired a, a PR firm. You had called the PR firm and said, hey, we're going to adopt them. I had a lot of connections with Nike through the WNBA. And so we'd gotten Nike Shox shoes for them because they had no no shoes. I mean, they were practicing—

Kym Yancey [00:07:26]:

They're very poor.

Sandra Yancey [00:07:27]:

Barefoot. You know, they'd lost everything. And we'd heard about this. And I remember, what was it? You called the PR person and said, hey, I think this is— well, we wanted to put a spotlight on them.

Kym Yancey [00:07:40]:

Wanted to put a spotlight on them.

Sandra Yancey [00:07:41]:

I think it would help too.

Kym Yancey [00:07:42]:

And we shared with them that we were going to this school in this devastated area by Hurricane Katrina. We were going to put in a new basketball court. We were getting them basketball uniforms. We're getting them new Nike shoes. I mean, a whole setup. And the school, this women's basketball team with the school was having for its first time ever a winning season. They'd never had— so in the worst year of their life, right, the hurricane, they're having a winning season.

Sandra Yancey [00:08:13]:

And they'd been totally unnoticed because all the focus was on New Orleans. And I get that. I understand. I know all the reasons why. I'm not taking anything away. But there were also other communities. So we're in Mississippi. I mean, it was decimated.

Sandra Yancey [00:08:25]:

It was unbelievable. We couldn't— so we're driving Yeah, we're driving.

Kym Yancey [00:08:30]:

And I called our PR firm and I said, something just doesn't feel right like this. What we're doing here, you know, we, the media need to know about this. And she proceeded to tell me that after it's over, you know, just get some good footage. And after it's over, we'll send the story to them because they're not going to respond.

Sandra Yancey [00:08:50]:

It's too late.

Kym Yancey [00:08:50]:

It's too late. Remember, we have from Dallas, we have flown.

Sandra Yancey [00:08:53]:

We're in. New Orleans, driving to—

Kym Yancey [00:08:57]:

Pass Christian, Mississippi.

Sandra Yancey [00:08:58]:

Mississippi, yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:08:59]:

And so she said that there would be no interest. And I said, you know what, do you have the number to CNN? And she says, yeah. She says, but Kim, I'll call them. I'll be happy to call them. I said, no, listen. I said, all due respect, we have a different belief system. You you don't believe that they'll go after this story now. And I do.

Kym Yancey [00:09:26]:

It's better if I call them.

Sandra Yancey [00:09:27]:

Plus, you knew a lot by having the ad agency, you know, the news and this. I mean, they're looking for things right now, you know, kind of thing.

Kym Yancey [00:09:35]:

But I mean, but for me, it was, you know, you can't have— this is a business lesson. Okay. You can't have someone who doesn't believe do something that you believe in.

Sandra Yancey [00:09:43]:

Right, right, right.

Kym Yancey [00:09:45]:

So we called CNN, literally called CNN Newsroom, they answered. CNN Newsroom.

Sandra Yancey [00:09:49]:

In Atlanta.

Kym Yancey [00:09:50]:

Yeah. And we told him what we were doing. And he says, okay, I'm tracking you. Where are you right now?

Sandra Yancey [00:09:59]:

We told him mile markers.

Kym Yancey [00:10:01]:

He says, we have already dispatched a news truck. Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:10:06]:

From New Orleans. Pull over.

Kym Yancey [00:10:08]:

Need you to slow down just a little bit so you don't get there before our truck does. We will be there.

Sandra Yancey [00:10:14]:

Yeah. I mean, we will escort you in.

Kym Yancey [00:10:16]:

Can you believe that?

Sandra Yancey [00:10:18]:

I know.

Kym Yancey [00:10:19]:

I mean, CNN News truck, we get there, CNN News is there.

Sandra Yancey [00:10:24]:

Yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:10:25]:

You know, and they taped the whole thing, do a story interview. It was phenomenal.

Sandra Yancey [00:10:30]:

This is just when they were launching their Heroes program. And I got the call. And they said, we want to, we want to name you a CNN American Hero for what the eWomen Network Foundation has just done. Do you feel like you're drowning in your business? Like you're doing everything and something has to give? but you're afraid it might be you? What if I told you there's a network of over 500,000 women entrepreneurs all dedicated to supporting each other? A network of women helping women. I'm Sandra Yancy, founder of eWomen Network, and I'm inviting you to join us and become a member. ewomennetwork.com. We can't wait to meet you.

Kym Yancey [00:11:12]:

And 'cause we weren't doing it for that reason.

Sandra Yancey [00:11:14]:

Oh, we didn't, we didn't even know the program existed. Yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:11:17]:

But it was just amazing. Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:11:19]:

wanted the press so that at least the press would start to say, hey, yes, it was decimating in New Orleans, but here are other states and communities that have also been decimated and have a lot of needs. I mean, we're driving and cemeteries, you have caskets, remember, stacked on caskets because the water unearthed all the caskets. There were trees that were sideways. There was Places that were just totally decimated with stuff strewn everywhere. I mean, it was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever seen. And here we walk into this makeshift— it was hot and humid, and there was no air conditioning. And these girls were practicing basketball with no shoes. I mean, it was just—

Kym Yancey [00:12:14]:

Or mix-mex, no shoes and mix-matched. Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:12:18]:

Yeah. Whatever they—

Kym Yancey [00:12:18]:

One brand on one foot, different brand on another foot.

Sandra Yancey [00:12:20]:

It was heartbreaking to see. And then when we showed them and told them what we were doing, I mean, it was one of the highlights clearly of my life. So much so that once we were named the CNN American Hero and the WNBA found out about it, they were having their Women's WNBA All-Star Game in New York. And when we had our conference after they played, they, they, several of the top players flew to Dallas to meet the girls and bring them all signed basketballs.

Kym Yancey [00:13:00]:

These are all-star basketball players.

Sandra Yancey [00:13:01]:

All, yeah, all-star.

Kym Yancey [00:13:03]:

So the girls knew who they were.

Sandra Yancey [00:13:04]:

Yeah, they knew who they were. And the girls, God love them, when we flew them in, we said to, because we were bringing them on our stage, we wanted them, we wanted them to see and we wanted everybody to see these amazing young women. And, um, and we had a limo pick them up at the airport. They'd never seen anything like that before. And we said, we want to take you—

Kym Yancey [00:13:25]:

Mm-hmm.

Sandra Yancey [00:13:33]:

We want to take you to your favorite restaurant. We want to treat you to dinner, you know, all on us. Where would you like to go? And they all huddled for a little bit and they came back and they said, would you take us to Taco Bell?

Kym Yancey [00:13:52]:

Taco Bell.

Sandra Yancey [00:13:55]:

I was like, what? Taco Bell? It was their favorite place to eat. And, you know, I was like, I mean, I was— I had such a different vision of what that would be. And I realized in that moment I needed to meet them where they were.

Kym Yancey [00:14:12]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:14:13]:

And honor them. And I said, we are going to Taco Bell.

Kym Yancey [00:14:17]:

Going to Taco Bell.

Sandra Yancey [00:14:20]:

I mean, it's just the most fulfilling thing ever. And I just want you to know that's one of the beauties, I think, of, of having your own business. You get to call your shots. You get to look for the ways in which to design your business in a way that not only creates impact in the world with the clients that you serve, customers that you serve, but you get to create impact in the other ways that make your heart smile, you know, and really bring that deep-down joy. And so just some of the side benefits, right?

Kym Yancey [00:14:58]:

You know, we started to, we would every, we try to focus on each year presenting a, we'll call it an American hero, but it's really Humanitarian of the Year.

Sandra Yancey [00:15:11]:

Yep.

Kym Yancey [00:15:13]:

It's been so fulfilling because we go to their cities. Like, I think of the Ranch for Kids.

Sandra Yancey [00:15:18]:

Yes.

Kym Yancey [00:15:20]:

Which— describe that one, Sandra.

Sandra Yancey [00:15:21]:

The Ranch for Kids was an organization where children that were adopted that had a lot of behavioral issues, and a lot of times it was because their mother was an addict and that's why she didn't keep the child. And then they get put up for adoption and then the children have a lot of issues. The dilemma that I never knew is a lot of times these adopted parents take these kids to get fixed, if you will, or address their issues or whatever, but they never come back for them. And so they become abandoned twice, you know, and it's heartbreaking. I mean, it's heartbreaking. And so we've, you know, we rallied around them one year. We asked them, what are all the things that you need? And they said washers and dryers and—

Kym Yancey [00:16:12]:

TVs.

Sandra Yancey [00:16:12]:

TVs. And they needed pots and pans. They wanted workout equipment. And they We're teaching them through horse therapy. So they needed saddles and, you know, all the accoutrements, if you will.

Kym Yancey [00:16:25]:

Think of this as a laundry list of items, you know what I mean?

Sandra Yancey [00:16:29]:

And we raised enough money and announced that we were doing it all. And we went and bought— we went to their city and we then leveraged what we were doing to get better deals or get things donated so that we could even magnify the gift. And then we always, of course, videotape it and record it because a lot of times people make donations and they never know where the money goes. And this is our way, you know, at the next conference we say, you donated X amount of dollars for this Humanitarian of the Year. Let us show you what we did and the impact that you have had on this organization. So we prove to our donors, you know, what we do with the money.

Kym Yancey [00:17:05]:

Show them where the money goes.

Sandra Yancey [00:17:06]:

Yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:17:06]:

100% of it.

Sandra Yancey [00:17:07]:

Yeah.

Kym Yancey [00:17:07]:

I know one that really impacted us too was the computers, laptop computers, over 60 of them. For a facility.

Sandra Yancey [00:17:17]:

And that was during COVID Yeah, it was during COVID We did a little fundraiser online and we were able to buy enough. We worked with Dell at the time to give us the best deal that they could. And we identified, you know, various different organizations that were helping people get back on their feet and needed to learn how to, you know, learn a new trade because their positions had been eliminated through COVID and they needed online training and they needed a computer. for the online training. Yeah, we did another one for, you know, mothers who had babies that never came home, you know. And we found out about a woman who it had happened in her personal family, a sister-in-law or something like that, who had a baby that ended up being very sick and never being able to come home. And she was a professional photographer and she came in and took photos because one of the biggest regrets is that you have no photographs of the baby to know that they lived. And it becomes a different level of grief and mourning.

Sandra Yancey [00:18:23]:

And so she started a whole organization as a result of that and would go in and take pictures of just the hands if that's all they could, just all the things so that they had the memory.

Kym Yancey [00:18:33]:

The memory.

Sandra Yancey [00:18:34]:

The permanent memory. And so we helped her. And Microsoft was a sponsor, one of our corporate sponsors that you had gotten. And he was so moved by it that she was in Seattle. She was based out of Seattle, as is Microsoft. And he ended up serving on her board. Erin did for years. I mean, it's just the coolest thing to see how you can impact, you know, a world of people who can never pay you back.

Sandra Yancey [00:19:01]:

And it just feels so good. And it's just one of the added benefits of, you know, owning your own business, I think.

Kym Yancey [00:19:07]:

It really speaks to the heart and soul and fiber of all the members of eWomen Network and their giving and support.

Sandra Yancey [00:19:14]:

It's a rallying cry and connection that that we share to this day in eWomen Network, the giving back component of the foundation. So, and this on the side thing, this look at what it does is that we have so many people donating things for maybe a silent auction or something like that, that now these women, they get to promote their products and services through the donation. This is a donation, a silent auction package donated by so-and-so, and it's a product of whatever she creates. And so there's the added benefit, but this is secondary, but it's the added benefit of acknowledgement and promotion and support. Sometimes people just need to know that you exist, right? And therefore, I mean, it just happened recently. There was a woman that donated a couple of weeks ago where I was speaking here in Dallas, donated a spa treatment.

Kym Yancey [00:20:17]:

Mm-hmm.

Sandra Yancey [00:20:17]:

I happen to be a lover of spa treatments, and I didn't even know that it was was her spa, that she was in my neighborhood, very close to where I live. And now guess what? I'm going to be a customer.

Kym Yancey [00:20:30]:

Yeah.

Sandra Yancey [00:20:31]:

Just because she donated for the silent auction and I got to find out that she even existed in my own neighborhood. So it's just the coolest thing to think about how you too can think about using your business to create extensions that serve other purposes or causes that make you feel really wonderful. And so, you know, again, you know, being a business owner has a lot of work and it's hard, but it comes with a lot of blessings and a lot of privileges. So just know that, you know, we know that while she means business, more importantly, she means millions.