Reel Women Real Change: Stories, Advocacy, Impact

Dear supporter of Reel Women Real Change, 

You are no doubt receiving numerous Giving Tuesday requests right now. There are countless important causes around the world and hundreds of thousdands of organizations - and people - with critical needs.

This message is to ask you to give to them - not to us.

Yes, you read that correctly:  

You may recall that our Reel Women Real Change program was selected to be GlobalGiving's Project of the Month for September, meaning we received the share of funds donated by Project of the Month donors in that month. 

That honor provided us enough support to meet our current financial needs for 2019 programming. 

Which is why all of us at p.h. balanced films want to say:
 

Planning for our 2019 programs - both in the US and abroad - is underway. We look forward to sharing exciting news with you soon - including in our next GlobalGiving update.

For now, we wish a joyful and safe holiday season to you, your family, and your community - both around your town and around this amazing planet we all share.

With gratitude,
Piper Hendricks
Founder of p.h. balanced films

(If you receive our newsletter, you already heard that we aren't asking for more donations in 2018 - but I'm delighted to share that we've made more progress on 2019 plans even since I wrote to you last week!)

Dear friend,

As someone who shares our belief that Stories Power Change and Stories Change Power, we have two exciting things to tell you:

First, you may remember hearing about Sajana, one of the Reel Women Real Change graduates featured in our video and whose project focused on women subjected to acid attacks. Less than one week ago, Sajana's photography was featured in an NPR piece about how a survivor of such an attack helped to change Nepal's criminal code. We are inspired by this important example of smart advocacy and applaud Sajana for her contribution. 

Second, this project - the one that YOU believed in - has been chosen to be GlobalGiving's September Project of the Month! We are overjoyed to have been selected from the thousands of wonderful projects on the platform for this honor.

Being the Project of the Month means that people from around the world will learn about what we're doing - and support the next RWRC workshop. 

Thank you for getting us this far. 

If we've done something or shared an update in the past several months that inspired you and made you glad to be a part of growing this program, would you please let us know? We'd love to hear from you - and we look forward to sharing more as September unfolds!

With gratitude,

Piper & the team at p.h. balanced films 

With your help, nearly two dozen women attended our inaugural Reel Women Real Change program in Nepal last October. 

We are delighted to share one of many concrete examples of a program graduate putting her knowledge to work in the months since then:

Several weeks ago, through our global network of filmmakers, we were connected to a film crew in Nepal focusing on the rise of domestic violence in a rural community.

This crew was facing a challenge.

Unfortunately, it's a challenge that is all too common - but not everyone recognizes it.

The challenge was not one of camera or audio equipment. It was not one of financing. The challenge was not one of travel logistics, nor of losing files or footage. 

The challenge? The crew consisted of men. Only.

The complete lack of a woman's perspective on the team is particularly problematic when taking on the topic of increasing violence against women.

Connecting with us, they appreciated that everything about the production would benefit by having women involved. (More than just being on the subject side of the camera, that is.)

One of our graduates was brought in specifically because of the training she received though Reel Women Real Change. The head of their team recently reached out to us to let us know her contribution was "very valuable" and, with her input, the team has incorporated more women into the production, including a woman assistant director.

We were honored to work with this team in Nepal - and appreciate their embracing the importance of diversity of perspectives in the telling of important stories.

We proud of our Reel Women Real Change graduate for being part of the project and bringing her knowledge and perspective to such an important cause. 

And we are grateful to you for making Reel Women Real Change possible.

Thank you.

Dear Hero,

Thanks to your support, the Reel Women Real Change program is growing in 2018! 

I write to you now to share four exciting items:

1) Our Graduates are Connecting with their Mentors

Since returning from the pilot workshop in Nepal last November, we've matched our graduates with incredibly talented mentors from around the world. It was a pleasure to make those connections, knowing our graduates would have such wonderful support for their advocacy and storytelling development.

2) We are in the race for the Girl Fund - and you can help!

From today through March 15, we're racing to be part of the Girl Fund, an opportunity to be supported by funds raised by GlobalGiving for projects that support women and girls around the world. Only six organizations will be part of the 2018 fund and ohmigoodness how much help being one of those six would be! 

If you've given $10 since March 1 - thank you. Your donation is a "vote" toward a spot in the Girl Fund.

If you are a past donor - thank you. Your donation has gotten us to a place where we can be considered for the Girl Fund. Happily, you are still able to vote as well! Every donor between March 1 and 15 counts as a vote, including from existing supporters.

I do understand that we're freshly off the heels of your generous support in December 2017 and, as I am my grandmother's granddaughter, I'd rather bake you 10 casseroles than ask for $10. But this chance to grow our program for women and girls with funds that Global Giving raises to support women and girls is too great an opportunity not to ask. 

So please consider making a $10 gift before March 15 - and inviting others to join you. Every donor counts. 

3) We have FREE events this week in Washington, DC - and we'd love to see you there!

We've partnered with a local gym to offer FREE workouts on Thursday, International Women's Day - and we'd love for you to join us! Consistent with the global theme of the day - Press For Progress - these fun workouts will focus on various presses and celebrate women's progress around the world. 

If you live near DC, please sign up to join us.

If you know someone in the area who might enjoy a free workout, please spread the word. 

And no matter where you are this Thursday, you can join the Press For Progress by posting a selfie with #PressForProgress and tagging us on social media - @phbalancedfilms on both Twitter and Instagram. Gym selfies welcome!

4) We're celebrating Women's History Month

During March - Women's History Month - we're sharing a series of posts about women who have changed policy with their stories and advocacy. We'll share these inspiring stories on a variety of platforms, including our Facebook page. 

If you have a story you'd like to add to our collection, let me know: piper@phbalancedfilms.org 

Thank you for making these exciting developments possible. It's because of YOU that we are able to reach women and girls around the world who want to use the power of stories to make a positive impact in the world.

Thank you for pressing for progress with us,

Piper

PS - If you'd like to receive updates like the message about mentors on a more regular basis, please join our e-mailing list.