Women's Foundation Annual Fundraising Event Goes Digital

Monday, April 27, 2020

Women's Foundation Annual Fundraising Event Goes Digital

Posted By Kathleen B. Kunz on Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 12:00 PM

Noelle Haro-Gomez

UA women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes was one of the speakers scheduled for the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona luncheon this week. Barnes will still be speaking via video for the virtual fundraiser that has moved online.

The Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona had a big fundraising event scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, that was swiftly canceled—along with all the other fun spring events in Tucson—because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But in an effort to still raise money for groups and initiatives that work to improve the quality of life for local women and girls, the Women's Foundation has decided to reboot the annual luncheon into an online event that people can participate in right from the comfort of their homes.

“Cancelling our luncheon at Tucson Convention Center was heartbreaking,” said Women’s Foundation CEO Amalia Luxardo in a press release. “This is one of the only fundraisers in our community dedicated to supporting women and girls’ work, so it was an especially difficult decision to make knowing that women are hit particularly hard by the economic impact of pandemic.”

The Women's Foundation had asked University of Arizona Women’s Basketball Head Coach Adia Barnes and Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR CEO Barbi Reuter to speak at their event, and both have agreed to do interviews as part of the foundation's new #SuperShero campaign, which is designed to "inform and uplift" women during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These amazing women have messages we need to hear whether we’re in the midst of a crisis or not,” Luxardo said. “So we thought, why not make this content available online to a wider audience? The luncheon is about celebrating the amazing work people are doing to empower women and girls; we can do that from our living rooms."

The new online event will feature videos with Barnes, Reuter and their 2020 honoree Pamela Grissom of Arizona List, an organization that supports pro-choice Democratic women running for office in Arizona.

The event will be streamed live on Facebook and at womengiving.org. Luxardo will host and interact live with attendees. While it is a free event, donations are being accepted. The cost of a ticket to the in-person event was $95.

Tags: Women's Foundation , Amalia Luxardo , Fundraiser , Online , Facebook , Livestream , COVID19 , Image