Encourage. Support. Connect.
Our mission is to celebrate and explore the powerful influence women have on each other's lives through building friendships, sharing experiences and providing financial support in the form of educational grants to motivated women.
What We Believe In.
The Girlfriend Factor believes in the power of girlfriends. We believe that when women have the encouragement and support of their girlfriends, they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. We also believe that education is the key to economic advancement and self-sufficiency among women
What We Do.
The Girlfriend Factor aims to ensure that higher education and occupational training are financially accessible to adult women who choose to improve their economic position in life and who strive for self-sufficiency. We provide educational grants to women to achieve their educational goals.
We have created our organization with minimal red-tape or bureaucracy so that our time and energy can be directed towards the sheer essence and fun of being Girlfriends. Within the Girlfriend Factor friendships blossom, fun is had, and lives are changed for the better! We are a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
We are The Girlfriend Factor. Just watch us.
Grapevine
A Girlfriend Kind of Summer
Girlfriends simply love summer! Not only is it a time to slow down and relax a bit, it’s also a perfect time to reflect on accomplishments and plan for the future. The summer of 2010 delivered the thrill of graduation to four more of our Go Girl! Grant recipients. Hard to believe, but together we have already assisted 54 women return to school so that they may become self-sufficient and achieve their dreams. We’ve given out over $110,000 in Go Girl Grants since 2007 to women ranging in age from 25 – 63, and we currently are assisting 31 women pursue their educational goals. An unprecedented 25 women applied for our Grants the second quarter of 2010, indicating a growing need for financial assistance among adult women returning to school.
GFF is expanding to San Francisco – that’s right, San Francisco here we come! Angela Gillespie and Beth Weiss of San Francisco have found their calling to give back through the Girlfriend Factor and will be assisting us in launching our first GFF Chapter outside of the Coachella Valley. They are currently building their Golden Gate Gang, the initial group of SF Girlfriends anxious to join the fun and help spread the word, and are looking at April of 2011 for an over-the-top event to officially Launch San Francisco in a BIG way. This summer we’ll be expanding our website to include information on their progress and add an event page for San Francisco gatherings. But for now, if you’d like to receive their GFF Grapevine SF to find out what’s going on in the Big City, contact Beth Weiss at bweiss@wcgworld.com.
Trying to reconstruct the history of any organization can be a tedious task unless, of course, that history includes mechanical bulls and Drag Queen Bingo! Time has flown by so fast for GFF and we finally realized we should go through those files, calendars and clippings to create a documented history of where we’ve been. The process has created nothing short of laughter, delight and pride as we reflect upon the events and relationships that have brought us to where we are. One thing that has collected dust for a while but we feel needs to be resurrected is our GFF Spirit Statement, created by our Co-founders as they tried to define who we are and where we’re going. Enjoy.
The Girlfriend Factor
Spirit Statement
We are women motivated and sustained by:
Chocolate and alcohol
Subtle acts of defiance
Good hair days
Unconventional routes to get to where we need to go
Promises of eternal youth
A healthy dash of irreverence
and
Each other.
We acknowledge our potential as grown-up women
Yet rejoice in celebrating the little girl within.
Together we have Fun.
Together we have Power.
Together we can make a difference in other women’s lives.
We are the Girlfriend Factor.
Just watch us.
Spread the word!
Don't forget to e-mail your friends so they can check out our website and become Girlfriends, too!
"Well-behaved women seldom make history."
