annual report 2006 and 2007 - women's voices for the earth · annual report 2006 and 2007...

Annual Report2006 and 2007

Women’s Voices for the EarthWVE’s mission is to empower women, who historically have had little power in affecting environmental policy, to create an ecologically sustainable and socially just society.A woman’s body is the first environment. Let’s protect it.

� ~ WVE 2006 and 2007 Annual Report

Dear Friends:

2006 and 2007 were two t ru ly transformative years in the history of Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE). WVE completed the transition from a regional organization working to reduce toxic emissions in local communities to a national one with a strategic environmental health agenda. Today, WVE sits at the intersection of women’s health and the environmental movement with many exciting successes to share.

In this report you’ll learn how WVE and our supporters convinced the world’s largest maker of nail polish to remove

toxic chemicals from its formula, and how our Household Hazards report launched a national dialogue on the long-term health impacts of cleaning products.

These victories received national media attention, and the exposure introduced our work to millions of people across the country. The national media attention was a direct result of a new partnership with Resource Media, a leading environmental communications non-profit based in Seattle.

WVE’s work was also recognized by the Tides Foundation, which highlighted WVE in a donor report as an organization working to build a more diverse audience for women’s health and rights. And we were profiled in 2007 in Philanthropy Northwest as a model organization for innovative approaches to environmental justice.

I’m incredibly proud of WVE’s work over the last two years to protect women and their families from exposure to toxic chemicals. Thanks to WVE’s accomplishments, our communities are healthier every day.

Dori Gilels Executive Director

Message from the Executive Director

WVE 2006 and 2007 Annual Report ~ �

2006 and 2007 Highlights

Albertsons Posts Mercury Warnings In 2006, WVE organized women in Montana and Idaho to convince Albertsons, one of the nation’s leading supermarket chains, to post visible warnings about mercury contamination in fish sold in their stores. With more than 1,000 Alb-ertsons stores nationwide, countless women will now have the information they need to avoid or reduce consump-tion of contaminated fish. The campaign began with a collab-orative effort that included WVE, Oceana, and the Mercury Policy Project on a report titled Fair Warn-ing: Why Grocery Stores Should Tell Parents about Mercury in Fish. The report found that certain fish sold in grocery stores contain high levels of mercury, a toxin that has been linked to learning disabilities and developmental delays in children and damage to the heart, nervous system, or kidneys of adults.For more than a year, WVE and our supporters worked actively to convince Albertsons that posting fish safety information was good for their public image as a corporate citizen, not to mention good for public health. We sent hundreds of postcards to the CEO of Albertsons, generated media coverage, and staged four public demonstrations at stores in Missoula and Boise. Under the weight of growing consumer pressure, Albertsons agreed to post warnings on their fish cases. These warnings also included recommendations of types of fish with lower levels of mercury.The victory demonstrated to our advocates, the press, and cor-porations that women are a powerful consumer group with the ability to affect national change.

WVE Refuses to Gloss Over Chemicals in Nail PolishIn February 2007, WVE released Glossed Over: Health Hazards Associated with Toxic Exposure in Nail Salons. The report outlines the health hazards of toxic exposure in nail salons and provides recommendations for improving conditions for nail salon workers and customers. Glossed Over was published in English and in Vietnamese, so that those women most impacted by toxics in nail products can understand its eye-opening content.


To address some of the issues in the report, WVE formed the National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance in partnership with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) and the California Healthy Nail Salon Collabora-tive, with the goal of improving and protecting the health and welfare of women working in the nation’s nail salons. WVE helped create and now manages a na-tional listserv and comprehensive web page on issues concerning toxic chemicals in nail products and the impact on Asian workers.

OPI Removes Toxic IngredientsOPI Products, Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of nail care products, removed dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and toluene from their polishes in 2007 in response to an

attention-grabbing corporate campaign organized by WVE and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. DBP and toluene are possible reproductive and develop-mental toxins; exposure occurs through inhalation and absorption through the skin, making nail salon workers especially susceptible to its associated health hazards. WVE used both direct communication and grassroots advocacy to convince the cosmetic giant to remove the toxic

chemicals. WVE’s correspondence with OPI was augmented by more than 75 protests organized by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics across the country, and a “Miss Treatment USA” advertising campaign that spoofed the company’s quirky shade names.

WVE Launches Safe Cleaning Products InitiativeWVE published Household Hazards: Potential Hazards of Home Cleaning Products in July 2007 to launch our national Safe Cleaning Products Initiative. Released in both English and Spanish, the report exposed the link between certain

chemicals in household cleaning products and asthma and reproductive harm. The first goal of the Initiative is to convince manufacturers to fully disclose the ingredients used in their cleaning products so that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions.Women are disproportionately-impacted by these chemicals; more than 70% of women are still doing the housework in the average home, and women make up nearly 90% of professional housecleaners. In an effort to make the report as useful as possible to this audience, WVE

included a list of common name brand household cleaners that contain these chemicals of concern. Since the report’s release, the top five cleaning product manufacturers have all become regular visitors to WVE’s website.


WVE’s report and campaign launch received unprecedented national press coverage in more than 100 different media outlets including NPR Marketplace, front page of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, CNN en Español radio, a front page story in the San Francisco Chronicle and numerous others.

Mercury and Public Health in Montana

Mercury LegislationWVE crafted and led the introduction of Senate Bill 423 in the 2007 Montana Legislature—which passed the Senate and earned a hearing in the House of Federal Relations, Energy, and Telecommunications Committee—to phase out the sale and regulate the disposal of consumer products containing mercury. WVE conducted hair testing on 28 Montana legislators and the Governor to highlight the impacts of mercury pollution on public health and push the bill forward. WVE compiled the results in a report entitled Bad Hair Day, released in spring 2007.

Montana Mercury Task Force In January 2006, WVE established a statewide task force to address proper dis-posal, recycling and alternatives to products containing mercury. The task force includes members of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, local water quality districts, state and local health departments, Montana Dental As-sociation, Extension Service, Trout Unlimited, and private businesses. The primary goal of the task force is to reduce mercury pollution by educat-ing consumers and businesses on how to properly dispose of these potentially toxic mer-cury-containing products.

Dental Mercury Committee In the fall of 2006, WVE con-ducted a survey of 65 dentists in Missoula, Montana, which showed that more than half of the total dentists in town improperly handle mercury waste from dental fillings. WVE subsequently formed a committee of representa-tives of the Missoula County Water Quality District, wastewater treatment plant, Montana Dental Association and dental practitioners to implement a voluntary program for recycling dental waste to limit mercury discharges to wastewater.

Assisting Local CommunitiesIn 2006, WVE continued to provide support to women throughout Montana and Idaho facing environmental health threats, and empower them to influence environmental policy-making.


10 Years of Accomplishments

WVE worked with the Community Awareness Network in Thompson Falls to fight a coal-fired power plant that threatened to in-troduce severe air pollution to their valley. WVE pro-vided technical assistance to women in Three Forks try-ing to prevent tire burning at the Holcim Cement plant, which would have released toxic air emissions at the headwaters of the Missouri

River. WVE also supported citizens in Great Falls concerned about mercury pol-lution from a proposed coal-fired power plant, and responded to inquiries about health concerns from proposed power plants in Idaho and Alaska.WVE conducted outreach and education this year among Latina women in Idaho who work with toxic chemicals about the relationship between toxic pollution and environmental health. As an expansion of WVE’s efforts with local communities to close medical waste incinerators, WVE reached out to some 1,000 women with alternative solutions and protective measures for their homes and workplaces. WVE also hosted a focus group to help assess the usefulness of educational materials on women’s health and the environment for Latina women in Boise and Nampa. For most of these women, their work with WVE was the first time they’d ever taken action on an issue that affects them.

GUTS! Moves to the YWCAOver the last couple of years, WVE has grown into an advocacy organization with a national focus. As we worked to build a national women’s advocacy program, we shifted GUTS! (Girls Using Their Strengths) our teen girls’ empowerment program to the YWCA Missoula, where it can fully realize its tremendous potential as a local program.

Not Just a Pretty FaceIn October 2007, Stacy Malkan, one of the co-founders of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, visited Missoula on her Grassroots Roadshow Book Tour. Malkan is the author of Not Just a Pretty Face: the Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. Over 200 people attended her WVE-sponsored speaking event.


Donors of $100 or MoreWVE thanks you for your support!

Patricia Forsberg and Stefano Speckart

Greg, Carol, Brian, and Laura Frankenfield

Steven G. GilbertDori GilelsJackie GilelsErin GoffJeff GroshansAmy HallMarion HammerCharlene R HansonMelissa M. HartNeva HassaneinDarla HoffJohn Holt MyersJay & Luanne HormelDanielle HughesJudith HutchinsIdaho Women’s

Charitable FoundationJeffery IpsenGerry JenningsPatricia Johnson CouryerAnne Hoffman JohnsonNancy & Jim JohnstonLizzi JudaChristine Kaufmann and

Patricia KempGenevieve KingNancy KinseyCindy KnutsenSusan KreitzbergCaroline KurtzPeter Landres and

Madeline MazurskiJanet LathropChristine L. LeeC.B. PearsonSusie LeiperBrenda Lindlief-HallSusan MacGrathJim MaddenMarisla FoundationMary MatthewsEllen McCulloughSuzanna McDougalSusan McIntyreLori Meier

Merck Family FundAnne B. MizeRichard & Peyton MooreMartin and Elizabeth

MorganMaryanne MottMs. FoundationJulie Mae MuidermanEvelyn NewellMartha NewellGwen NixonShawna NobleNorcross Wildlife

Foundation, IncJudith NorrisSusan and Roy O’ConnorCarrie & Mark OlsonNancy OwensCindy OwingsAngela ParkAshley Parkinson &

Jason LathropEva PattenJane PerkinsDon PhelpsJordana PickmanThe Prudential

Foundation Matching Gifts

Amy Ragsdale and Peter Stark

Laurie and Jim RandallLiz RantzKay RaschGordan RathbunCorinne RichardsonNancy RichmanLorraine RiedlFrances M. RobertsonThomas Robertson and

Ruth AndersonRocky Mountain InstituteShirley RodenbornSamantha SanchezNancy SchaubHolly SchroederBryony SchwanErin SchweberJanet Scott

ALPSAlida R Messinger

Charitable Lead Trust

Linda AngeloniJill ArnowLaNae AshtonRoberta A. BallardDiane BarnettJanine Benyus and

Laura MerrillMary BirchEllie BlueMelinda BowmanBozeman Community

Food Co-opMary BradshawJulia Brooks GormanBullitt FoundationCadeau FoundationLynda CaineDiane CalhounRosalie CatesCedar Tree FoundationCharles Engelhard

FoundationMartha “Dede”

ChristmanAnde ClarkPaula ClarkeCathy CostakisNichole CowellDan CrockettMariah CrosslandRobert CulwellLynn A. DanielsMarsha DavisKim Day CanarisKD Dickinson and

Beth YoungbloodDomestic Violence

Emergency ServicesScott EdgertonLinda EichwaldEnvironmental Health

FundNancy and Ron

Erickson

Richard and Mary Jane Shave

Lexi ShultzWade SikorskiJoyce SilberbergerPatricia SimpsonTeresa & Jerry

SmyersJudy SneedNancy SpagnoliDorothy StarshineState Environmental

Leadership Program

Gary Stein and Nancy McCourt

Barbara StewartKenneth & Lori

StinsonMary StranahanLisa Sumi and Dan

RandolphKatherine SylvesterStephanie TaylorThanksgiving FundThe John Merck FundThomas Waters

FoundationSally ThompsonLucy ThrelkeldTides FoundationLilly TuholskeStephen TurowElsie TussLois VanLeerMargaret VanceC.J. Walton-SilverLinnea WangElana WeinsteinJeannette Whitney

WilliamsWild Old Women’s

Charitable TrustLisa WollCarol WordBarbara WrightYouth HomesJeanette and Thomas

Zavitz


Women of WVE

WVE Staff 2006Alexandra GormanAnne JohnsonDori GilelsErin ThompsonFelicia EavesJeannie Gracey-EtgenJen EuellKris ThomasMaria Gonzalez-MabbuttAshley ParkinsonJordana PickmanBryony SchwanJudy Smith

Board of Directors 2006Gloria FloraChristine KaufmannSharon LewisJoyce Mphande-FinnLisa SumiLexi ShultzLisa WollMrinalini Rajwar

WVE Staff 2007Alexandra ScrantonAllison SolomonBeth BerlinDori GilelsErin ThompsonJamie SilberbergerJean DuncanMaria Gonzalez-Mabbutt

Board of Directors 2007Aimee BoulangerGloria FloraChristine KaufmannJoyce Mphande-FinnAngela ParkAnja RudigerLexi ShultzLisa Woll


Revenues and ExpensesFiscal years January 1 to December 31, 2006 and 2007

�00� �00�Revenue

Donations 55,490 11% 51,557 9%

Grants 449,216 85% 509,666 88%

Events, Sales 9,546 2% 5,430 1%

Other 10,770 2% 13,793 2%

Total Revenue $ 525,022 100% $ 580,447 100%

Expenses

Program 428,617 85% 306,874 85%

Administration 19,823 4% 36,681 10%

Fundraising 57,253 11% 16,281 5%

Total Expenses $ 505,693 100% $ 359,836 100%

Women’s Voices for the Earth114 W. Pine StreetP.O. Box 8743Missoula, MT 59807Phone: (406) 543-3747Fax: (406) [email protected]

annual report 2006 and 2007 - women's voices for the earth · annual report 2006 and 2007...

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