The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation
The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation (MCWTF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization created by the Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT) to serve the community by providing educational, scholarship and mentoring resources to female students in the SE Michigan area. The program was established to address the issue of increasing gender disparity in technology careers, by providing assistance and inspiration to girls and women pursuing technology education and careers.

The issue of gender disparity in technology careers will not be solved in a month or a year, and the Foundation is committed to long term efforts to change this imbalance. It serves both young girls as well as college and professional women with mentoring and financial support. The MCWTF will track the recipients’ progress, and the Foundation’s impact, over future years.

The MCWTF is made up of a small Board of Directors (see our Leadership page) and a larger number of volunteers, primarily members of the MCWT. All of these people are volunteering considerable time and energy to this effort in order to provide equal opportunity to women and girls in technology fields, and on the broader scale, to provide our nation with a larger pool of these educated women. Ultimately this should assist U.S. corporations to compete globally in this critical space.

Studies have identified some of the critical factors affecting girls and women's decisions to enter or stay in technology fields. Factors such as interest and perceived ability in younger girls are addressed by fun and interesting technology programs and camps. Issues such as support and career guidance are addressed by MCWTF’s scholarship, tracking and mentoring programs.

Mission:
The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to inspiring and assisting girls and women in Southeast Michigan to pursue technology education and careers. The Foundation does this by providing educational programs and scholarships, as well as on-going support as these women move through the educational system and professional world.

• Create and deliver 2-4 K-12 programs each year, including a summer technology camp, and High School Technology Seminars or Student Interest Groups. Long term, the Foundation’s goal is to provide programs that will be repeatable by other groups (by publishing all information on how to deliver them), or will have a broader impact. This will include programs for parents and elementary school teachers.
  
  • In 2005 we delivered the AT&T Camp Infinity. Read about it on the K-12 pages!
    
  • In 2005, we also started our first high school Student Interest Group, GET IT, at the Ferndale University High School. Read about it on the K-12 pages!
    
  • In 2005, we published our research on ways parents and teachers can help provide information and equal access to technology and technology related careers to their girls. Download it on the K-12 pages!
    
  • In 2005, we also hired our first full time employee, Diane Cairns, Director of K-12 Programs. This gives us the ability to focus our energy on delivering information to this critical age group, along with their parents and teachers. We also recruited a volunteer Director to assist with these critical efforts, Pam Lowry.
  
  
• Create and deliver multi-year University scholarships to support women pursuing technology or computer-related graduate or undergraduate degrees. Also, create scholarship processes for college and professional scholarships and student tracking processes. Long term, scholarship winners will be served by both job placement within our corporate partners, and will serve as mentors for high school students.
  
  • In 2005, we awarded over $25,000 in university scholarships
    
  • We also formed a team of volunteers who donated much time and energy to developing this program into a professional endeavor with sustainability as well as marketing initiatives to reach more students. See the team on the MCWTF Team pages!

• Create and deliver other university programs, including developing SE Michigan university relationships, initiating and supporting Student Chapters, and supporting research activities associated with promoting technology education to female students and prospective students.
  
  • In 2005, we initiated our first university student chapter with Lawrence Technological University. This program will officially launch in 2006.
    
  • In 2005 we also provided assistance to University of Detroit Mercy with research used in a grant proposal to the National Science Foundation.
    
  • We recruited Pat Amaranth, University Relations Director, to get these and the scholarship programs up and running – successfully!

• Obtain sufficient funding for K-12 and scholarship programs for 2005 and future scholarship commitments, as well as developing a long term funding strategy.
  
  • In 2005, we started the education and work to apply for more grant funding to support our various programs.
    
  • In 2005, we started long term financial planning, including efforts to begin creating endowments for scholarships to ensure long term financial viability.
    
  • We also recruited a financial advisor, Catherine Lahti, to join with our Treasurer, Gloria Schneider, to help us achieve these objectives.

• Work with the MCWT Marketing and Operations committees to promote our Foundation activities for both MCWT and the MCWT Foundation using the MCWT and MCWTF web sites as well as appropriate external publicity.
  
  • In 2005, we launched the official MCWTF web site.
    
  • In late 2005, we recruited a new Director of Marketing for the Foundation, Kathleen Norton-Schock, who will work hand in hand with the MCWT Communications team for effective joint communications.
    
• Work with MCWT to ensure that we have effective joint communications, processes and knowledge management. Our new secretary, Terri Pierce, is volunteering her time to achieve this goal!

• Other programs that we will begin work on in 2006 include a mentoring program for university students, an internship placement program, and a new graduate job placement program tying our scholarship winners with our corporate partners. Long term, we anticipate creating a mentoring program for high school students that will tie them to our scholarship winners.