WAU 2025 First-Quarter Newsletter
- WAU
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 6
The year is going by fast. The first quarter came and went. It is unbelievable that we are already in the second quarter. We do welcome the spring weather though. During winter we are forced to slow down our activities.
January: We had WAU general membership meeting on January 10th by zoom because of bad weather. A Strategic Planning Task Force was proposed during the meeting.
February: We had WAU general membership meeting on February 7, 2025, in person. A Strategic Planning Task Force was established during the meeting. The goal for the task force is to develop a strategic framework for WAU, to help guide implementation of programs for the next few years.
On February 17, 2025, four WAU members visited NonprofitGo to discuss membership and grant writing because of funding for capacity building we had received from Wichita Foundation. We signed a contract for one year of grant writing and one year of membership. We also joined the Association of Fundraising Professionals, global and local chapter.
On February 21, 2025, WAU Strategic Planning Task Force had their first meeting by zoom.
During the Black History month, we were honored to participate in some activities: Celebrating Black Athletes and Entertainers, African American Heritage Program at Woodland Health & Wellness Magnet Elementary School and a church program ‘Looking Back and Moving Forward’ at Grant Chapel by Dr. Daisy.
On March 7 WAU had a General Membership Meeting in person
Two members of WAU travelled to Washington DC where they participated in United to Beat Malaria Leadership Summit, March 16-18. The program is funded by United to Beat Malaria while participants aka champions volunteer their time. This was their second year attending. The summit discusses malaria, the work that has been done and continues to take place to minimize and eradicate malaria. It brings together representatives and experts from different businesses, governments and organizations globally, including research institutions, NGOs, the private sector and constituents, to share data and updates regrading malaria, vaccines, malaria interventions, innovation, etc. On the last day of the summit, champions (participants) visited congressional offices, accompanied by United to Beat Malaria staff, to discuss malaria and why it is important to continue funding the malaria eradication initiative and to deliver an ask for continued support for funding as appropriated by congress.
Leadership Summit at Yotel Washington DC on March 17, 2025
On March 22, the WAU Board met to elect a board chair and vice chair. We are happy to announce and present the board members to the public on WAU website in due course.
On March 27, the WAU executive met to review the 2024 financial report.
On March 28, the Strategic Planning Task Force met on zoom to continue developing a strategic framework. We also had a meeting with Hyatt on this day to start planning for our annual event this year which is scheduled for August 30th at 5:00PM. Save the date.
On March 29, WAU members attended Kelly W. Davis Running International Foundation’s event at Hilton Garden, downtown Wichita. WAU donated $500 to the foundation to support its educational program in Africa where it is sponsoring high school girls, 9th – 12th grade, who are needy but with potential to succeed. The foundation is a 501c (3) organization which has a record of philanthropic work in Wichita.
Lastly, a sneak peek into the first week of second quarter, we just participated in two important programs this week: ‘Propel – Cultivating Donor Relationships conference’ at NonprofitGo, jointly sponsored with Wichita Foundation April 1-3. Both programs are to help us build capacity to effectively run our programs and properly manage the organization so we can increase impact.
The second program was ‘2025 Community Partner Gathering’ at Kansas Leadership Center (KLC), April 1-2, which brought together partners from the Leadership Transformation Grant (LTG) and Community Leadership Program (CLP). We discussed collaboration, partnerships, and leadership using KLC’s strategic framework to tackle adaptive challenges in our respective organizations. Anyone can exercise leadership anywhere, at any time, while understanding that leadership is an activity, not a position of authority. WAU received a leadership transformation grant in 2024 and 2025.
News on the Continent of Africa: Uganda intensifies malaria vaccinations. Congo is working on a mineral deal with the USA.
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