Meet Maria Turner.

Executive Director of the Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund.

An avid member of the Fond du Lac and Sophia community, Maria Turner is defining what a strong community looks like by empowering women and girls.

Learn more through this exclusive interview:

Q: As a nonprofit, why is Sophia’s work important?

A: One of the pillars of the Women’s Fund is leadership development. There is a direct alignment in the work that we are trying to do in the community to facilitate bold change for women and girls.

Having a local resource like Sophia provides for those things.

Q: Why should someone invest in Sophia?  

A: In our present state of community disconnectedness, the servant leadership component of what Sophia is doing is critical to ensuring the success of what we do here as a community.

Currently, only 1.9% of overall philanthropic giving goes toward programming that supports women and girls.

While Sophia is not solely focused on women and girls, I have seen a great deal of women take part in their workshops and programs, especially Youth Leadership.

To me, that’s an extension of that philanthropic investment in women and girls which is so critically important.

Q: Why is the work that Sophia does important to you?

A: The majority of nonprofit leaders in the Fond du Lac area are women.

Knowing that both Sophia and the Women’s Fund started from the ideas of co-founder Ginny Gilmore gives a special connection between these two organizations.