The mission of Founder Region Fellowship is to advance the status of women. This will be accomplished through financial support to women in the last year of their doctoral degree. A by-product of this support is affirmation of the importance of the recipient’s work and value as an individual.

Our hope is to support women who are working in fields that have great social importance to the world or are under-represented by women. We hope that the recipient’s work will reflect and further Soroptimist ideals. We believe that these women will become a strong voice for all women.

Founder Region Fellowship offers grants to women enrolled in graduate schools within the boundary of Founder Region who have advanced to candidacy and are entering into the last year of their doctoral programs. These grants-in-aid are proffered to assist women in the completion of their doctoral degrees.

The Fellowships are announced and formally presented at the annual Founder Region Spring Conference. The grant requirements are:

• Competition is open to any outstanding graduate woman who is working toward a doctoral degree, preferably in the last year of study but permissibly during the last two years provided she has advanced to candidacy. She must be enrolled in a graduate school within Founder Region; including the Northern California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, the State of Hawaii, and the U. S. territories of Guam and The Marianas.
• Candidates must submit to the Fellowship President. a completed application with supporting materials (as described in the application), applications to be postmarked not later than the 1st of February. The forms are available on this website or may be obtained through the dean of the applicant’s graduate school or by emailing the Fellowship President.
• Candidates considered for final selection will be required to appear for a personal interview on a date requested by the Fellowship board.
  • March 12, 2011 if in Hawaii
  • March 26 or 27, 2011 in California
• The awards are announced and formally presented on April 29, 2011 at the annual Founder Region Spring Conference.

If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.

Soroptimist International of Novato awards $1,000 annually to a woman who has primary financial responsibility for her family and is seeking to improve her economic status by gaining additional skills, training or education.
Eligibility requirements are:

•A woman with primary financial responsibility for supporting her family (including children, spouse, siblings and/or parents)
•Attend or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training program, or an undergraduate program
•Have financial need
•Be motivated to achieve their educational and career goals
•Live or work in Novato
Previous recipients and Soroptimist members and their immediate family are not eligible.
If you, or someone you know may qualify for this award you can click here to download the application form and also to download the accompanying reference form.

If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.

Soroptimist International of Novato awards $500 annually to a young woman engaged in volunteer action within her community or school.
This award is in honor of the president of the first Soroptimist club, Violet Richarson, a woman of action, whose indomitable spirit and sense of personal responsibilty were demonstrated by her lifelong commitment to volunteering in her community.

The eligibility requirements are:

•Must be 14 – 17 years of age as of date of application submission.
•Must be engaged in volunteer activity.
•Soroptimists and immediate family are not eligible.
•Previous winners are not eligible.
•Must live or attend school in Novato
This award is based solely on the applicant’s volunteer work, and is an opportunity to honor a girl who might not otherwise receive recognition. She may not be the best student, athlete, or most popular, but is committed to making the world a better place.

If you need more information, or need help with the application you can click here to request an application form or contact Renee Roberts at rroberts.novato@gmail.com.

Gilead House is a faith-based transitional home for single mothers in need located in Novato, California. Soroptimist International of Novato is a major supporter of this program that is designed to provide local women with not only housing, but also the skills and support they need to build a sustainable, healthy life for themselves and their families.
Gilead House’s (GH) origins can be traced back to 1997, when several members of BayMarin Community Church in Marin County, California were looking for ways to get their congregation more involved in the community. Some initial research revealed that there were more than 1,200 homeless children living in Marin at any given time, many of them under the care of a single mother (the number has gone up since then!).

Gilead House was formed as a response to this tremendous need. After a great deal of research, planning, and fund-raising, a 4-bedroom house in a quiet neighborhood was leased to serve as the first site of GH. Location was critical, because from the beginning the goal was to place families in an environment that felt like a home rather than a shelter or institution.

The first 3 families moved into GH in October of 1999. Since that time, Gilead House has served 43 women and 63 children and has been privileged to see dramatic changes in individual lives. In July, 2011, Gilead House moved into a newly constructed home in downtown Novato, and has expanded to serve up to six (6) families. Soroptomist International of Novato joined in this effort providing several appliances for the new kitchen.