Dear Members,

The Board of Directors of CineWomen NY are announcing an exciting, new development that is of great benefit to our members.

On September 11, 2008, we joined forces with New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT)! By uniting with NYWIFT we can offer our members more benefits and a greater networking base while maintaining CWNY signature programs.

We have included the details of the agreement below for you to review. On October 2, 2008 we’ll be having a membership meeting to answer any questions or concerns you may have. In the second half of the meeting, NYWIFT representatives will join our discussion. The meeting will be 7 to 9 pm at A.R.T./NY, 520 8th Avenue, Third Floor, in Studio B.

Later in October, we’ll have a joint CWNY/NYWIFT Soiree so we can meet and greet each other. Details of time and location will be emailed soon.

CWNY and NYWIFT have worked together very closely for over a decade. NYWIFT has co-hosted soirees and shares the Two Boots Pioneer Screening series with us. Over a quarter of CWNY members are also NYWIFT members already.

Over the past year, the CWNY Board of Directors has been struggling against a failing economy. Despite an intensive membership drive and a gala fundraiser, we found that it has been increasingly difficult to continue to offer our members the quality programs and support that we have in the past. Because of the tightening economy, many organizations who lent us support in the past, such as meeting and event spaces, can no longer do so. Between the rising costs of running CWNY and the withdrawal of support from previous sponsors and donors it seemed that we would be forced to shut down CWNY. (The LA chapter of CineWomen shut down months ago). We didn’t want this to happen.

After months of discussion amongst the board members and consulting with earlier board members, we agreed to approach various organizations about possibly joining forces. It quickly became clear that NYWIFT was the best choice, given our long history of collaboration and networking and the fact that their mission is almost identical to CWNYs. NYWIFT respects CWNY and are happy to combine our organizations. They consider our members and programs a valuable addition and are eager to get to know us better. As part of NYWIFT, CWNY members will have access to health insurance, free screenings, low cost workshops, fiscal sponsorship and more. Our 200 members will become part of their 1700-strong membership.

CWNY members will have until 10/15 to renew their membership at CWNY dues rates ($50). This will enable you to become a member of NYWIFT until September 15, 2009.

Our programs, such as the Filmmakers Group, Producers Group, Screenwriters Group, the juried CWNY Screening Series, Show and Grow and Soirees will continue as long as the organizers are willing to stay involved – and they’ll be open to NYWIFT members bringing in a fresh source of creativity and networking opportunities. The Actors Gallery will be moved to the NYWIFT site. CWNY members will receive free membership in NYWIFT until September 30, 2009. After that, renewal will be available at a discounted rate for the next year. Folks that are already members of NYWIFT will receive a credit towards events and programs. The details are below.

The transition will take some time. We will keep you posted. Keep checking the website –we will be moving the CWNY website over to the NYWIFT website and will have up-to-date information on the process. And you can always email or call with questions.

We hope you are as excited as we are about this development. And we look forward to seeing you at the upcoming membership meeting and soiree.

Pasted below are the key elements of the agreement signed by CWNY and NYWIFT on September 11, 2008.

It is understood that CineWomen intends to cease operations, and that both NYWIFT and CineWomen want to give CineWomen members the opportunity to become part of NYWIFT, and want some important programs that CineWomen has developed to continue.

 

To facilitate these goals, NYWIFT agrees to the following:

 

1. Dues

 

NYWIFT will give all CineWomen members in good standing, who are not already members of NYWIFT, one free year of NYWIFT membership beginning as of October 1, 2008. Each CineWomen member will join as either a Next Wave member or a Regular member, depending on his or her level of professional experience as determined by the NYWIFT Membership Committee and Board. CineWomen members who are also currently members of NYWIFT will get a $50 credit toward tickets to any NYWIFT programs or events to be used in the 2008-2009 programming year.

 

Dues for the second year of membership in NYWIFT for CineWomen (non-NYWIFT) members will be $75. Full dues of $100 for next Wave members and $175 for Regular members will apply in year 3.

 

2. CineWomen Screening Series

 

NYWIFT will continue to present the NYWIFT/CineWomen Screening Series. These screenings will include a juried selection every other month, and a NYWIFT member screening every other month. Annual Awards will be given the best of the series. Eligibility, categories and prizes will be determined by the jury. Amounts of prizes will be determined pending fundraising. This program will continue provided that there are responsible volunteers available to organize and program the series.

 

3. Other CineWomen Progams

 

CineWomen support groups, including the Screenwriters Group, the Producers and Filmmakers Group, and Show and Grow, will be incorporated into the NYWIFT schedule. Any meetings with a guest speaker or taking place at venue coordinated by NYWIFT’s program coordinator must be approved by the NYWIFT Program Committee, even if the speaker is a NYWIFT member. None of the support groups will be eliminated, unless the current volunteer in charge of the program does not want to continue, or is no longer a member of NYWIFT. The Actor’s Gallery will be added to the NYWIFT Website. Other existing CineWomen programs will be incorporated into the NYWIFT program calendar, and will be scheduled upon successful application to the program committee.

 

4. Soirees

 

NYWIFT will hold periodic Soirees, pending fundraising. There will be a Soiree held in October 2008 to announce the CineWomen/NYWIFT agreement. There will also be Soirees held in December 2008, February 2009 and April 2009. Soirees may be held jointly with other non-profit organizations.

 

5. Board Participation

 

Geralyn Abinader (Co-President of CWNY) will be invited to serve on the NYWIFT board from the day of signing this agreement, until June 30th, 2009. (The CineWomen rep will fill a currently vacant seat on the board.) Board service is not mandatory.

 

6. CineWomen Website

 

The CineWomen website will be migrated to the NYWIFT website as soon as possible after the signing of this agreement. The homepage of the website will announce CineWomen’s incorporation into NYWIFT and will link to the NYWIFT home page. The archives of the CineWomen website will remain available on the NYWIFT website.

IMPORTANT: In order to take advantage of this agreement between CWNY and NYWIFT, you must be a CWNY member in good standing as of October 15, 2008. This means that your CWNY membership dues of $50 must be paid in full before October 15, 2008.

Please come to the CWNY membership meeting on October 2, 2008, from 7-9 pm, at A.R.T./NY, 520 8th Avenue, Third Floor, in Studio B, to discuss your questions and concerns.

We look forward to seeing you there, and to our new future as part of NYWIFT.

Geralyn Abinader and Alison McMahan

CWNY Co-Presidents