Soroptimist Programs and Awards

Women's Opportunity Awards

The Women’s Opportunity Awards (WOA) program is the signature program of Soroptimist International of the Americas. It was created in 1972 by popular vote of the membership. Because of their interest in “upward mobility for women,” members voted overwhelmingly for the creation of an award for training or retraining that would enable women heads of household to obtain higher level jobs.

This program aids women seeking to improve their economic status by gaining additional skills, training and education. These women are the primary wage earners for their families, and must be accepted into or enrolled in a program of study.

Many WOA applicants have faced severe hardships that have prevented them from pursuing and achieving their education and professional goals. Many are single mothers and/or reliant on public assistance as their source of income. Many are domestic abuse survivors.

Recipients of the WOA may use the cash awards to offset any costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education, including tuition, books, supplies, childcare and care car.

Club-level recipients become eligible for additional awards at other levels of the organization. In addition, Soroptimist International of the Americas grants three $10,000 finalist awards each year. Since its inception, SIA has funded almost $5.5 million in Women’s Opportunity Awards and assisted about 1640 women. In total (including the local club activity) approximately $15 milion in WOA has been disbursed to about 22,500 women since the program begin in 1972.

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION (pdf) »

Ruby Award

The Soroptimist Ruby Award, formerly known as The Making a Difference for Women Award, honors women in local communities who, through their personal or professional efforts, are working to improve, inspire, encourage, and enrich the lives of women and girls. This award enables SI Palm Desert and the Soroptimist organization to thank these extraordinary women and encourage others to explore ways to assist the lives of women and girls.

The award begins at the club level, where the type of recognition varies. Winners then become eligible for three Golden West Region awards. First place winners at the region level go on to compete at the Federation level. The Federation winner is honored with a $5,000 donation given to the charitable organization of her choice.

The community is invited to nominate candidates for this award. The majority of the nominees work to date must have occurred within the prior 24 months, although nominees' will be recognized for all such work effort.

Deadline for nomination is December 1, 2009.

If you are interested in nominating a candidate for the Ruby Award, or if you have any further questions, please e-mail your inquiry to sipalmdesert@gmail.com

CLICK HERE FOR ON-LINE APPLICATION FORM (pdf)»

Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award

The Violet Richardson Award is a recognition program for young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools. Each year, Soroptimist clubs honor girls who donate their time and energy to causes that make the community and world a better place—such as working to end discrimination and poverty, assisting women and children who are victims of domestic violence, or mentoring young girls.

The Violet Richardson Award is given to young women whose volunteer activities make the community and world a better place. The award is in honor of the president of the first Soroptimist club, Violet Richardson, a woman of action, whose indomitable spirit and sense of personal responsibility were demonstrated by her lifelong commitment to volunteering in her community.

The program begins on the Soroptimist club level, with club recipients becoming eligible for additional awards at other levels of the organization. One winner is chosen to receive a finalist award, which includes a contribution of $2,500 to the charitable organization of the recipient's choice.

CLICK HERE FOR APPLICATION TO THE VIOLET RICHARDSON AWARD (pdf) »