General Information
Welcome to WOMEN'S WAY’s Community Women’s Fund. This unique fund is designed to address critical unmet and under-funded issues identified by representatives from non-profit agencies serving women, girls and families in the Delaware Valley.

WOMEN’S WAY’s Mission
WOMEN’S WAY raises money and public awareness to fight for and achieve women’s equality, safety, self-sufficiency and reproductive freedom through women-centered funding, advocacy and education.

WOMEN’S WAY’s Funding Philosophy
The Community Women’s Fund provides grants to organizations working within the Philadelphia metropolitan region that are run by and for women. While recognizing the benefit of a variety of approaches to serving community needs, WOMEN'S WAY prefers to fund organizations that engage in both advocacy and direct services in order to address immediate needs while working to make systemic change. WOMEN'S WAY believes in the value of general operating support and its contribution to the stability, development and growth of vital women-centered organizations, and offers this form of funding in addition to project grants.

What WOMEN’S WAY is NOT Interested in Funding
WOMEN'S WAY seeks applications that support our mission. The following types of organizations and projects conflict with our values and funding philosophy and would not be considered.

• Organizations that consider themselves to be pro-life
• Organizations and projects that do not support a woman’s full range of reproductive choices
• Organizations and projects promoting abstinence-only sex education
• Organizations and projects opposing same sex relationships or marriage

WOMEN’S WAY does not fund individuals or organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) nonprofit status or a fiscal sponsor.

If you have a question as to whether your organization is eligible and/or your funding request is appropriate, please call Tamela Luce, Director of Grantmaking and Agency Relations at 215-985-0333 x227 or 215-985-3322 or email her at tluce@womensway.org.

 Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 Funding Priorities
Annually and prior to the start of the first grant cycle of our fiscal year, WOMEN’S WAY convenes a Women’s Issues Summit to learn from those working directly with women, girls and their families in our region about critical unmet or under-funded areas of need. This information guides WOMEN’S WAY in establishing community-driven funding priorities for the next fiscal year. WOMEN’S WAY will fund organizations and programs that address one or more of these funding priorities. WOMEN’S WAY is especially interested in funding requests that impact vulnerable and marginalized populations (e.g. low-income, elderly, LGBTQ, disabled, immigrant, incarcerated women, etc.); programs that encourage and facilitate outreach, collaboration and access among and between service providers; and those organizations engaged in both advocacy and direct services. For the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 grant cycles the WOMEN’S WAY Community Women’s Fund priority issues are as follows.

• Programs and organizations promoting a healthy sense of self for girls, including those working with their parents and others interacting with and influencing girls.
• Projects that help women and their families achieve self-sufficiency through numerous approaches such as access to safe, affordable housing; access to higher education to ensure career flexibility; and education around financial literacy and predatory lending.
• Initiatives addressing the varied and far-reaching consequences of trauma affecting women, girls and their families, and programs helping women and girls overcome the effects of trauma.
• Projects and initiatives that advocate for and assist with access to quality, affordable healthcare for women, their families and caregivers.
• Violence prevention and reduction programs and services that address the needs of women, their families and communities and promote a violence-free culture.

WOMEN’S WAY will accept a proposal outside of these issue areas that forwards a core component of WOMEN’S WAY’s mission, as outlined above. Grants are available for program development and general operating expenses. The maximum grant is $20,000; most grants are less. Organizations may submit only one proposal in a 12 month period. Grant monies are expected to be expended within approximately 9 months. Grantees must complete a report detailing how the funding was spent.

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Criteria for Eligibility
Organizations must meet all of the following criteria to apply.

• Organization must serve women and/or girls in one or more of these counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; or Burlington, Camden or Gloucester Counties in New Jersey.
• Program must target the specific needs of women and/or girls, with particular emphasis on low-income women and/or girls. Population served must be at least 50% female.
• Organization must demonstrate substantial women’s leadership – at least 50% of voting members on the Board of Directors must identify as women and at least 50% management positions on staff must identify as women.
• The project and organizational mission must be in agreement with the mission of WOMEN’S WAY.
• Organization has, or by the time of submitting an application to WOMEN’S WAY will have, a policy of nondiscrimination adopted by its board in writing that demonstrates a practice of nondiscrimination in employment and in the provision of services on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, ancestry, age or handicap.
• Organization does not engage in or support terrorist activities as defined in the USA Patriot Act.
• If the organization is a past grantee, an acceptable final report for that grant must be on file.
• Organization must have a current IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt letter or fiscal sponsor.

Application Process
Applications are only accepted during specific times.

The deadline to apply for the Spring 2010 cycle has passed, WOMEN’S WAY is not accepting applications at this time. If you would like to receive information about our Fall 2010 cycle, e-mail Tamela Luce. The mailing for this next cycle will go out in July 2010.

Questions
Please contact Tamela Luce, Director of Grantmaking and Agency Relations at 215-985-0333 x227 or 215-985-3322 or email her at tluce@womensway.org.