Community Women’s Fund General Information & Application

General Information
WOMEN'S WAY is pleased to introduce our 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 our region.

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 will provide 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 are in conflict with our values and funding philosophy and would not be funded by WOMEN’S WAY:

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, and
Organizations and projects opposing same sex relationships or marriage.

If you have a question as to whether your organization is eligible and your funding request is appropriate, please contact our office at information below.

2007-2008 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. For the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 grant cycles the WOMEN’S WAY Community Women’s Fund priority issues are as follows.

Programs promoting economic self-sufficiency for women and their families, especially those employing a holistic approach that incorporates access to education, quality child care, health care, housing, transportation, etc.
Education and advocacy initiatives addressing women's access to quality health care, especially those focused on the uninsured and underinsured, medical assistance recipients and other marginalized populations such as women who are incarcerated, homeless, recent immigrants or asylum seekers and women working in the sex industry.
Advocacy and education initiatives that work to combat negative stereotypes of women and favorably change public perceptions about women frequently targeted for discrimination such as immigrant women, women of color, LGBTQ and disabled women, etc.
Projects working to prevent and/or respond to intergenerational cycles of violence particularly as they impact women, girls and families, including projects that seek to understand the root causes of violence.
Programs that promote positive self-image and empower women and girls to reach their full potential, including programs that utilize technology and new media to promote positive images of women and girls.

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. Most grants will range from $5,000 - $20,000. Organizations may submit only one proposal in a 12-month period. Grant monies are expected to be expended within one year.

Criteria for Eligibility (Organizations must meet all of the following)

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% women serving as voting members on the Board of Directors and at least 50% women in management positions on staff.
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
As the deadline to apply for the Spring 2008 cycle has passed, WOMEN’S WAY is not accepting applications at this time. If you would like to receive information about our Fall 2008 cycle, e-mail Tamela Luce. The mailing for this next cycle will go out in August 2008.

Questions
If you have any questions, please contactTamela Luce, Director of Community Women’s Fund and Agency Relations, at 215-985-0333 x227 or 215-985-3322 or E-mail her at tluce@womensway.org.