Background

Launched in early 2006 to provide funding to diverse agencies in the region, the Community Women’s Fund is uniquely community-driven with annual funding priorities developed from a signature Women’s Issues Summit attended by dozens of community leaders and activists working directly with women, girls and families.

The Community Women’s Fund Review Committee, comprised of members of WOMENS WAY’s Board of Directors and community representatives conducts an intensive analysis of the proposals and makes funding recommendations for the Board.

Since it's Spring 2006 inception, the Fund has awarded 108 grants, totaling $1,168,921

Fall 2009 Community Women’s Fund Grantees

The following organizations received grants from our Community Women’s Fund during the Fall 2009 cycle. Though many agencies received funding to support a particular project, several received general operating support to continue to fulfill their overall missions.

The Career Wardrobe - $10,000
http://www.careerwardrobe.org
The Career Wardrobe (TCW) is the nation’s largest community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting women in their transition to work by providing professional attire, networking and career skills training. Started by a group of Philadelphia volunteers in 1995, TCW has assisted over 50,000 women to date. This grant will support the organization’s newest venture – The Wardrobe Boutique, an upscale recycled clothing store with proceeds benefiting The Career Wardrobe.

Endow-A-Home - $5,000
Since 1989, Endow-A-Home has provided affordable homes and support services to formerly homeless women and their children. Through an intensive and long term case management approach, head-of-household homeless women are linked to recovery programs, government benefits, legal assistance, employment, educational resources and other services to help them achieve self-sufficiency. In an effort to end the intergenerational cycle of poverty and homelessness, children and teens are provided with activities and support systems to help them resist risky behaviors and stay in school.

Home of the Sparrow - $13,000
http://www.homeofthesparrow.org
Home of the Sparrow (HOS) works to provide housing and supportive services to homeless and low-income women who want to improve their lives and become self-sufficient. HOS was founded in 1994 by a group of concerned citizens dedicated to improving the lives of homeless women and children. This grant will support their case management and life skills education program to help women overcome obstacles to maintaining safe, stable housing and achieving self-sufficiency.

La Comunidad Hispana - $8,000
http://www.lacomunidadhispana.org
La Comunidad Hispana seeks to improve the quality of life, health and well being of low-income Hispanics and other under-served people in Chester County through advocacy and bilingual programs in healthcare, education, and social services. This funding will support GUAPAS (Girls United Achieving Professional Aspirations and Successes) empowerment program for adolescent Latinas. GUAPAS provides culturally competent guidance in goal-setting and planning for post-high school opportunities by addressing the critical areas of young women’s development:  boosting self-esteem and self-image; building peer, family and community support networks; participating in service learning projects and learning about healthy lifestyles.

Living Beyond Breast Cancer - $15,000
http://www.lbbc.org
Founded in 1991 by a radiation oncologist, Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC) works to empower all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. LBBC offers specialized programs and services for the newly diagnosed, young women, women with advanced breast cancer, women at high risk for developing the disease and African-American and Latina women. Also included are programs for caregivers and healthcare professionals to help them better meet the needs of women affected by breast cancer. LBBC will use this funding for the Cis B. Golder Quality of Life Grant Program to provide grants of up to $1,000 to low-income women affected by breast cancer to help with immediate financial needs such as transportation, groceries, utilities, wigs and prosthetics and complementary therapies.

Maternity Care Coalition - $15,000
http://www.momobile.org
Since 1980 Maternity Care Coalition (MCC) has been bringing together people who care about the health and well-being of pregnant women, infants and young children, and high risk families. MCC offers a variety of programs including its signature MOMobile, helping low-income families get vital support and services in their own communities. Additionally, MCC has long advocated for increased services for women and infants to health and welfare agencies and legislative bodies. A grant to MCC will support their MOMobile program for incarcerated women at Riverside Correctional Facility who are pregnant or mothers of young children.

Mid County Senior Services - $7,000
http://www.mainlinehealth.org/mcss
At Mid County Senior Services, women and men aged 60+ find opportunities and services that help them stay healthy and enjoy life. Families caring for an older relative find support, information and respite. MCSS programs include:  Senior Community Centers offering classes, volunteer opportunities and resources; Adult Day Services providing a warm and secure environment for older adults who need care during the day due to physical or cognitive impairments; and Chore Connection linking community volunteers to low-income older adults who need help to stay in their homes and transportation to and from medical appointments. MCSS will use this grant to support the Chore Connection program.

National Nursing Centers Consortium:  Philadelphia Nurse-Family Partnership - $15,000

http://www.nursefamilypartnership.org
Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is an evidence-based nurse home visitation program that improves the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time parents and their children. Very low-income women in their first or second trimester who reside in Philadelphia may enroll in the program. Topics covered include drug and smoking cessation, accessing mental and dental health services, nutritional counseling, understanding reproductive health, the importance of breastfeeding, identifying personal goals and increasing self-esteem, among other important issues. NFP will use this grant to support the Opening Doors Housing Program providing life skills training to their clients so they may achieve and maintain safe, affordable housing.

Summer Search Philadelphia - $4,000
http://www.summersearch.org/about/offices/philadelphia/
Summer Search is a national leadership development program that helps low-income young people graduate high school, go to college, gain successful careers and give back to society. The organization has a 4-pronged approach that supports students and holds them accountable. Leadership programs include:  weekly mentoring sessions with highly trained staff mentors, two summer experiential education programs, college advisory services and alumni support throughout college and beyond. Funding from WOMEN’S WAY will support low-income female high school students in the region participating in Summer Search programs.

Supporting and Inspiring Sisters To Achieve (S.I.S.T.A.) - $4,000
http://www.sistaprogram.org/
SISTA provides adolescent girls from depressed socio-economic, disadvantaged and traditionally overlooked neighborhoods the educational, social and emotional support to make positive choices for themselves, their families and communities to succeed in higher education, careers and healthy relationships. Participating girls, ages 11-15, gather formally twice a month to work with assigned mentors on topics such as relationships, conflict resolution, etiquette, health and wellness, public speaking and education. Girls are also exposed to a wide variety of career paths. Interactive workshops, educational field trips, guest speakers and presentations solidify the work each girl accomplishes with her mentor.

Wings for Success - $5,000
http://www.wingsforsuccess.org/
Wings for Success is a tight-knit community of compassionate women who volunteer their time, skills and love to bring lasting confidence to women facing the challenge of securing sustainable income. Wings provides work appropriate clothing through a fun and nurturing experience that not only prepares each woman for her interview and workplace but also gives her hope and confidence in her future. Serving southeastern Pennsylvania, Wings has helped more than 5000 women tackle this often overlooked barrier to becoming self sufficient.

Women’s Therapy Center - $9,000
http://www.womenstherapycenter.org/
The Women’s Therapy Center (WTC) is a private, non-profit psychotherapy center providing therapeutic services to adult women. Their goal is to empower women to live their best, healthiest and most powerful lives. WTC provides services from a feminist perspective, ensuring that women find the therapist and services that best meet their needs. Services include: individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, couples therapy (both heterosexual and lesbian), workshops and trainings, educational seminars and trainings for professionals, consultations to professional and potential clients, clinical supervision and practicum placements sites.

Spring 2009 Community Women's Fund Grantees

The following organizations received grants from our Community Women’s Fund during the Spring 2009 cycle. Though many agencies received funding to support a particular project, several received general operating support to continue to fulfill their overall missions.

Alice Paul Institute - $8,860
http://www.alicepaul.org/
The Alice Paul Institute (API) works to educate the public about the life and work of Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977), New Jersey’s most famous suffragist, author of the Equal Rights Amendment, founder of the National Women’s Party and a lifelong activist for women’s equality. API also honors Alice’s legacy by preserving historic Paulsdale, birthplace of Alice Paul; developing future leaders; and achieving women’s equality. API will use this grant to support two programs:  Girlblazers summer leadership camp for 5th grade girls and the Leadership Teachers' Institute to help incorporate leadership development strategies and women's history into school curricula.

CHOICE - $10,000
http://www.choice-phila.org/
Founded in 1971, CHOICE is a community-based organization dedicated to increasing awareness of and access to sexual health services, especially among underserved populations who traditionally experience barriers to care. CHOICE is the most often-used resource for sexual health information in the region, serving more than 50,000 people each year, the overwhelming majority of whom are teens and low-income women. CHOICE operates 5 bi-lingual (Spanish-English and other languages through a translation service) hotlines and a growing program of community education and outreach. This grant will be used to help fill a gap left by a sudden cut in state funding for CHOICE’s signature Maternal and Child Health hotline, the only such service in the state.

Community Concern #13 - $12,257
Phone:  215-236-5024
A group of concerned residents formed Community Concern #13 in 1969 to enhance the Brewerytown neighborhood of Philadelphia and make residents feel safe. Community Concern’s mission is to provide quality day care to all children and enable them to be ready for kindergarten and provide after school services for parents who are in training or employed. Programs emphasize character building, socialization skills and provide healthy meals to promote physical well being. This grant will support a culturally competent anti-violence and anti-bullying program for parents and children in the Brewerytown section, most of who are low-income single mothers.

Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County - $12,500
http://www.dapdc.org/
The Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County (DAP) seeks to prevent domestic violence and is committed to providing services that meet the needs of victims. Free, confidential services include:  24-hour hotline, options counseling, advocacy, assistance in gaining protection from abuse orders, legal representation, court accompaniment, emergency shelter, transitional housing, support groups and community education. DAP supports an empowerment process, which enables victims to move toward self-sufficiency. To this end, DAP received this grant to support an economic empowerment program to educate survivors of domestic violence on financial literacy and help them achieve financial independence and stability.

The Garage Community and Youth Center - $15,000
http://www.garageyouthcenter.org/
The Garage’s mission is to help youth in the Kennett Square area reach their potential scholastically, emotionally and spiritually by partnering with local schools, churches, community members and organizations to provide support, programs and relationships for the youth. The Garage will use this grant to support GirlTalk, a student-developed and student-lead weekly discussion forum focusing on topics of critical importance to primarily Latina and African American high school girls that includes self-defense training.

Girls Rock Philly - $5,000
http://www.girlsrockphilly.org/
Girls Rock Philly is an independently operating branch of a rapidly expanding effort to bring rock n’ roll camps for girls all over the United States, Canada and the world! Their mission is to provide girls from the greater Philadelphia region with a positive all-female musical environment. Their overall goals include:  musical development, self-esteem enhancement, friendship and community building, and nurturing individual talents within a cooperative atmosphere. The signature week-long, girls-only camp is in its 3rd year, serving campers aged 10-18 years. Girls receive musical instruction, form bands and end their week with a finale concert open to the public, this year held August 8, 2009 at Girard College.

HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia - $16,128
http://www.hiaspa.org/
HIAS and Council was founded more than 125 years ago to provide services to Jewish immigrants and refugees fleeing persecution and seeking opportunity by migrating to America. Today, HIAS and Council continues it’s mission of “welcoming the stranger” by representing diverse populations of immigrants, resettling refugees and reuniting families residing in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties who are of limited means. HIAS received this grant to recruit, train and provide technical assistance to attorneys to provide pro bono legal services to immigrant women who are victims of domestic violence, including the application for a special visa that places survivors on a pathway to citizenship.

Mountain Meadow - $10,000
http://www.mountainmeadow.org/
Mountain Meadow is a progressive and diverse community dedicated to providing a supportive and safe space for all children of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) and other non-traditional families and their allies. This grant will underwrite a portion of the cost for girls from low-income lesbian headed households in the Delaware Valley to attend Mountain Meadow’s 2-week summer sleepover camp program. For many campers from this often silent population, this camp is a life-changing experience, allowing them to meet other children from LGBTQ families for the first time.

Supportive Older Women’s Network - $10,000
http://www.sown.org/
The Supportive Older Women's Network (SOWN) is an innovative non-profit agency dedicated to helping women over age 50 cope with their complex lives. SOWN provides support group services, individual counseling, workshops and advocacy to enable women to manage issues in their daily lives. These services include:  community support groups, telephone support groups for homebound women, caregiver support groups, and grandparent raising grandchildren support services. SOWN was awarded a grant as a partial match to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant for a joint program with the Honickman Learning Center to provide services to grandmothers raising children who receive services at the Center.

Why Not Prosper - $15,000
http://www.whynotprosper.org/
Why Not Prosper’s mission is to help female ex-offenders discover their own strength by providing them with the support and resources that will empower them to become responsible, economically self-sufficiency and contributing members of the community. Why Not Prosper accomplishes its mission by helping women to upgrade their job skills and find employment, obtain decent housing, stay away from alcohol and illegal drugs, reunite with their children and avoid domestic abuse. Staff of Why Not Prosper advocate for women in the penal system and work to decrease recidivism and improve the quality of life for women ex-offenders and their children though pre-release mentoring and post-release services, including transitional housing and comprehensive case management.

Women’s Community Revitalization Project - $16,400
http://www.wcrpphila.com/
The Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) is committed to social and economic justice for low-income women and their families. WCRP develops housing and neighborhood facilities; provides supportive services; advocates for policy change and honors leadership, dignity and equity in our communities. When you start with women, you are at the core of communities and families. There is power in women working together to make change. WCRP has created a model that works for community development, putting that power to work for low-income women and their families. This grant will assist WCRP to purchase hardware and implement a new database to manage information about clients, donors, community leaders, partners and vendors, creating a more efficient work environment and allowing the staff to focus more fully on the mission and the work.

Women’s Law Project - $10,000
http://www.womenslawproject.org/
The Women’s Law Project (WLP) is a public interest law center that has fought for legal and economic equality for women and their families since 1974. WLP has challenged sex discrimination in employment, education, athletics and insurance; advanced the rights of lesbian and gay parents; advocated on behalf of impoverished women; worked for fair and accessible procedures in child custody, child support and protection from abuse actions and championed the rights of sexual assault survivors. Women’s Law Project takes pride in being both a unique resource for Pennsylvania women and a national leader in the field of women’s rights.

Women’s Medical Fund - $20,000
http://www.womensmedicalfund.org/
The Women's Medical Fund (WMF) provides direct financial assistance and other support to low-income women and girls in Southeastern Pennsylvania who wish to terminate an unwanted pregnancy but cannot afford a safe legal abortion. Additionally, WMF educates health care professionals about the use of Medicaid to fund abortion, and raises public awareness of the devastating impact of denying access to safe, legal abortions. As WMF states on their homepage, “Without access to safe, legal abortion, ‘choice’ is meaningless.”