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Women's Fund Grantmaking

Our vision is that every woman and girl has what she needs to be healthy, confident and able to fulfill her dreams.  The Women’s Fund’s approach is straight-forward. We inspire philanthropic giving and engage our donors in making lasting change for women and girls. We provide grants and partner with community organizations and leaders on issues where we can have the greatest impact on women’s lives. By strategically leveraging our donors’ investments, the Women’s Fund is helping to bring about meaningful change for our community as a whole.

“Research shows that when women and girls learn, grow and prosper, the entire community thrives,” Julie Drezner, Vice President of Community Engagement.

Since 2007 the Women’s Fund has made grants and initiated programs that focus on economic empowerment and health of women and girls in Monterey County.  In 2011, an Impact Committee made up of donors and community volunteers was formed to explore local needs and define more precisely the Fund’s priorities for community impact going forward.  See Grant Opportunities for more information about our focus areas.  The Fund’s first set of grants under this new grants framework will be announced in December 2011.

Record $85,000 in Grants Awarded in 2010

2010 was a banner year for the Women’s Fund with a record $85,000 awarded for five grants.  The largest ever grant of $75,000 went to Unity Care Group, Inc., to support the important next step in our Girls’ Health in Girls’ Hands (GHGH) project.  Made possible by Women’s Fund donors, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Coamerica Charitable Foundation, the purpose of this grant is to begin implementation of high priority strategies for increasing access to accurate and relevant health information and to begin steps toward creating an ongoing GHGH project.  The grant will also support the formation of three teams of girl leaders, in three Monterey County communities as they create and lead "health days" for other teen girls.

The Women’s Fund also awarded four grants totaling $10,000 that focus on supporting women who are at a point of transition to economic self sufficiency. These grants help community organizations provide direct financial support to individual women at a time when a modest amount of assistance could make a big difference in getting a job, going to school, or obtaining other resources needed to move toward greater self-reliance. Such needs might include car repair, bus passes, occupational training course fees, books or materials. Grants were awarded to: Breast Cancer Assistance Group; Community Human Services - Elm House Circle of Women Fund and the Barbara Davies Women’s Health and Wellness Fund; Natividad Medical Foundation and The Village Project.

Projects

Girls’ Health in Girls’ Hands

Fifty girls from all around Monterey County led the creation of a public policy plan that will improve their access to health information. Working in five teams, these highly-motivated teenaged girls conducted research across the county – exploring the health information and services that are available to pre-teen and adolescent girls. This action research project was also designed to empower girls to make informed choices and advocate for their own health. They presented their action plan recommendations to key decision-makers throughout the county in the fall of 2009 and implementation teams were formed. While gaining important skills that will serve them well, these young women also learned about each others’ lives and made lasting friendships. The California Endowment was the primary funder with additional funds coming from individual Women’s Fund donors.  Our next step is to implement the girls’ action plan which is now in process with our 2011 Unity Care Group, Inc. grant to lead a collaborative planning effort that will set the roadmap for the next five years.  For more information, read about the finding and summary of recommendations found in the Girls' Health in Girls' Hands Action Plan.

Women’s Economic Empowerment

One of our long term goals is to help women in Monterey County achieve economic self-sufficiency regardless of their circumstances and micro-enterprise as a major tool for women’s economic self-sufficiency.  Our Women’s Business and Education Loan Program (WBELP) was the first and only program in Monterey County to provide business training classes and access to low-interest loans to women who want to become entrepreneurs. More than 40 women have participated in the program, and in 2009 we awarded the first low-interest micro-loan..

The WBELP program was made possible with generous support from Rabobank N.A., Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Comerica Bank, First National Bank and individual Women’s Fund donors. The WBELP education course was launched by the Women’s Fund in 2007 in partnership with the El Pajaro Community Development Corporation.  The Loan Fund, providing business loans up to $5,000 to women entrepreneurs, is managed by our community partner 1st Capital Bank.   In addition to the El Pajaro CDC, other business education partners include ALBA (Agriculture and Land-based Training Association) and Marina Technology Cluster.   By linking business education and access to low-income financing, we are actively supporting women’s efforts to become economically self-sufficient.

Accomplishment Highlights

Special thanks to Beth Cary King for providing the black and white photography for the Women's Fund.