Letters from the President Strategic Planning Women in Leadership Building Momentum for Women and Girls Across Washington June 23, 2026 / August 18, 2026 by Jeri Lehto As we continue moving through this “Year Zero” of our new plan, we are building on decades of collective giving while sharpening our focus on the future: women funding women and girls across Washington State. Read more »
Grantees Grantmaking Letters from the President Membership Resources Strategic Planning Building a Stronger Future for Women and Girls: January 22, 2026 by Jeri Lehto A New Chapter for Washington Women’s Foundation For 30 years, Washington Women’s Foundation (WaWF) has believed and acted on a simple but powerful truth: When women come together, we change the world. And we have always been ambitious in living that truth. Historically, we moved to change everything, investing in grantmaking that was intentionally broad and widely focused on addressing racial and gender inequities across Washington state. Today, we are stepping boldly into our next era, […] Read more »
Grantmaking Letters from the President Moments with Maria Uncategorized Meeting the Moment: Transforming the 2025 Collective Grants March 18, 2025 by Jeri Lehto An Announcement: For 29 years Washington Women’s Foundation (WaWF) has had a rhythm for its flagship grant program: A Letter of Intent (LOI) Phase, followed by a Learning/Proposal stage and a Site Visit/Conversation Stage, culminating in a vote by the membership for organizations that would receive our large Collective Grant Awards. Some aspects have been […] Read more »
Diversity Equity and Inclusion Letters from the President Resources Washington Women’s Foundation Statement of Commitment February 18, 2025 by Jeri Lehto For years, Washington Women’s Foundation has stood unwavering in our support of racial and gender equity. We have championed diversity and inclusion, belonging and justice. We have no plans to stop. Our dedication to supporting people of all backgrounds—LGBTQIA2S+, Black, Indigenous, incarcerated, homeless, hungry, immigrant, impacted by climate change, women—remains steadfast. We are committed to […] Read more »
Letters from the President Membership Moments with Maria Navigating Change at Washington Women’s Foundation May 17, 2024 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe In 2018, amidst strategic planning sessions and deep reflections on our purpose, the Board of Directors of Washington Women’s Foundation crafted a Theory of Change, a theory that evolved into our 2020 Transforming Together Statement illustrating how we believed Washington Women’s Foundation moved through the world: Our Members – a growing, inclusive collective of powerful […] Read more »
Letters from the President Moments with Maria Women in Leadership When You Trust Black Women: The Rest and Repair Awards February 28, 2024 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe In 2023, WaWF completed the second round of Rest & Repair Awards. I shared some initial reflections last February and am now honored to introduce you to this year’s awardees and share some additional learnings. We have learned things along the way that we hope to bring more fully into the way our foundation […] Read more »
Letters from the President Moments with Maria Strategic Planning Transforming Together: 2021 in Review November 3, 2021 by Isabelle Shively In 2018 the board of Washington Women’s Foundation (WaWF) approved an ambitious Strategic Framework that was meant to guide us through 5 years of planning and transformation. By the time I arrived as your President and CEO in February of 2021, many items on that Strategic Framework had been seen to: We had engaged nonprofits in ongoing dialogue about their needs and sought continuous feedback and evaluation from […] Read more »
Letters from the President Moments with Maria Moments with Maria: Introduction March 5, 2021 by Aki Shibuya In her first video message, Maria Kolby-Wolfe introduces herself as the new President & CEO of WA Women’s Foundation. Transcript Hi everyone. I’m Maria! I’m the new President and CEO of Washington Women’s Foundation. I’ve been here a month and I’m so honored, and glad, and thrilled to be here with all of you at this pivotal […] Read more »
Letters from the President Letter from the President: Reflecting on Our Strategic Framework 2020 December 18, 2020 by Aki Shibuya As we finally reach the end of 2020, our 25th year of grantmaking at Washington Women’s Foundation, I have had the opportunity to reflect more deeply on our current strategic plan and what we have together accomplished over the last two years. The foundation of this plan was the visions and hopes of our members, who […] Read more »
Letters from the President Strategic Planning Transforming Together 2020: Annual Meeting Recap October 30, 2020 by Aki Shibuya Thank you to the many members who attended our virtual Annual Meeting this week. I am pleased to announce that the membership elected three new candidates to join our Board of Directors as of January 1, 2021. They are: Julie Burg, a member since 2018 and a senior consultant with Nygren Consulting, a boutique consulting firm […] Read more »
