Moments with Maria Philanos Network Uncategorized Women in Leadership WaWF Goes to Texas: Hearing from our sisters at the Philanos Conference February 18, 2026 / September 14, 2026 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe By Maria Kolby-Wolfe It’s hard to believe we’re already nearing the end of February. The first few weeks of the year have moved quickly at WaWF as we introduced our new flexible membership options, our new grantmaking process, and as we get ready for another year of collective grantmaking, learning, and connection. Last week, I had the chance to jump into […] Read more »
Moments with Maria Uncategorized Onward Together, United by Hope June 12, 2025 / September 30, 2026 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe On Friday, June 6 we held a Community Celebration in honor of our 15 2025 Grantees and our wider WaWF community. It was a joyous and hopeful night. Here is the text of the speech Maria Kolby-Wolfe our CEO and President gave that evening. Tonight, we gather in the presence of 15 extraordinary organizations—trailblazers who […] Read more »
Grantmaking Letters from the President Moments with Maria Uncategorized Meeting the Moment: Transforming the 2025 Collective Grants March 18, 2025 / September 30, 2026 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe 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 »
Moments with Maria Women in Leadership Maria’s Musings: Welcome to 2025 January 21, 2025 / September 30, 2026 by Maria Kolby-Wolfe Incredibly, we’re setting out for another trip around the sun together! I want to take a moment to thank you all for being part of this shared path. If the first two weeks of this year are any sign, we are once more living through some historic times. I admit I could do with a […] 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 »
Moments with Maria Moments with Maria March 7, 2022 by Isabelle Shively Hello dear members! It is a sign of how much is happening in the world that my “Welcome to 2022!” post is coming out in March. What a busy 2022 we have already had, both inside and outside our Foundation! Implementing Our Vision Our mission states that WaWF is committed to changing the course of women’s […] 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 »
