Inside the Foundation Blog
News, Updates, Stories, and Impact Across Washington
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, […]
At Washington Women’s Foundation (WaWF), one of our cherished values is to elevate and amplify the power of all who identify as women. Supported by the Women’s Funding Alliance’s Fund for Women, we offer the Women & Girls Grant to organizations focused on women and girls within the year’s chosen priorities. These grants aim to […]
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 […]
Are you looking for a new or deeper way to engage with the Foundation? Consider serving on the Washington Women’s Foundation Board of Directors! We have several openings on the board beginning January 1, 2026, for a three-year term (which may be renewed twice). The director recruitment process is an open call: We welcome all […]
In case you missed the announcement, WaWF made a big change this year, in response to the unique pressures on nonprofits in this time. We know the entire sector is under significant stress and decided that one way WaWF could meet this moment is by ending our grant process early and distributing our dollars to […]
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 […]
This January and February, the 2025 Collective Grants Committee has been deeply engaged in the work of reviewing Letters of Inquiry and discussing our three priorities: Adult Educational Opportunities, Youth Mental Health, and Mitigating the Impact of Climate Change. As always, we enjoy diving deep into these complex topics, including learning from community experts at […]
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 […]
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 […]