What is the Women’s Foundation of California?
The Women's Foundation of California is a nonprofit public foundation that invests in women and girls to build a more just and equitable society for all. The Foundation believes that this state's potential will only be realized when women and girls lead and thrive as full participants at all levels of society. We work to eliminate barriers that perpetuate injustice and inequity in order to catalyze positive social change. We partner with nonprofits, foundations, corporations, individual donors and policymakers to find and fund solutions that create opportunities for the women and girls of California.
The Foundation invests primarily in movement-building strategies--community organizing, policy advocacy and implementation, leadership development and research--and funds some models of direct service if and when they pave the way for systemic change across the state or a particular region. We apply gender justice, racial justice and human rights analyses to our grantmaking and other strategic initiatives. The Foundation's theory of change rests on a core belief that by focusing our work on the most marginalized, we will increase the well-being of all women and girls and ultimately their families and communities. Therefore, the majority of Foundation grants and programs are funded for work by, with and for low- and no-income women and girls, particularly those of color.
Where are you located?
The Women’s Foundation of California has offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
340 Pine Street, Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94104. Phone: (415) 837-1113. Fax: (415) 837-1144
444 S. Flower Street, Suite 4650, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Phone: (213) 388-0485. Fax: (213) 388-0405
Is the Women’s Foundation of California the same as the San Francisco Women’s Building? Is your office in the Women’s Building?
No. The San Francisco office of the Women’s Foundation of California is located downtown on Pine Street between Sansome and Montgomery Streets. When the Foundation was first established, we were the lead tenant of the Women’s Building. When our resources grew to the point that we were ready to expand, we left the Women’s Building in order to create space for new organizations just starting out.
How can I make a donation to the Women’s Foundation of California?
Support our social change work here.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes, most donations to the Women’s Foundation of California are fully tax-deductible. We will provide you with our federal tax identification number.
Can I start my own Donor-Advised Fund at the Women’s Foundation of California?
Yes. We can help you develop a funding strategy, and you or your representatives can be as involved as you choose in evaluating proposals, conducting site visits and selecting grantees. For more information about establishing a Donor-Advised Fund, contact Cathy Schreiber at (415) 837-1113, ext. 301, or cathys@womensfoundca.org.
What is a donor circle?
A donor circle is a group of individual donors, corporate investors and/or philanthropic partners who pool their resources to make a greater impact on the issues they care about. Donor circles are designed to provide members with a meaningful experience in effective community activism and strategic philanthropy. Members receive education about a particular issue and training to evaluate grant proposals, conduct site visits and make grants to effective organizations and programs. Donor circles are designed to include members at varying levels of income, wealth and philanthropic experience.
The Women’s Foundation of California operates several successful donor circles. We are seen as a national leader in this donor engagement model. Grantmaking through our donor circles is based upon invitation-only processes.
For more information about joining a Donor Circle, contact Cathy Schreiber at cathys@womensfoundca.org or (415) 837-1113, ext. 301.
What are the funding priorities of the Women’s Foundation of California?
The Foundation funds non-profit organizations with programs that actively involve women and girls in promoting and protecting their political, social, cultural, civil and economic rights. Our support focuses on women and girls who have historically been under-served due to economic status, race or ethnicity, physical or mental ability, culture, religion, sexual orientation, immigration status or regional factors. The Foundation also funds organizations that, because of the issues they address or the communities they serve, face limited access to mainstream and traditional funding sources.
Through our Community Action Fund, the Women’s Foundation of California invests in four areas that we believe are central to achieving equity for women and girls:
Economic Justice
Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights
Environmental Health and Justice
Young Women's Development and Leadership
In each of these areas, we make grants to support community-based organizations, popular education, policy advocacy, collaboration, cross-issue work, and to nurture young and emerging leaders.
The Foundation leverages grantmaking with advocacy in local and state policy work to push for change that impacts women and girls, our families and communities. Our work has resulted in policy wins that address some of the most critical issues of our time, including human trafficking, domestic and sexual violence, reproductive health, economic security and environmental justice.
What is the geographic range of the Women’s Foundation of California?
The Foundation supports programs serving women and girls throughout the state of California.
How do I apply for a grant to the Women’s Foundation of California?
Our grant partners have told us that larger grants mean more. We are moving toward giving fewer—but larger— grants. We anticipate the grant application process to continue to be a highly competitive one.
As a statewide organization, we will fund organizations seeking to create measurable and long-term systems change through policy advocacy work. We will fund direct service organizations only when a broader systemic change strategy is clearly articulated. We encourage proposals for general operating support.
For more specific details, please consult our current grant guidelines and deadlines.
Do you make grants to individuals?
No. We do not make grants to individuals. The Women’s Foundation of California makes grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations or nonprofit groups with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor.
Does the Women’s Foundation of California fund creative projects?
While the Foundation generally does not support films, videos, television projects, publications, or magazines, we occasionally make grants for their production when the following conditions are met: there is clear and active involvement of women and girls, women and girls clearly benefit and the content of the project furthers our programmatic objectives.
Do you fund general operating expenses?
Yes, the Women’s Foundation of California makes grants for general operating expenses. We also support capacity-building projects, such as board development, strategic planning, technology and fund development. We encourage prospective grant partners to apply for the type of funding that would be most useful to them.
Are there certain types of programs that the Women’s Foundation of California does not fund?
Yes. The Foundation does not fund capital improvements, endowments, loans, individuals, debt reduction or expenses that occur prior to the date of the grant award or fundraising events.
Do you fund in other countries?
Yes, but only in specific programmatic areas and often at the initiation of a donor or donors. We do not accept unsolicited proposals from other countries.
Will you fund a program if it provides services to men and boys?
Men, young men and boys can be participants and beneficiaries of the programs funded by the Women’s Foundation of California, although the overarching criteria for receiving a grant from us requires the use of a gender justice analysis in the design of your program. It is not enough to simply serve women or girls with your program or to have staff members who are female. Most programs we fund actively involve women and girls in their planning, decision making and program implementation.
How are your grantmaking decisions made?
Most of the Foundation’s grants are made by staff program officer. Volunteer Grants Review Committees made up of community members who share their time and expertise in evaluating grant proposals, conducting site visits and making funding recommendations are engaged on occasion. Donor circle grant decisions are made by members of the circle with staff input. All recommendations are then approved by our Board of Directors.
Does the Women’s Foundation of California provide direct service to women and girls? Do you offer legal advice or services, emergency financial assistance, shelter for women in abusive relationships or provide counseling or job training?
No. The Women’s Foundation of California is not a direct service organization, nor do we provide legal advice or emergency financial assistance. We do, however, fund many organizations that provide these services and can offer referrals. Please call (415) 837-1113 or (213) 388-0485 for assistance in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Does the Women’s Foundation of California support policy advocacy activities?
Yes. We support efforts to educate and organize individuals for effective advocacy and civic engagement. For example, we support advocacy, community organizing and policy action projects around the issues of women’s economic development and women’s health and the environment. We have included these activities in the priorities of the Community Action Fund.
The Foundation also engages in advocacy activities. We are part of affinity groups that collaborate on our areas of interest and strive to maintain regular contact with elected representatives to encourage their support of positions that promote and facilitate a vital and expanding philanthropic community.
What is a Donor-Advised Fund?
A Donor-Advised Fund allows donors to personalize their philanthropy. We work primarily with individuals and families to help them achieve their philanthropic goals. The benefits of this service are based on the Foundation’s deep relationships with grassroots organizations serving women and girls throughout California. For more information, contact Cathy Schreiber at (415) 837-1113, ext. 301, or cathys@womensfoundca.org.
What is a gender Justice Analysis?
The Foundation will only consider requests from organizations that demonstrate an understanding through program design and implementation that gender has a primary impact on societal and cultural expectations and that gender influences the actions of individuals as well as institutions.
Applying a gender justice analysis goes beyond simply serving women and girls, having staff members who are women and/or counting the number of services provided to women and/or girls. A program applying the gender justice analysis would, for example, plan for the child care needs of participants in planning a program, consider the economic impact of budget decisions on women and girls, recognize the multiple roles women play (mother, partner, worker, caregiver, etc.) and design programs and policies accordingly. In applying a gender justice analysis, it is also important to recognize that gender roles and expectations differ among cultures. Recognition of these cultural differences must also be present in the program design and implementation.
What is a human rights framework?
The Foundation seeks to support projects that challenge policies and systems in order to promote and protect the fundamental rights of all people, such as housing, employment, education, nationality, religion and cultural freedom. Consideration is given to projects and organizations working to achieve equity for all members of a community, including women and girls — not at the expense of one population over another.
What is long-term systems change?
The Foundation seeks to support projects that implement an organized process involving a series of actions aimed at changing policies and/or systems in a long-term and sustainable way.
What is an articulated strategy?
The Foundation supports projects that recognize that there are a variety of approaches and/or methodologies for achieving a desired outcome, such as community organizing, media outreach and public education, leadership development, research, policy advocacy and direct service. Direct service programs will be considered only when the services are linked to a long-term systems change strategy.
