Part 1 of a historical look back at WGA’s grantmaking through the decades
In 2001, the Women’s Giving Alliance was founded as an initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida using collective giving for strategic philanthropy to help improve the lives of women and girls. Nearly 25 years later, WGA has reached $10 million in grantmaking. It seems appropriate to give a brief recap of the first decade of grantmaking to remember how it started.
The founders felt strongly that focusing WGA’s philanthropy on helping to improve the lives of women and girls would benefit families and have significant positive effects on the whole community. In 2004, WGA commissioned the Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership to conduct a study on women and girls in the five-county area served. This report, Voices Heard: The Status of Women and Girls in 21st Century Northeast Florida gave a more complete picture of the current realities facing women and girls. It influenced subsequent grantmaking, helping to identify areas of greatest need and the potential for impact.
From 2002 through 2012, grantmaking focused on four fields of interest: Educational Attainment, Economic Empowerment, Physical & Mental Health and Safety & Justice. More than $3 million was invested in 37 agencies, with emphasis on programs that addressed such topics as infant mortality, juvenile justice, mental illness, human trafficking and the needs of the elderly.
“The early years of WGA were an exciting time,” recalled Martha Frye Baker, WGA Founding and Legacy Member and daughter-in-law of WGA Founder Ann Baker. “We saw women coming together from all walks of life to learn about collective giving and how to become strategic philanthropists. Grounding our grantmaking in research and clear focus areas were critical for helping harness this energy into impact.”
The founders also strongly believed in the importance of an endowment to ensure the sustainability of WGA’s work, and by 2012, the endowment had grown to $1.2 million. This consequential foresight helped shape WGA into the powerful catalyst it is today.
Thank you to those Members who played a part in this first foundational decade!