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The Women’s Fund of Essex County

The Women’s Fund of Essex County raises funds specifically to award grants to non-profit organizations focused on gender-specific programs and services for at-risk women and girls and those who identify as women and girls of Essex County. Our grants are awarded annually to results-oriented organizations that have demonstrated success in positively impacting the lives of women and girls, addressing issues of systemic inequities. Our grants provide an essential infusion of funding to maximize the success and impact of the programs or services. By pooling the gifts of The Women’s Fund donors, we can increase the breadth and depth of each donor’s contribution across a broad range of issues and solutions specific to Essex County. Since 2003, The Women’s Fund has donated more than $3.2 million to Essex County organizations offering gender-specific programs for women and girls.

2024 Grants

All grants in the 2024 grant cycle for The Women’s Fund of Essex County will be multi-year grants of $21,000 over 3-years. (Note: Funding can be divided evenly across the three years, e.g. $7,000/year, or in different amounts per year depending on what is most needed. The total over the 3-year period is $21,000). Grants will be awarded through a competitive grant process to Essex County non-profit organizations that address issues of systemic social inequities specific to women and girls.

3-year grants allow organizations to secure multi-year support for programs that address longer-term issues to improve lives for women and girls. If awarded, funded programs are eligible for consideration only every three years.

Grant Guidelines

funding priorities

Funding must address racial or gender-based disparities faced by women and girls in Essex County. Funding must focus on gender-specific needs, provide solutions to problems for women and girls, and allow these unique needs to set the pace and determine the content and delivery of programs and services. The application must address at least one of the following areas to be considered eligible for funding.

Academic Achievement Gap for Girls

Programs/services which provide opportunities to reduce disparities in academic performance as a result of the pandemic and/or systemic barriers.

Economic Self-Sufficiency

Programs/services which directly encourage, train or facilitate the economic independence of women and girls. (Includes apprenticeships, basic skills training, education, financial management, workforce development etc.)

Equity and Social Justice

Programs/services which seek at the intersection of equity and gender to meet women and girls where they are, by providing resources that will allow them to thrive. (Examples include but are not limited to supporting access to housing, nutritious food and meal preparation, English language programming, and programs that address the root causes of racial inequity.)

Health and Mental Health

Programs/services which support equitable access to healthcare, promote, protect, and restore health – physical, emotional, psychological, social.

Leadership Development

Programs/services which provide opportunities to develop leadership skills that help to build confidence, ownership of their careers, resiliency, and advancement into new roles.

eligibility

The Women’s Fund is limited to non-sectarian programming for Essex County women and girls of all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Programs sponsored by religious organizations are eligible if enrollment is open to all qualified women and girls and the program is free of mandatory sectarian religious instruction.

Generally, grants will not be awarded:

To individuals
To agencies with pending 501(c)3 status
For debt or deficit reduction
For political purposes
For sectarian or religious purposes
For endowment or capital campaigns
For research or feasibility studies

Geographic Limitations

We support non-profit organizations serving the residents of Essex County, MA. We prefer the organization be based in Essex County, but it is not a requirement. Either way, the grant funds must be spent within the County.

2023 Grantees

Organizations receiving a multi-year grant as part of The Women’s Fund 2023 grant cycle are eligible to apply for funding again but only if applying for a different program.

application deadline

Applications must be received no later than 5:00 PM EST, January 8, 2024. Incomplete or late applications may not be considered.

application procedure

The application is completely electronic. Organizations can create and save application drafts and make changes any time prior to submission. We archive all submitted applications, allowing grant writers to view their grant history with The Women’s Fund at any time. To begin the application process, click on the following link.

Application Link.

review process

The Women’s Fund Grants Allocation Committee will carefully review applications beginning in mid-January and will schedule any necessary follow-up conference calls or in-person visits with qualifying non-profit organizations in February and March. The Committee will then make final funding decisions and present their recommendations for final approval by The Women’s Fund Advisory Board.

As part of their review process, the Grants Allocation Committee takes into consideration the size of the organization’s budget as well as the depth and breadth of the potential for impact of a grant from The Women’s Fund. The Committee also considers the sustainability of the program being proposed.

Grant Awards will be announced by May 17, 2024.

reporting requirements

Grant winners will be required to submit a brief report on the use of the grant via an online reporting portal as follows. There will be interim reports due each year in April with a final report due at the end of the 3-year grant period. This information is useful to The Women’s Fund for our fundraising efforts as we look to expand our capacity to aid organizations assisting women and girls across the county.

We also require that our logo, identifying us as a funding partner, be displayed on a grant winner’s website and be featured in any press release or any social media platform related to the grant. You may contact Corinne Lippie with questions or for more information c.lippie@eccf.org