The Women’s Giving Alliance (WGA), an initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, announced $750,000 in grants to 18 Northeast Florida nonprofit organizations — the largest grant pool in the alliance’s 23-year history — and a new grantmaking focus at its annual Member Forum in May.
This historic grantmaking was assisted by a challenge grant that raised $108,000 from members, as well as a focused emphasis during the last 18 months on growing the number of members, which now exceeds 445 women, who each contribute annually to the grants pool.
“WGA was founded with the critical mission of improving the lives of women and girls across Northeast Florida,” said Sheila Collier, president of WGA. “We have grown from a small group of committed individuals into a powerhouse grant maker. Our recent growth in membership directly translates into increased support for women and girls across Northeast Florida.”
The grants were ratified by about 250 members during WGA’s Member Forum held on May 23 at the University of North Florida’s Adam W. Herbert University Center, which featured remarks by Mayor Donna Deegan, a WGA member and the city’s first woman mayor.
Eighteen nonprofits will receive one-year grants for the 2024-25 grant year to address client basic needs such as housing, health services, workforce support and other areas. Among the grant recipients were: Betty Griffin Center ($50,000), Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center ($10,000), Feeding Northeast Florida ($50,000), Hubbard House ($50,000), Operation New Hope ($40,377), ReThreaded ($50,000) and Sulzbacher ($50,000).
“For more than 20 years, the Women’s Giving Alliance has led the way in leveraging the power of collective giving in Northeast Florida,” said Isaiah M. Oliver, president of The Community Foundation. “This year’s grantmaking has set a new record for impact, and I wish to extend my congratulations to the strategic philanthropists of WGA on this tremendous achievement.”
WGA also announced its new grantmaking and community involvement focus for the 2025-26 grant year and beyond: “Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls; Preventing, Surviving, Thriving.”
The new focus area was selected following rigorous research, discussion with community leaders and a vote of members. The research found violence against women and girls includes child abuse and neglect, harassment and bullying, intimate partner and domestic violence, predatory social media, rape and sex (human) trafficking. These categories also include subsets such as elder abuse, violence while homeless and cyberbullying.
