OVERVIEW: This foundation is an endowment fund of the local community foundation and supports at-risk women and girls in Collier County, Florida. Funding areas include senior women, teen girls, women heads of household, homeless women and families, the gender wage gap.
FUNDING AREAS: Gender wage gap, at-risk senior women, homeless women and families, at-risk teen girls, impoverished women heads of household with children.
IP TAKE: WFCC awards only a few grants each year, but new grant seekers’ proposals that address poverty among local women have a good chance of getting noticed.
PROFILE: The Women’s Foundation of Collier County (WFCC) is based in Naples, Florida, and has been an endowment fund at the Community Foundation of Collier County since 2002. It seeks to “serve the current and changing needs of women and girls in Collier County through grantmaking.” WFCC’s grant money comes from investment earnings and the proceeds of local women’s events. The WFCC prioritizes the employment and earnings gender wage gap. Grantmaking also includes at-risk senior women, homeless women and families, at-risk teen girls, and impoverished women heads of household with children.
The WFCC emphasizes that women who work full-time in the county earn 85.9 cents for every dollar men make. WFCC has a Junior Women of Initiative to mentor middle school girls about life skills, confidence, and self-esteem.
Grants typically range from $7,500 to $15,000. Past grantees include Meals of Hope, the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County, and Jewish Family and Community Services. The foundation supports policy efforts and has given to the Women’s Policy Research Project Report to improve the status of Florida women and girls. It is heavily involved in research and supports topics like women in philanthropy, economic security, gender in media, health, and social change.
The grantmaking deadline typically falls in April, with grants are announced in early December at the Power of the Purse luncheon. To apply for a WFCC grant, go through the Community Foundation of Collier County’s online system. Grants range from $20,000 to $40,000. Grantmaking is restricted to groups that serve Collier County, Florida.
Foundation events can be viewed on the WFCC website, as well as news about recent grantees and funding interests.
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