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40 Years of Progress and Collective Power
For four decades, Chicago Foundation for Women has fueled movements, backed grassroots leaders, and worked to build a more equitable Chicago. Our 40th Anniversary campaign is a rallying point to unite around our mission, uplift the voices driving change, and unleash the power of sustained investment.
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Join Us at the 41st Annual Luncheon!

Tickets are officially live for our 41st Annual Luncheon on October 20, 2026, at the Hilton Chicago! 

We are honored to welcome the Lacks family and Dr. Jessica Shepherd as the featured speakers for the 41st Annual Luncheon: Health, Power, & Possibility. This year’s Luncheon theme begins with a powerful truth: health is the lifeline that makes power possible. Across every stage of life, women, girls, gender-expansive people, and the communities they call home need access to care, safety, autonomy, healthy food, clean environments, and the resources required to live fully. From that foundation, power grows. And when we meet community power with sustained investment, trust, and collective action, possibility expands.  

Across Chicago, grassroots leaders and local organizations are already building solutions rooted in care, healing, safety, reproductive freedom, economic mobility, and justice. At this year’s Luncheon, we will gather to honor that work, move resources toward the leaders making it possible, and imagine what we can build together.  

Reserve your seat.

Investing in Community. Advancing Equity.

Since 1985, Chicago Foundation for Women has built a powerful network of funders and frontline leaders to drive community-led change. We invest in grassroots organizations, foster collaboration, and fuel long-term impact, so everyone in our region has the opportunity to live in a safe, just, and equitable community.

Learn more.

Our Approach

At CFW, we are both funders and fundraisers. Giving to CFW is not just a donation; it is an investment in lasting, systemic change.

We amplify every dollar we raise, ensuring grassroots organizations receive the strategic, sustained support they need to thrive. By bridging funders and frontline organizations, we create a strong network that strengthens movements, advances equity, and drives real impact.

Invest today.

Our Impact Areas

Expanding Economic
Security and Mobility​

We seek to expand economic security so all women, girls, and gender-expansive people can care for themselves and their families in all stages of life.

Advancing
Reproductive Justice 

We champion reproductive freedom and fund local efforts that protect care, expand access, and defend the right to make decisions about one’s body.

Advancing Freedom from Violence 

We work to ensure women, girls, and gender-expansive people are free from violence, including abuse, assault, harassment, trafficking, and more.

Improving Access to Health and Wellness 

We work to expand access to quality mental, physical, preventive, and reproductive health services for women, girls, and gender-expansive people.

More about our mission.

Explore what is new at CFW

Apply for Fall Primary Cycle Funding

Chicago Foundation for Women is accepting applications from new applicants and current grantees for the fall grantmaking primary cycle. CFW will be accepting applications across all four impact areas and encourages applicants to talk holistically about their work. Learn more and apply by September 16. 

View application guidelines.

Register for Upcoming Events

Chicago Foundation for Women has an exciting calendar of upcoming events, including the 41st Annual Luncheon in October and giving council and circle events throughout the late summer and early fall. Learn about upcoming events and get involved.

Register for events.

Celebrate CFW’s 40-Year History 

Chicago Foundation for Women is proud to launch our digital 40th Anniversary Commemorative Book, a celebration of the people, partnerships, and movements that made this journey possible. Inside the book are the stories of advocates, organizers, donors, grantee partners, and community leaders who believed in a more equitable future and helped build it together.

Explore the Commemorative Book.

Join the 4 for 40 Challenge

At a moment of growing needs and shrinking resources, grassroots organizations are carrying more than ever. That is why we launched the 4 for 40 Challenge to expand our annual giving and increase investments in community-led change. Make a monthly gift, a one-time contribution, or a four-year pledge to move resources to where they are needed the most. 

Donate now.

Subscribe to CFW's email newsletter!

Are you interested in receiving communication from CFW on upcoming events, announcements, and our monthly GoWomen newsletter? Provide your information below to subscribe to receive our email newsletter.

What's New

Support CFW's flagship event.
Supporters of CFW's Annual Luncheon aren’t footing the bill for a party. They’re empowering a meaningful gathering of community partners while investing in women and girls as catalysts for creating a stronger, safer, and more just city for all. Make your investment today.
Donate to luncheon.
Learn about sponsorship today.
Sponsoring the 40th Anniversary Luncheon is more than support; it’s an investment in the future of gender equity for Chicago girls, women, and gender-expansive people. Join Chicago’s boldest changemakers to celebrate 40 years of progress and shape what’s next as a sponsor.
Sponsorship opportunities.
Together, we fund the future.
We are scaling our annual giving to $4 million and rallying our community to raise an additional $1.4 million each year to support the ongoing fight for gender equity. Your commitment will provide grassroots leaders with the flexible, sustained funding they need to thrive.
Donate now.
Share your CFW story with us!
Whether you’re a donor, volunteer, grantee, or longtime supporter, your unique story is part of Chicago Foundation for Women’s legacy and 40th Anniversary celebration! Help us reflect on the past four decades, celebrate, and shape what comes next by sharing your CFW story.
Share your story.

An update on the 41st Annual Luncheon:

As we prepare for our 41st Annual Luncheon on October 20, we are closely following the ongoing contract negotiations between this year’s venue, Hilton Chicago, and UNITE HERE Local 1, a union that represents more than 15,000 hospitality workers, including employees at the hotel. While a strike has not been called, one could be announced at any point as negotiations continue. We remain hopeful that Hilton Chicago and Local 1 will reach a fair resolution.

We want to be clear: if hotel workers at Hilton Chicago go on strike, CFW will not cross a picket line. If a strike is underway and a picket line is in place, we will honor it and will not ask our staff, guests, speakers, partners, vendors, or community members to cross it.

Guided by our values of equity, community-led power, collective action, and intersectionality, CFW is committed to making decisions that reflect both the work we support and how we operate as an organization.

At this time, we are continuing to monitor the situation and preparing for multiple possibilities. If the labor situation requires a change to the Luncheon venue, we will communicate clearly and quickly. 

Read our full statement.