Women of Color United Giving Council

Who We Are

Women of Color United Giving Council builds community and solidarity among BIPOC women, trans and gender non-binary people across Chicago in service of redistributing resources and providing support to organizations within the City of Chicago that serve our community with a priority focus on those organizations led by those in our community.

We are aware that alliances and networks across cultures must be built to bring about sustained cultural and economic change for women and girls who are pushed to the margins. We have created this group to address the divide between people of color that often goes overlooked in dominant discourse. We recognize that POC is a term that is contested.

Members of this group understand that in order to be effective we will be pulling our intellectual and social resources as well as our financial resources together to foster a space for cross-cultural learning and solidarity. The lack of resources and historical struggles for social recognition that created tensions between minority groups are complex and deeply rooted. Our ability to band together in principled struggle is vital to the success of the future we commit to co-creating.

Who We Support

FY22 Grantees:

  • Sexpectations Chicago
  • Step Up For Mental Health

How It Works

  • Membership is on a fiscal year basis (July 1-June 30).
  • Members make an annual gift of $250 – $1000+
  • Meets monthly
  • Events are scheduled and organized by members
  • Grantmaking occurs in the winter and spring with funding being awarded in June
  • Members lead the grantmaking process and make funding recommendations
  • Member annual gifts + fundraising efforts build the fund from which grants are awarded
  • Each member chooses their level of participation

Member Benefits

  • Amplify your giving by leveraging your dollars with those of other members.
  • Give voice to the issues affecting the women and girls in your community by deciding which programs to fund with your peers on the Council.
  • See the impact of your giving as funded programs share with membership accomplishments made possible by the Council’s grants.
  • Develop new personal and professional relationships with like-minded folks.
  • Learn from trainings, workshops, and conversations on philanthropy, women in philanthropy, women’s issues and needs, how organizations serve women, and trends and gaps in funding.

Contact

For more information about the Giving Council, contact Vanessa Lee (Program Officer) at vlee@cfw.org.