Throughout its 20-plus-year history, the Women and Girls Foundation has awarded over $2 million in grants to community organizations that work to advance gender equity and enhance the rights and opportunities of women, girls, femme-aligned and gender-expansive individuals.
Grantmaking initiatives are currently focused on organizations whose missions support civic engagement, community advocacy, and voting rights. Our grant-giving season takes place in August, marking the anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification.
How Our August Appeal Works
Based on nominations and input from across Pennsylvania, the Women and Girls Foundation honors grassroots and community organizations advancing justice, equity, belonging and community care.
Through our annual August Appeal Community Recognition Awards, three selected organizations are highlighted across WGF’s digital and newsletter platforms and community members are invited to participate in honoring their leadership. Each organization receives an unrestricted grant ($2,500 for first place, $1,500 for second place and $500 for third place) to support their ongoing grassroots work.
Past & Recent August Appeal Recipients:
2026: Centered on the theme “We the People,” the August Appeal awarded unrestricted grants to three grassroots organizations advancing community care and systemic change across Pennsylvania: first-place recipient The Autonomous Body Shop for providing mutual aid, reproductive health care and bodily autonomy resources in Pittsburgh; second-place recipient Civically Inc. for promoting civic engagement, food access and community development in Wilkinsburg; and third-place recipient Q.U.E.E.N.S. Youth Program for mentoring and empowering young women of color in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
2025: The Women and Girls Foundation spotlighted three remarkable organizations based on community input: the Voter Empowerment Education & Enrichment Movement (VEEEM), Civically, Inc. and Serenity Living Transitional Home. Each organization was featured across WGF’s newsletter audience and highlighted individually on the Foundation’s social media platforms.
2024: The Women and Girls Foundation awarded The Coalition for Youth Engagement, I Have The Right To and PERIOD. Each organization received a mini-grant from the Women and Girls Foundation to support its impactful work.