The Jewish Women’s Foundation was established in the summer of 2000 and is the first foundation in Western Pennsylvania created specifically to address the needs of women and girls in both the Jewish and general communities.  JWF supports organizations that improve the lives of women and girls, with a focus on social change, and funds projects that are catalysts for creating innovative initiatives that support their unique needs.  At least 50% of JWF funds each year are invested into the Jewish community.

JWF offers donors the opportunity to participate in the direction and distribution of their personal philanthropy and provides the opportunity for women to use their leadership, financial resources and volunteer time to make a difference in the lives of women and girls. Trustees enjoy the connection to like-minded women, seeing the direct impact of their investment and gaining a deeper knowledge of community needs. JWF leverages the shared passion and investment of its Trustees to positively impact women and girls in our community through active and collective philanthropy. 

Grantmaking Programs

Currently, JWF offers three options for grant applications: Programmatic, Operating and Impact grants. For the Programmatic and Operating grants program, JWF solicits proposals annually from community organizations that serve self-identified women and girls with grants up to $10,000. Impact Grants, for Jewish community organizations only, is for grant applications that support self-identified women and girls and funds grants greater than $10,000 and up to $25,000. For all grants programs, the JWF Trustees collectively determine which proposals will get funded. 

Jewish Women’s Funding Network (JWFN)

JWF is a member of a network of Jewish Women’s Foundations from across the U.S. and Israel. The Jewish Women’s Funding Network focuses on best practices in gender-focused philanthropy and participates in a national JWF collaborative grant to women’s and feminist organizations working on the ground in Israel to advocate on behalf of women.

Young Women’s Giving Society

JWF’s latest endeavor is the Young Women’s Giving Society, a giving circle for women ages 25-45, through which JWF seeks to encourage philanthropy and leadership growth among younger women in the Pittsburgh Jewish community.

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