Motivated by a massive gap in funding for women and girl-serving nonprofits, four women from Boston established the Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston) in 2017. One year later, they had raised $2 million in seed funding. Fast forward to 2023, WFBoston recently awarded over $1.7 million to 10 nonprofits serving women and girls across the Commonwealth, making it the largest single grant cycle in the Foundation’s history.
Why Women and Girls?
An investment in women and girls not only impacts individuals, but also their families and communities. Numerous statistics demonstrate the need for a focus on female-serving organizations, especially here in Massachusetts.
- Only 2% of philanthropic giving in Greater Boston goes to nonprofits that serve solely women and girls. This aligns with national statistics
- Nearly 40% of general foundation giving is sent overseas – twice the rate at which other giving is internationally directed
- 70% of households living in poverty are led by single women
How WFBoston’s Grantmaking Approach is Different
WFBoston’s mission is to create, fund, and accelerate economic empowerment, leadership, and mentoring programs designed to equip women and girls in Massachusetts to be financially independent, and to become successful leaders. Through the annual grant cycle process, the Foundation identifies and invites nonprofits that offer economically empowering programs for women and girls to apply for grants. After rigorous vetting, WFBoston invests in those that offer the highest economic impact over a multi-year basis. Unlike other charitable organizations that award grants and then lose touch until the next grant cycle, WFBoston partners with grantees to help them achieve success, measure and review outcomes over the short and long term, and advocate for the entire sector.
2023 WFBoston Grantee Partners
The local nonprofits receiving the 2023 grants will serve thousands of women and girls in Greater Boston, Massachusetts Gateway Cities and surrounding towns. Each of these organizations previously received funding from WFBoston with half receiving multi-year funding for the first time.
Congratulations to the 2023 grantee partners:
Girls on the Run Greater Boston (GOTRGB)-Three-year $150,000 grant
Girls on the Run Worcester (GOTRW)-Three-year $204,000 grant
Dress for Success Boston (DFSB)-Three-year $45,000 grant
Esperanza Academy-Three -year $180,000 grant
Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA (GSCWM)-Three-year $165,000 grant
Girl Scouts of Eastern MA (GSEMA)-Three-year $174,428 grant
Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center (MCA)-Three-year $219,000 grant
Mujeres Unidas Avanzando (MUA)-Three-year $120,000 grant
WE CAN-Three-year $150,000 grant
Women’s Money Matters (WMM)-Three-year $300,000 grant
Learn more here about the grants and grantee partners.
You Can Make a Difference
The idea of WFBoston began with four women identifying a problem and taking action. Now, six years later, with over $6 million awarded and 13,000 women and girls impacted, change is happening. When offered opportunities, the power of women and girls is immeasurable. Help us continue to economically empower girls and women in Greater Boston and the other Massachusetts Gateway Cities by donating today.
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.