Apply for a Women’s Fund Grant

Applications are accepted from organizations whose primary focus is to address key issues affecting women and girls in Central New York.

  • 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, publicly supported organizations such as schools and municipalities, and organizations using a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor
  • Organizations serving residents of Cayuga, Onondaga, Madison or Oswego counties
  • Preference will be given to organizations with annual operating budgets of $5M or less.

The Leadership Council looks for innovative programs that address problems to be solved, or opportunities to be seized, for the benefit of women and girls. Priority is given to capacity-building activities and new projects within an organization rather than ongoing projects/programs. We invite proposals that:

  • Suggest practical approaches to community problems.
  • Promote cooperation among agencies without duplicating services.
  • Generate community support, both professional and volunteer.
  • Strengthen an agency’s effectiveness or stability.
  • Address prevention as well as remediation.

We do not make grants for the following:

  • Recurring grants to a program previously supported.
  • Annual operating budgets, except when it is “seed” or “bridge” funding.
  • Endowments.
  • Religious purposes.
  • Loans or assistance to individuals.
  • Medical or academic research (except where requested by a donor).
  • Activities that occurred before the Women’s Fund’s decision date.

The Women’s Fund grant application deadline is June 13, 2025 each year. There is only one grant round per year.

  • All Women’s Fund applications and attachments must be submitted through our online form.
  • Grant requests should not exceed $5,000.
  • You will be notified of the grant decision approximately eight weeks after the deadline date.
Apply

If your organization receives a grant, we encourage sharing of photos, outcomes and testimonials upon completion of your funded project. We may also request supplemental information about a previous grant project if your organizations applies for another grant in the future. This information assists us in assessing our grantmaking efforts and sharing stories of impact.

If your organization is not recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit, municipality or school district, you may identify a qualified sponsor to act as your organization’s fiscal agent. The fiscal agent must be a legitimate 501(c)(3) organization [or publicly supported organization, e.g., municipality/school district]. One copy of the sponsoring organization’s IRS Letter of Determination showing 501(c)(3) [or equivalent] status must be uploaded with your proposal, along with one copy of the sponsor’s most recent annual financial statements (audited if available), and a current board list. The sponsoring organization must also provide a letter of support, indicating their willingness to oversee the grant finances. If a grant is approved, payment will be made to your organization through your fiscal agent.

News & Stories

Womens fund
News Releases August 23, 2023

Women's Fund Distributes $55,000 in Grant Funding to CNY Nonprofits

The grants will fund projects that support the advancement and full participation of women and ...

News Releases April 14, 2023

Grant Round Now Open! | Women's Fund of CNY

The Women’s Fund will award $5,000 grants to support programs and ideas that aim to ...

Stories October 11, 2022

Women’s Fund Founders Built Legacy for Community’s Daughters and Granddaughters

The Women’s Fund now has more than $1.2 million in total assets and has awarded ...

women's fund logo
News Releases August 30, 2022

Women's Fund Distributes $50,000 in Grants

$50,000 in grants will assist nonprofits serving Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties

Caragh Fahy and her two sons stand in from of a playground
Stories August 29, 2022

Caragh Fahy: Giving for Generations

Caragh believes that building a financial plan is like putting together a puzzle and charitable ...

News Releases April 11, 2022

Grant Round is Open! | Women's Fund of CNY

The Women’s Fund will award ten $5,000 grants to support programs and ideas that aim ...

Corinthian Club members
Publications March 9, 2022

The Corinthian Club: A Legacy of Friendship and Progress

Giving Voice Spring 2022: Donor Story

Stories February 17, 2022

Remembering Lois Schaffer

Lois was a founding member of the Women's Fund and a program officer at the ...

Stories November 23, 2021

Whole Me Creates Real Change for CNY's Deaf Community

An important quality of Whole Me is that when a person who is deaf walks ...

Womens fund
News Releases August 23, 2023

Women's Fund Distributes $55,000 in Grant Funding to CNY Nonprofits

The grants will fund projects that support the advancement and full participation of women and ...

News Releases April 14, 2023

Grant Round Now Open! | Women's Fund of CNY

The Women’s Fund will award $5,000 grants to support programs and ideas that aim to ...

Stories October 11, 2022

Women’s Fund Founders Built Legacy for Community’s Daughters and Granddaughters

The Women’s Fund now has more than $1.2 million in total assets and has awarded ...

women's fund logo
News Releases August 30, 2022

Women's Fund Distributes $50,000 in Grants

$50,000 in grants will assist nonprofits serving Onondaga, Oswego, and Cayuga counties

Caragh Fahy and her two sons stand in from of a playground
Stories August 29, 2022

Caragh Fahy: Giving for Generations

Caragh believes that building a financial plan is like putting together a puzzle and charitable ...

News Releases April 11, 2022

Grant Round is Open! | Women's Fund of CNY

The Women’s Fund will award ten $5,000 grants to support programs and ideas that aim ...

Corinthian Club members
Publications March 9, 2022

The Corinthian Club: A Legacy of Friendship and Progress

Giving Voice Spring 2022: Donor Story

Stories February 17, 2022

Remembering Lois Schaffer

Lois was a founding member of the Women's Fund and a program officer at the ...

Stories November 23, 2021

Whole Me Creates Real Change for CNY's Deaf Community

An important quality of Whole Me is that when a person who is deaf walks ...

View More