OVERVIEW
The Fund was created in 1996 to respond to the vital needs and challenges affecting women, girls, and their families in Chester County. Today, The Fund works to advance gender equity and human rights by championing policies, partnerships, and community solutions that strengthen equity in education, health and safety, and economic stability for women and families across our county. Through advocacy, awareness, and strategic investments in local nonprofits, The Fund supports both immediate needs and long-term systemic change.
OUR FOUNDING
The women’s funding movement was grounded in the belief that philanthropy and social change must more fully recognize and include women’s voices. The first dedicated women’s funds, established in the 1970s and 1980s, provided targeted support for women’s rights movements and challenged traditional philanthropic approaches.
After the movement gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s, philanthropist Barbara Jordan and fundraiser Heidi McPherson partnered to launch a women’s fund focused specifically on addressing the needs of women and girls in Chester County. Committed to preparing future philanthropic leaders, the founding board of directors believed it was essential to include “girls” in the name, mission, and programming of The Fund. Formed in 1996 as a fund within the Chester County Community Foundation, The Fund for Women & Girls later incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2003.
GRANTMAKING
In 1997, The Fund gifted its first two grants of $2,500 each. Over 30 years of grantmaking,
The Fund has awarded more than $4.7 million to 102 nonprofit organizations serving Chester County. Today, our grantmaking invests in local nonprofits that provide essential services for women and girls, while also serving as an extension of our advocacy work to address the deeper, systemic barriers to gender equity. Generous donor contributions over the history of the organization fund the endowments that make these grants possible each year.
To learn more about our grantmaking, click here.
YOUTH
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The move to independence allowed The Fund to develop programming specifically for girls, including the launch of the Girls Advisory Board (GAB) grantmaking program in 2005. While uncommon among women’s funds, engaging youth directly in philanthropy was imperative to our founders - both to empower young people and to ensure the longevity of the movement. In its 20 years, the program awarded more than 120 grants totaling over $400,000 to community organizations serving women and girls.
Beginning in 2019, GirlGov Chester County was introduced as a way to encourage high school students to become more actively involved in civic engagement. Drawing on insights from the Blueprint Report and conversations with their peers, participants identified issues impacting their communities and were guided through the process of raising awareness, educating others, and advocating for change. In 2023, the program evolved and rebranded as CivicG+, continuing this work through a refreshed model.
In recent years, The Fund has expanded its youth programming to reach young people beyond our traditional grantmaking spaces through initiatives like Advocacy in Action and Grantmaking in Action. Today, The Fund continues to invest in youth leadership through initiatives such as Vote16PA (youth-led legislation for 16 and 17-year old voter participation in school board elections), Project Dignity (youth led advocacy for accessible menstrual hygiene products, and The Fund’s NextGen Advisory Council. These programs are designed to meet youth where they already are (in schools, afterschool programs, and community spaces) helping broaden access to civic engagement, advocacy, and leadership opportunities for students across the community. Participants engage in advocacy in areas of concern to them, develop leadership skills, and build confidence while earning service hours and real-world experience.
BLUEPRINT REPORT
In an effort to raise awareness of the challenges facing women and girls in Chester County, The Fund commissioned and published the first Blueprint Report in 2005, a comprehensive assessment of the needs of women and girls in Chester County. This report has since been updated every five years and is currently in its fourth edition, with reports released in 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2022.
Following the publication of the 4th Edition of the Blueprint Report in 2022, the Board of Directors launched a series of focus groups with primarily Black, African American, and Latina women and girls in Chester County to better understand how race and gender impact lived experiences—perspectives often missing from local data. What was learned through this companion research helped shape The Fund’s renewed focus on creating measurable change in key Blueprint indicators, leading to the identification of priority areas for systems-level change and a new programming structure aligned with those priorities. In 2025, The Fund completed the Blueprint Supplemental Focus Group Report: Gender and Racial Equity in Education, continuing its commitment to research-informed action.
To read more about our BluePrints, click here.
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY
From its earliest days, The Fund has recognized that lasting change for women and girls requires more than funding direct service. It requires an informed and engaged community. Women’s funds have long served as the financial backbone of the gender equity movement, supporting direct services while also advancing the broader changes in policy, practice, and culture needed to secure equity.
Our founders understood this. In the early years, The Fund focused on educating the community about the realities facing women and girls in Chester County. We published data, uplifted stories, and created spaces for dialogue. Through outreach and awareness-building, individuals were invited not only to understand these challenges, but to see their role in addressing them.
Over time, this commitment evolved from awareness to action. The Fund expanded its efforts to equip community members with the tools and confidence to engage more directly. We encouraged participation in civic life, from informed voting to advocacy and public discourse.
Launched during the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Empower Her Vote is our civic engagement initiative. It supports both youth and adults in becoming active participants in democracy through citizen awareness and voter education.
Today, this work continues through efforts such as active participation in the Family Care Act coalition advocating for paid family leave, community watch parties and facilitated discussions, public education and media campaigns, and organized trips to the state capitol. Our focus remains on the issues impacting women and girls.
2026
The Fund’s team of staff, along with more than 80 board members, committee members, and volunteers, continues to expand opportunities for women and girls in Chester County. Through a transformative model that integrates philanthropy and advocacy to drive systems-level change, The Fund is working to create a world rooted in diversity, freedom, equality, and justice for all.