The Foundation launched three new Partner Grant initiatives with the 2010-2013 Strategic Plan. Building on the success of our well-established Pooled Fund grant process, these initiatives provide a deeper level of inquiry through an advanced curriculum of hands-on grant making: International, Diversity and Innovation.  More information on each of these committees below.

Click to learn more about past Partner Grant winners:
2011-2012 Winners:  International
2010-2011 Winners:  International, Diversity, Innovation

For Grant Seekers:  Please note that each of these grant processes is operated on an invitation-only basis, so there is no application process for nonprofit organizations.

For Foundation members:  Each committee operates over 10-12 weeks, with six meetings plus site visits, as appropriate.  These initiatives are constructed as advanced grant making programs, and therefore have prerequisites for participation:

• Prior experience on the WWF Grant Committee or equivalent
• Echoing our model of collective giving, each participant will make a financial contribution of $500 by directing her Individual Grant to the initiative, or by making a personal contribution.
• Commitment to attend all required meetings (see calendars below)

International Grant Committee: Honoring our members’ strong interest in global philanthropy, we build relationships with, and learn from, local organizations doing important work abroad. This program also highlights Seattle’s growing prominence as a center of global giving and serve as a vehicle for the Foundation to participate in this work.  Meets September – December.  Chair: Ann Dawson, Board Lead: Pamela McCabe.

Diversity Grant Committee: Acting on our commitment to inclusiveness, we work alongside organizations active in diverse communities. In addition to meeting critical needs through this grant, WWF also seeks to highlight the needs of diverse communities and welcome more women of color to become members of the Foundation.  Meets January – March.  Chair: Amy Michael, Board Lead: Donna Lou.  Click here for more information and calendar.

Innovation Grant Committee: Recognizing our members’ enthusiasm for discovering creative, cutting-edge projects, we work alongside community grant makers with experience in venture funding. Whether the projects are small ideas with big aspirations, or big ideas with small budgets, we seek to provide the boost to propel these bright ideas to the next level. Meets April – June.  Chair: Mary Stevens, Board Lead: Laura Midgley. Click here for full 2012 calendar.

2011-2012 Partner Grants

International:  One By One, $15,000
Partner Organization: Seattle International Foundation
One By One’s mission is to help put an end to obstetric fistula and improve the lives of girls and women who have been devastated by this preventable condition, by raising awareness, mobilizing resources, and developing/supporting comprehensive treatment programs and prevention activities. They seek funds to implement their new Let’s End Fistula initiative in Western Kenya, which encompasses education and outreach in remote areas; surgical repair for women suffering from fistula at the Gynocare Fistula Center, including a two-week clinic stay; and reintegration support such as follow up, training and microloans so that these women are able resume a productive life once they are back in their villages.

2010-2011 Partner Grants

International:  PeaceTrees Vietnam, $14,000
Partner Organization: Seattle International Foundation
PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTV) works in Central Vietnam to assist those whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by the explosive remnants of war. PTV sponsors demining and mine risk education, victim assistance, and community building projects, such as libraries and kindergartens, in partnership with the people of Quang Tri Province to promote a safe, healthy future for children and families.

The WWF Grant will fund Healthful Gardens for Healthy Children, located in Da Krong District, one of the poorest regions in Vietnam in part because of the lingering consequences of war. PTV, working in partnership with the Quang Tri Province Women’s Union, will address this problem by removing landmines and unexploded ordinance from family garden plots, and teaching 132 women in one commune how to grow nutritious foods for their children. Once this pilot project is proven, PTV will be able to replicate this model in other areas across the province.

Diversity:  Native American Women’s Dialogue on Infant Mortality, $15,000
Partner Organization: The Potlatch Fund
NAWDIM seeks to combat the disproportionately high rate of SIDS and infant mortality among Native American babies. They propose to do this through cradleboard classes – day-long events where expectant and new Native mothers gather together to create these traditional carriers for babies that keep them safe, while also sharing traditional stories and building community to combat the stress and social isolation of these new mothers. The making of cradleboards is a sacred, creative way to both connect moms to their cultural roots and to promote safe sleep practices to keep their babies healthy.

This project has an additional dimension of gathering personal and traditional stories digitally at these cradleboard classes. NAWDIM facilitators would digitally record stories told by the expectant/new mothers, grandmothers and other family members to tell stories of past traditions and to share their own experiences.

Innovation:  Kenyan Women's Association, $15,000
Partner Organization: The Seattle Foundation
The Kenyan Women’s Association mission is to foster a thriving African community in the Pacifi c Northwest through support programs and advocacy for women and their families so that they will lead connected, empowered lives and in turn support others.

The WWF Innovation Grant will support a Project Coordinator for the Community Based Fund Development Project for entrepreneurship development among a group of African immigrant women. Using a peer-to-peer savings model, they will build together the collateral necessary to access small business loans, link with outside educational and business resources, and gain the skills and confi dence to expand their markets and increase their self-sufficiency.