What We Do

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Our clients are local, grassroots nonprofits located in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties that provide direct services to women and girls such as housing, healthcare, mental health services, job training, and business development. AWF supports our nonprofit partners by providing funding, resources, and evaluation assistance.

We also build awareness and support through our issue area reports on the barriers affecting low-income women and girls, and develop nonprofit volunteer leaders through our Women on Board and Inspire Atlanta programs.

GRANTMAKING

The Atlanta Women’s Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that help to eliminate the barriers faced by economically vulnerable women and girls in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties. One of the ways we accomplish this is through grantmaking. AWF awards local, grassroots nonprofit organizations financial grants to help them deliver critical services to low-income women and girls.

AWF supports organizations providing services in the areas of mental and physical health, education, and life skills. Our objective is to strengthen the network of nonprofits providing effective comprehensive services and eliminating systemic barriers impacting economically vulnerable girls and women.

In order to achieve the greatest impact with the funds AWF invests in the community, we have incorporated a collective impact approach into our grantmaking. Through this approach AWF brings together our grantees in order to do the most good for the largest number of women and girls. As the backbone organization, AWF guides the vision and strategy of the project, maintains communication, ensures all data is collected and measured in the same way, and provides supportive activities like annual convenings.

ISSUE AREAS

Our Issue Areas are Economic Empowerment, Women and Girls' Mental Health & Wellbeing, and Workforce Development.

Economic Empowerment
Economic empowerment enables individuals to both control their economic situation and improve their economic status. Education, assets, and employment are essential for women to break the cycle of generational poverty.

Women and Girls’ Mental Health & Wellbeing
Women experiencing generational poverty need mental health care, but this need is one of the most overlooked areas for helping women improve their economic situation. Women impacted by poverty are twice as likely to suffer from mental illness. Without access to necessary services, becoming economically self-sufficient becomes increasingly difficult.

Workforce Development
Workforce Development improves economic stability for women by improving their workforce skills. A well-educated, highly skilled workforce improves the economy and helps women break the cycle of generational poverty.

COMMUNITY IMPACT

In addition to traditional grantmaking, The Atlanta Women's Foundation also produces our own programs to help women develop their talents to garner support that affects real change in the community.

Inspire Atlanta

Inspire Atlanta is an exclusive community impact program and fundraising campaign that supports The Atlanta Women’s Foundation.

Through Inspire Atlanta, women will:

  • Develop their talents to garner support that affects real change in the community.
  • Learn about critical issues facing women and girls in the area.
  • Explore their core values and chart their unique leadership path.
  • Build a network of fellow female leaders and doers.
  • Champion a fundraising campaign in support of The Atlanta Women’s Foundation.

Women on Board

We can also sustain a greater impact by training women to tap into their abilities to be strong leaders, deep thinkers, and strategic philanthropists. We do that through the key program Women on Board. This program is designed to increase the number of women on nonprofit boards in metro Atlanta by providing effective board governance training to Atlanta women and connecting participants to nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2000, the program has trained more than 3,500 women in board governance and leadership skills.