Who we are:
The Fund for Women and Girls is a field of interest fund of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. The Fund was established in 1998 by a group of visionary women and the leadership of the Community Foundation, with three primary objectives. First to research, analyze and address the needs of women and girls in our County; second, educate women about philanthropy and engage them in creating sustainable change through collective, targeted giving; and third, raise a permanent endowment to support initiatives and programs benefitting women and girls for decades to come. Our work has focused on affordable housing, education, women’s economic security, childcare, health, safety, girls’ leadership development and nonprofit capacity building.
How we use Status of Women in the States:
The mission of the Fund is to empower women and girls to enable them to reach their full potential. Our mission is supported by our practice of assessing needs across the communities we serve. We strategically focus investments in innovative solutions to complex problems. Our grant making, training for nonprofits and collaborative programming are outcome driven and designed to meet targeted needs and ensure long-term social change. We use the Status of Women in the States to supplement our research and give the Fund a better understanding of broader key indicators, trends and comparative statistics. The comprehensive IWPR analysis is an excellent tool to help us define strategic initiatives and policy agenda.
