Women & Girls Fund

The Women & Girls Fund was founded in 2001 by a group of caring and committed women and is administered through Main Street Community Foundation. Through its grantmaking, the Fund assists women and girls in obtaining skills and competencies that develop their potential and improve the quality of their lives. Grants are also intended to help build internal organizational capacity so that ongoing support for women and girls can be sustained in local communities. The Fund serves organizations working with women and girls of any age in Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington, and Wolcott, Connecticut. The Fund has identified three grantmaking priorities based on input from more than 20 participating grantee and community partners. The first is Services for Senior Women, including programs that increase self-sufficiency through basic-needs support, financial literacy resources, and opportunities to reduce social isolation. The second is Confidence Building and Leadership, particularly for young girls and teens. Examples include programs that connect participants with caring and stable adults, promote financial literacy and life skills, and develop skills needed for successful leadership in school, the community, or a career. The third priority is Mental Health and Well-being, including programs that reduce anxiety and stress through non-clinical methods, teach mindfulness skills, and improve self-care and overall well-being for women of all ages. Grant requests addressing the identified priority areas will receive preference. The source also states that program costs and capital expenditures meeting the grant guidelines are welcome to apply. Collaborations between organizations are encouraged and will receive special consideration. Applicants must be in compliance with all previous grant reporting requirements in order to be considered during the current grant cycle. No specific award minimum, award maximum, total program funding amount, number of awards, or matching requirement is stated in the provided information. Main Street Community Foundation welcomes grant requests from organizations serving its geographic area of Bristol, Burlington, Plainville, Plymouth, Southington, and Wolcott, Connecticut. To maximize the Foundation's ability to support multiple charitable causes, organizations are eligible to apply to only one competitive grant cycle per calendar year. Organizations are encouraged to identify their highest priorities and apply to the competitive grant cycle that best fits their need. The provided material does not identify specific eligible organization classifications, such as nonprofit status, governmental entities, educational institutions, businesses, or individuals, and directs potential applicants to consult Foundation staff and the full program guidelines for eligibility criteria. The grant cycle opens August 17 and applications are due September 16. Potential applicants must contact Whitney Shufelt, Director of Grants & Programs, or another member of the grants team at least one week before the application deadline to discuss the proposed project and determine eligibility. Whitney Shufelt can be reached at whitney@mainstreetfoundation.org, and the grants team can be reached by telephone at 860.583.6363. Applicants determined to be eligible are directed to Main Street Community Foundation's Online Grants Center to apply and to review the program's full guidelines and eligibility criteria. No specific application questions, required uploads, narrative components, or application review scoring criteria are included in the provided material. Grant decisions are recommended by the Women & Girls Fund Advisory Board and submitted for final approval by the Foundation's Board of Directors. The source does not provide an award notification date, grant start date, performance period, or other post-application timeline. It also does not explicitly state that the Women & Girls Fund grant cycle recurs annually, even though Main Street Community Foundation limits organizations to one competitive grant cycle per calendar year. Accordingly, no recurring schedule is assigned from the provided information. For the current upcoming cycle, the opening date is treated as August 17, 2026 and the application deadline as September 16, 2026 based on the August 12, 2026 analysis date and the prospective wording that the grant cycle opens August 17.

Prioritize requests addressing Services for Senior Women, Confidence Building and Leadership, or Mental Health and Well-being; consider collaboration because collaborations receive special consideration; ensure all previous grant reporting requirements are satisfied; apply to the competitive grant cycle that best fits the organization's top priority because organizations may apply to only one competitive grant cycle per calendar year.