August 14, 2024
Ms. Foundation for Women Announces Successful Completion of $100 Million Fundraising Campaign
The campaign, ‘Creating the Future We Deserve,’ is the largest fundraising campaign to date for the nation’s oldest women’s foundation
NEW YORK (August 14, 2024) – Today, Ms. Foundation for Women announced the conclusion of the organization’s largest fundraising campaign in its 50-year history, Creating the Future We Deserve, achieving and surpassing their goal of $100 million by raising $106 million in funding since launching the campaign in January 2023.
“I am thrilled to share the extraordinary news that we have surpassed our goal and raised over $106 million,” said Teresa Younger, President and CEO of Ms. Foundation for Women. “This record investment in women and girls comes at a time in United States history when our fundamental human rights are under attack. For decades to come, Ms. Foundation will use these gifts to bolster and support future feminist movement building led by women, girls and gender expansive folks across the country. Our grantee partners are on the front lines of nearly every fight. What is most exciting for me is that people dreamed with us about the world we could create by making commitments to a future that they may never see themselves. Ms. Foundation will be around for another 50 years because of these commitments.”
The campaign was anchored by a $50 million estate gift from Lucia Woods Lindley, an avid philanthropist and early champion of the Ms. Foundation. Although the Foundation learned of the historic size of the gift soon after Ms. Woods Lindley’s death in 2020, the plan for the gift was made 20 years earlier. Of the gifts secured during the campaign, 70% of contributions were planned gifts, and the campaign received contributions from more than 1,500 new donors.
“I think perhaps Lucia Woods Lindley’s biggest gift to the campaign was the opportunity to connect with our base about planned giving in such an exciting and future-focused way. The campaign opened the door for historic acts of generosity from individuals and institutions alike. The conversations we have had about what it takes to build for our future have been incredibly inspiring,” said Ruth McFarlane, Deputy CEO of Ms. Foundation for Women.
The ambitious campaign was co-chaired by current Ms. Foundation Board member Alex Busanky and former Ms. Foundation Board member Suzanne Lerner. Efforts were supported by the full financial participation of the Ms. Foundation Board, led by former Board Chair, Jenna Skinner Scanlan. Creating the Future We Deserve will accelerate nationwide movements for gender and racial equity and ensure the Foundation can support grassroots movement building and the sustainability of feminist institutions for generations to come.
For more information about Ms. Foundation, please visit www.forwomen.org.
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About Ms. Foundation for Women
For more than 50 years, Ms. Foundation for Women has shaped feminist philanthropy in the United States, providing a blueprint for the establishment of hundreds of local and regional women’s funds, influencing mainstream culture through nationwide projects and campaigns, and making grants totaling over $90 million to more than 1,600 grassroots organizations across the country. Through grantmaking and capacity building, philanthropic advocacy, and thought leadership, Ms. Foundation is the national model for sustainable, trust-based philanthropic support of women-led movements. With equity and inclusion as the cornerstones of true democracy, Ms. Foundation works to create a world in which the worth and dignity of every person are valued, and power and possibility are not limited by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or age. For equity purposes, please visit our website to see the full grantee partner list.
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