WFN is dedicated to following the wisdom of local leaders by sharing knowledge and research created by our members that supports funding practices which propel movements forward.

Working alongside funding partners and the membership, WFN creates and curates an ever growing body of reports and learning that provide context, thought leadership, and evidence to support funding practices which propel movements forward. Browse our library of reporting and learning publications below.

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Cover of report Living With Pocket Change: What It Means To Do More With Less

Member Research Report

Ms. Foundation for Women – Living With Pocket Change: What It Means To Do More With Less

Organizations led by women and nonbinary leaders of color stand at the forefront of the most urgent struggles of our times, resolute in their commitment to constructing a just society where all can thrive. Supporting, investing in, and demonstrating genuine care for these leaders is not a mere choice; it is an imperative.

Building from Ms. Foundation for Women’s groundbreaking report, Pocket Change: How Women and Girls of Color Do More With Less, this latest research, Living With Pocket Change: What It Means To Do More With Less, examines the impact and real-life experiences of chronic philanthropic underinvestment and disinvestment in the leadership of women and nonbinary people of color, as well as underfunding of the organizations they lead, and highlights their needs, experiences, and the profound toll it takes.

Headshot of Black person in a grey blazer and tan collared shirt with the text Thrive As They Lead: Advancing the Infrastructure to Support Black Women Leaders in the D.C. Metro Area Nonprofit Sector

Member Research Report

Washington Area Women’s Foundation – Thrive As They Lead: Advancing the Infrastructure to Support Black Women Leaders in the D.C. Metro Area Nonprofit Sector

Black women and gender-expansive leaders continue to be at the forefront of innovation, movement-building, bold leadership, and strategy across the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and the county. Yet at the same time, Black women leaders are operating in unprecedented times with mounting barriers and challenges to their leadership – driven by systemic inequities deeply embedded in sectors and systems.

Prompted by the ongoing national dialogue around Black women’s leadership and the unsettling stories about the sector’s failure to adequately support Black women as they lead across the city and surrounding counties, the Washington Area Women’s Foundation stepped in to fill this gap and bolster the leadership of Black women and Black gender-expansive leaders in the region.

Cover page for Pay Transparency Measures in the United States report by Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation

Member Research Report

Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – Pay Transparency Measures in the United States

In 2023, the Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation released Pay Transparency Measures in the United States. Since 2017, gender and racial pay equity have been key priority areas at the Women’s Fund. Recently, a growing national movement has recognized pay transparency as one strategic solution for employers and the government to address these disparities.  

The Women’s Fund developed this report to more thoroughly understand the impacts and arguments for and against pay transparency policies. Employers, policymakers, community leaders, and wage earners will find this information beneficial in providing a more complete picture of the impact of pay transparency.

Heart Story Curation Indigenous Feminist Justice Leadership & The Philanthropic Call to Action snapshot report cover page

Member Research Report

Return to the Heart Foundation – Heart Story Curation: Indigenous Feminist Justice Leadership & The Philanthropic Call to Action

Through a partnership with Uplift the Matriarchy, Return to the Heart Foundation (R2HF) is proud to share a new research report, authored by Dr. Joannie Marie Suina (Pueblo of Cochiti). This report covers a 3-year journey of healing efforts led by Native Women across Turtle Island while highlighting the R2HF Traditional Helpers & Healers Microgrant Fund that invests in Native Women-led projects.

The research also spotlights rematriation strategies that Native Women are revitalizing as a response to further uplift their communities by leading and funding healing efforts (philanthropy and self-funded). The report is a call to action for funders to advance the work forward by making sustainable investments toward Native Women.

The Status of Women in New Hampshire cover showing three women smiling with their arms around each other

Member Research Report

New Hampshire Women’s Foundation – Status of Women in New Hampshire 2023

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation is pleased to release the latest edition of their flagship publication, The Status of Women in New Hampshire 2023. This report is the most comprehensive compilation of  data on women in the Granite State. This bi-annual report is complimented by New Hampshire Women's Foundation's other bi-annual sister report, the Status of Girls in New Hampshire.

Providing 85 indicators in demographics, health, safety, economic security and leadership, the data in this report highlight a hardworking, resilient and diversifying population of women. However, the data also enumerates many social, economic and political barriers facing women and compounding inequities by race, ethnicity, geography, age and parenting status. These barriers and inequities present opportunities for New Hampshire to invest in women for a more vibrant and prosperous future.

Cover for Member Landscape Report Part 1

WFN Research Report

Landscape of Women’s Funds and Foundations — Part I

The Women’s Funding Network (WFN) is excited to release the first in a series of studies focused on deepening our understanding of who our members are and how they engage in gender equity work. We worked with nearly 100 gender equity funders on an in-depth survey of their organizations, their grantmaking, and their impact. Drawing on the results of this survey, straight from the mouths of our members, our study’s central aim was to explore how women's funds and foundations in the WFN alliance approach their work–and specifically, at this moment of global change, to investigate the intersections of racial and gender justice.

2022 Blueprint Report: Lighting a Path cover page with image of 3 people gathered at a meeting table

Member Research Report

The Fund for Women and Girls – 2022 Blueprint Report: Lighting a Path

The Fund for Women and Girls completed the fourth edition of their Blueprint Report, the first and only comprehensive needs assessment of women and girls in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Published every five years, the Blueprint Report highlights pressing issues facing women and girls at the local, state, and national levels, with a deep dive on conditions in Chester County. The Fund’s 2022 Blueprint Report: Lighting a Path provides critical data to identify areas of progress for women and girls and indicates where additional improvements are still needed. It presents data points across eight key areas: Employment and Earnings; Work and Family; Educational Disparities; Poverty and Opportunity; Reproductive Rights; Health and Well-Being; Violence and Safety; and Political Participation. The report underscores progress, challenges, and areas for improvement, with clear action steps for the community on ways to ignite change. This data can be used for fundraising material, case statements, program and staffing planning, community action, policy-making, and more.

The Influence of Gendered Racism cover showing a Black woman with her arms crossed over her chest, a Black woman looking at pages on a clip board, and a Black woman looking at some charts.

Member Research Report

Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation –The Influence of Gendered Racism and Understanding Economic Fragility for Black Women in the Cincinnati Region

Phase three

The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation takes a deep dive into understanding Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest. This three-phase project consists of a literature review of the historical context of labor trends and systemic barriers to Black women’s employment, a quantitative analysis to understand Black women in the workforce, and a qualitative study to determine the factors fostering or deterring Black women’s economic mobility. 

Phase 1 examines Black women and the labor/employment system from a historical perspective. The phase 1 report informs phase 2 and phase 3, which offer quantitative and qualitative analyses of Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest today. 

Member Research Report

Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – Realizing the Potential of an Equitable Economy

Phase two

The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation takes a deep dive into understanding Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest. This three-phase project consists of a literature review of the historical context of labor trends and systemic barriers to Black women’s employment, a quantitative analysis to understand Black women in the workforce, and a qualitative study to determine the factors fostering or deterring Black women’s economic mobility. 

Phase 1 examines Black women and the labor/employment system from a historical perspective. The phase 1 report informs phase 2 and phase 3, which offer quantitative and qualitative analyses of Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest today. 

Member Research Report

Clearing the Path: Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Workforce

Clearing the Path: Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Workforce, a report by The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham and based on research by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) examines the question of how the state’s workforce development system serves women and their families and provides recommendations for building a workforce development system that truly works for women.

Member Research Report

Essential Equity: Women, Covid-19 and Rebuilding CT

The Aurora Foundation, in collaboration with funders and member organizations of the Connecticut Collective for Women and Girls (CCWG) and the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData), has released a new report that documents the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women and girls, and particularly on women and girls of color in Connecticut.

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Member Research Report

2020 Community Impact Report – WNY Women’s Foundation

2020 has been a uniquely challenging year for women as the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women, and especially women of color. Throughout this strange year, the WNY Women's Foundation has worked nonstop to provide additional supports to working mothers, female business owners, essential workers, and employers.

This report, released annually, demonstrates the Foundation's continued commitment and impact throughout Western New York—and beyond.

Member Research Report

2019 Annual Report – The Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s

This report summarizes WFCO’s work during Fiscal Year 2019-20, we extended our reporting into the current fiscal year to capture our responsive action to mitigate erosion to women’s economic security during COVID-19 and the long-term, preventive approaches we’re taking to address these systemic inequities.

Member Research Report

The Women’s Foundation of Colorado – The Cost of Failing to Invest in Women

This 2020 report aims to develop an initial understanding of the economic security of women in Colorado—what economic security means, why it is significant, what are the barriers deterring its achievement, and how to promote it.

The objectives of this research study are to create a better understanding of women’s economic realities in Colorado—backed by relevant literature and current data—and to develop a research framework to answer questions in regarding women’s economic security. Furthermore, the measures used in this report have been disaggregated by race and ethnicity to demonstrate that women are not a monolith. 

Member Research Report

The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – The Cliff Effect and Other Disincentives in our Public Benefit System

The Women's Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation released The Cliff Effect and Other Disincentives in our Public Benefit System. This report looks at when a small increase in wages triggers a complete cut-off of a public benefit, leaving the worker worse off financially. What started as the search for specific cliffs in our public benefits system has evolved into a comprehensive analysis of the disincentives phenomenon in our public benefit system. These structural flaws make it harder for working women to achieve self-sufficiency. This report is an update to the original 2016 report, and outlines the structural flaws and disincentives in our public benefit system and offers policy recommendations to help correct this system.

Member Research Report

Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation – Black Women’s Historical Labor Trends & Systemic Barriers to Economic Mobility

Phase one

The Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation takes a deep dive into understanding Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest. This three-phase project consists of a literature review of the historical context of labor trends and systemic barriers to Black women’s employment, a quantitative analysis to understand Black women in the workforce, and a qualitative study to determine the factors fostering or deterring Black women’s economic mobility. 

Phase 1 examines Black women and the labor/employment system from a historical perspective. The phase 1 report informs phase 2 and phase 3, which offer quantitative and qualitative analyses of Black women’s economic mobility in the Midwest today. 

WFN Research Report

Key Strategies to Advancing Women’s Economic Mobility and Security

Women’s foundations have a long history of working to address women’s economic
security and mobility within their own communities across the country. As more women's foundations apply a holistic systems change approach — from connecting a deep understanding of the underlying economic and social context with programs and intervention development, to policy change and service provision, to scaling efforts by resourcing infrastructure needs — to the complex challenges inherent in advancing women’s economic mobility and security, great strides are being made.

WFN Research Report

A Journey of Community, Commitment, And Growth: Policy Advocacy to Advance Two-Generation Strategies

Over the past three years, four women’s foundations have embarked on a journey to unlock the power of two-generation (2Gen) strategies to build women’s economic equity and security. 2Gen strategies are a proven solution to empower women and contribute to the success of the entire family. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation funded the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) to launch the 2Gen Policy Advocacy Cohort (2Gen Cohort) to expand the scope and influence of women’s foundations in 2Gen work, bringing a gender equity lens to this effort.

This final evaluation of this three-year 2Gen policy advocacy initiative reflects upon and summarizes the participating foundations’ progress and resulting outcomes in:

  • Developing and implementing a 2Gen advocacy strategy
  • The ways in which they’ve integrated a “2Gen-lens” throughout their organizational culture
  • Their plans for scaling their 2Gen work going forward

Member Research Report

Fondo Semillas – Kaleidoscope

Fondo Semillas released the Kaleidoscope report, which looks at findings and reflections on LGBTQI+ movements in Mexico. The report is a useful tool for organizations, donors, activists and others interested in identifying the needs, challenges, and opportunities for LGBTQI+ movements in Mexico.

Member Research Report

Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women & Girls – Status Report on Women and Girls in Fairfield County

The Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund for Women & Girls released two bodies of research to gauge the needs and service gaps impacting women and girls in Fairfield County, Connecticut. These include Count Them In, which looks at organizations in Fairfield County serving women and girls, and Count Her In, which looks at the status of women & girls in Fairfield County. They also released an executive summary and recommendations based on the reports.

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Member Research Report

Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona – A Formula for Economic Independence

Results of research by Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona and the University of Arizona  find that short-term investment in targeted training programs coupled with childcare support for those engaged in these workforce development activities could lead to long-term savings for the state and benefit for both mothers and their children.

Member Research Report

Partnership for Women’s Prosperity: Scaling Up for Women’s Economic Security

Partnership for Women’s Prosperity (PWP) is a national initiative of the Women’s Funding Network and six of our leading member foundations to improve the economic security of women, their families and communities. This report details the power of the PWP systems change approach: shared learning, best practices, co-crafting, adapting, piloting new strategies across geographies and strategic investments of money and resources. Since its inception in 2011, more than $11 million was channeled into women’s economic security efforts, directly impacting more than 50,000 women and girls.

Nurse with patient

Member Research Report

Women’s Foundation of Mississippi – Women’s Access to Quality Jobs in Mississippi

Research conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, finds that for sustained economic security and stability, work should pay a living wage, provide workers with sufficient hours of work (full-time, full-year employment), and provide access to health insurance, a pension, and the flexibility for working women and men to balance work and family. Too many jobs fail the test. The earnings of women workers, especially Black and Hispanic women, are even lower than the median for all Mississippi workers.

Member Research Report

McKinsey & Company, Leanin.org – Women in the Workplace

Women in the Workplace 2017 is a comprehensive study of the state of women in corporate America. This research is part of a long-term partnership between McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org to give organizations the information they need to promote women’s leadership and foster gender equality.

222 companies employing more than 12 million people shared their pipeline data and completed a survey of Human Resources practices. In addition, more than 70,000 employees – including women from different races and ethnicities –  completed a survey designed to explore their experiences regarding gender, opportunity, career, and work-life issues.

WFN Research Report

More Than Jobs: Women’s Economic Security Wraparound Strategies

Launched in 2011, the Partnership for Women’s Prosperity (PWP) is a national initiative of six women’s foundations convened by the Women’s Funding Network and working with the initiative’s evaluator, Korwin Consulting, to build the economic power of all women — community by community. Collectively, the foundations have granted $11 million to support more than 80 organizations throughout the country advancing women’s economic security efforts, thanks in part to Walmart Foundation funding.

Drawing from research in the field, first-hand information from grantee partners and the women they support, and deep community-based experience, PWP partners knew from the start that it takes more than job training and post-secondary education for low-income women to progress from lives of economic scarcity to achieving economic goals for themselves and their families. Wraparound support strategies — whether to help women cover financial and other basic needs while attending school, meet their responsibilities as primary caregivers in their families, or gain the knowledge and capacity necessary to reach their goals — was a critical component of each approach the PWP partners invested in.

Member Research Report

Pathways to Progress Vol. 2

The current resurgence of Western New York (upstate area encompassing Erie, Niagara, and Chautauqua Counties) has resulted in a new landscape of possibilities for prosperity. The Western New York Women’s Foundation is committed to making sure women can take advantage of these prospects and reap the benefits of the region’s economic growth. Their research shows what is, isn’t, and what can be for women and girls in Western New York. Foundation strategies capitalize on turning opportunities into realities.

Member Research Report

The Status of Women in Hawai’i

In a report commission by the Women’s Fund of Hawai’i researchers from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, (IWPR) found that though there have been important gains in areas like education and health insurance coverage, women still face a widening pay gap and stagnant wages. Nearly four in ten Pacific Islander women are in poverty, compared with only one in ten women in Hawaii overall.

Member Research Report

Women Peace and Security Index (WPS) – Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security (GIWPS)

GIWPS developed this index to offer a more comprehensive measurement of women’s wellbeing. Fir the first time ever, GIWPS captured peace and security along with women’s inclusion and justice. In partnership with the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, GIWPS also drew on recognized international data sources to rank 153 countries, covering more than 98 percent of the world’s population. The associated tools and analysis highlight key achievements and deficits from each country.