Women's Foundation of Arkansas

What Women's Foundation of Arkansas does

Women's Foundation of Arkansas (WFA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation headquartered at 400 West Capitol Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas, founded on January 11, 1998, by Olivia Farrell (former Arkansas Business Publishing Group CEO) and Pat Lile (then President of Arkansas Community Foundation), with more than 150 founding members each contributing $1,000. WFA's stated mission is to ensure economic security for Arkansas women and girls through collaboration and focused philanthropic investment, operating as the only statewide foundation exclusively focused on this constituency. The organization runs a portfolio of interconnected programs: Women Empowered (economic security advocacy including the WEM Hub and Olivia Farrell Impact Award), Girls of Promise® (STEAM education with an annual eighth-grade conference and the Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship), Save10 (financial literacy with Finance Club chapters), the Grant Fund (annual grant-making ranging $500–$50,000), the Power of the Purse annual luncheon, and original research publications including "Holding It All Together" and "You Learn As You Go." Its business model is donation-driven across three streams: individual contributions (monthly WFA Changemakers Circle and Disruptors $2,500 donor circle), corporate sponsorships across tiered levels (Presenting, Champion, Innovation, Catalyst), and grant funding to and from partner foundations; the foundation also accepts appreciated stock, QCDs, and Donor-Advised Fund contributions. The foundation serves Arkansas women and girls, women-owned businesses (particularly from the Arkansas Delta and underserved communities), and corporate partners via employer-aligned programming, with no program fees charged to participants; all program revenue is reinvested into grant-making and direct programming.

Name

Women's Foundation of Arkansas

Legal name

Women's Foundation of Arkansas

Website

https://womensfoundationarkansas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women's Foundation of Arkansas is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation, founded 1998 and based in Little Rock, that advances economic security for Arkansas women and girls through grant-making, STEAM education, financial literacy, business support, and original research, funded by individual donations and corporate sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Nonprofit Foundation and Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Justice & Human Rights Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD), STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• Women's economic security
• STEAM girls education
• Financial literacy programs
• Women business grants
• Nonprofit philanthropy

Headquarters

HQ city

Little Rock

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly recurring donations through WFA Changemakers Circle and one-time contributions from individual donors. The organization also accepts alternative giving strategies including appreciated stock donations, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) contributions.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors provide financial support for initiatives including Girls of Promise, Women Empowered, Power of the Purse, and WEM Hub. Sponsorship tiers include Presenting, Champion, Innovation, and Catalyst levels.
3. Grant Funding: WFA provides grants to organizations supporting women and girls in Arkansas. The foundation has granted over $500,000 lifetime to various organizations. They also receive grants from foundations and partners for specific initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Women's Foundation of Arkansas is a statewide 501(c)(3) philanthropic foundation that delivers free programs, grants, and research to advance the economic security of women and girls in Arkansas. Its core offerings include the Women Empowered initiative (economic security advocacy, WEM Hub business support, Olivia Farrell Impact Award), the Girls of Promise® STEAM conference and Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program, the Save10 financial literacy initiative with Finance Clubs, the annual Power of the Purse luncheon, a competitive grant fund for partner organizations, and commissioned research reports on women's economic status.

Product overview

Women's Foundation of Arkansas is a philanthropic foundation offering a portfolio of interconnected programs focused on economic security for Arkansas women and girls. The core initiatives include Women Empowered (economic security advocacy including the WEM Hub and Olivia Farrell Impact Award), Girls of Promise® (STEAM education featuring an annual conference and Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship), and Save10 (financial literacy with Finance Club chapters). Additional offerings include the Power of the Purse annual luncheon, Grant Fund for community organizations, Research Reports on women's economic status, the Top 100 Women of Impact publication, and the WFA Changemakers Circle donor program. These programs work together to advance women's economic mobility through education, advocacy, direct support, and research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Girls of Promise: An initiative exposing girls to opportunities and mentors in STEAM fields with the goal of increasing the number of women in higher-level STEAM courses, careers, and putting them on the path to achieve economic security as women.
• Women Empowered
• Save10
• Power of the Purse
• Women's Economic Mobility Hub (WEM Hub)
• Olivia Farrell Impact Award
• Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program

Products and services

• Women Empowered Signature WFA initiative focused on ensuring economic security for Arkansas women through advocacy, education on asset building, access to capital, and closing the wealth gap; encompasses the Women's Economic Mobility Hub and Olivia Farrell Impact Award programs.
• Girls of Promise® Initiative exposing eighth-grade Arkansas girls to opportunities and mentors in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) fields through an annual conference and the Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program.
• Women's Economic Mobility Hub (WEM Hub) Seven-month business support program for women business owners from underserved communities, providing personalized business support, mentorship, and $5,000 in unrestricted grant funds; expanded to Northwest Arkansas in partnership with Conexión de Negocios Latinos.
• Save10 Initiative empowering Arkansas women to save for life by committing to save 10% of income for retirement; includes Finance Club chapters, educator toolkits, and college campus resources. Over 1,520 women have taken the commitment.
• Finance Club Women-led finance clubs providing community for financial education, accountability, and empowerment; includes leader guides and resources for starting local chapters.
• Grant Fund Grant-making program supporting economic security and mobility for women and girls in Arkansas, with focus on underserved and marginalized communities and STEAM programs for girls; grant amounts range from $500 to $50,000.
• Power of the Purse Annual luncheon since 1998 honoring outstanding Arkansas women and their impact on the state, celebrating accomplishments and raising money for WFA's economic security initiatives.
• Olivia Farrell Impact Award Gender equity workplace assessment program created with The Clinton School of Public Service to help Arkansas businesses evaluate and improve gender equity practices; recognizes companies demonstrating commitment to advancing women.
• Tjuana Byrd Summer Internship Program 12-week paid internship program for women of color or from underserved Arkansas counties pursuing STEAM degrees, providing competitive pay ($15-20/hour), free housing, travel stipends, and mentorship at partner companies.
• Research Reports Commissioned research reports on women's economic status in Arkansas, including studies on women of color-owned businesses, childcare challenges (Holding It All Together), rural women and banking (You Learn As You Go), and economic indicators.
• Top 100 Women of Impact Joint publication with Soirée magazine celebrating 100 outstanding Arkansas women across the state, recognizing visionary impact on communities and businesses.
• WFA Changemakers Circle Monthly giving program allowing donors to join as Changemakers with recurring gifts supporting WFA programs, advocacy, and opportunities for Arkansas women and girls.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 eighth-grade girls introduced to STEAM careers since 1999
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Conexión de Negocios Latinos (CNL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to expand WEM Hub to Northwest Arkansas, providing bilingual programming in English and Spanish. CNL leads local programming while WFA provides statewide expertise and funding. Serves women entrepreneurs in Springdale, Rogers, Fayetteville, and surrounding areas.
• Ingeborg InitiativescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research partnership to study working mothers and childcare in Arkansas. Ingeborg Initiatives, founded by Olivia Walton, focuses on maternal health and women's economic opportunity. Joint report 'Holding It All Together' examines childcare costs and workplace flexibility.
• Stone BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to commission research on economic realities for women in rural Arkansas. Stone Bank, an Arkansas community bank with $890M in assets, co-sponsored the report 'You Learn As You Go' examining financial decision-making among rural women.
• Women's Funding NetworkminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational network of women's foundations. WFA participates as a member, sharing resources and best practices for advancing women's economic security.
• Arkansas School for Mathematics, Science, and the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatalyst Sponsor for Girls of Promise. Received $10,000 grant for STEAM scholarship. WFA Board member Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch is Dean at Arkansas State University College of Liberal Arts and Communication.
• The Clinton School of Public ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner that helped develop the Olivia Farrell Impact Award questionnaire in 2017-2018. Students from the school collaborated with WFA on gender equity workplace assessment tool.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Women's Foundation of Colorado: Statewide women's foundation in Colorado focused on economic security through research, grantmaking, and policy advocacy — directly comparable model to WFA operating in a different state.
• Dallas Women's Foundation: Regional women's foundation in North Texas funding economic security and leadership programs for women and girls, with comparable grantmaking and research functions to WFA.
• Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona: Statewide-level women's foundation serving Southern Arizona with grantmaking and economic mobility programs targeting women and girls — analogous regional mission.

Broad incumbents

• Ms. Foundation for Women: National women's foundation with significantly larger scale, providing seed funding and capacity-building grants to grassroots women's organizations — broader incumbent in the same cause area.
• Global Fund for Women: International women's foundation funding gender equality organizations worldwide. Operates in an overlapping cause area but at significantly larger scale and global scope than WFA.
• National Women's Law Center: National legal and policy advocacy organization focused on women's rights including economic security. Larger scope and federal policy focus, but overlapping mission on wage gaps and workplace equity that WFA addresses locally.

Others

• Women's Funding Network: Network of women's foundations globally. WFA is already a member; the network functions as an ecosystem enabler and peer convener for state/regional women's foundations like WFA.
• Status of Women in the States (Institute for Women's Policy Research): Research-focused organization producing state-level reports on women's economic status. Comparable to WFA's research arm function and could be a research partner or competitor for policy attention.
• Ingeborg Initiatives: Arkansas-based family foundation focused on maternal health and women's economic opportunity. Already a research partner of WFA on the 'Holding It All Together' report — a closely aligned regional peer.
• Arkansas Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation in Arkansas from which WFA originally spun off as its own 501(c)(3) in 2002. Operates as an adjacent grantmaking institution serving overlapping Arkansas communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WomensFoundationArkansas
• Instagraminstagram.com/womensfoundationarkansas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Women's Foundation of Arkansas