Women Helping Women Fund

What Women Helping Women Fund does

Women Helping Women Fund (WHWF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1992 in Spokane, Washington, by six pioneering women, operating a collective-giving philanthropy model targeted at programs serving women and children in Spokane County. The organization pools contributions from individual donors, corporate partners, and annual fundraising events through giving circles with a $50/month minimum membership, and since inception has raised and awarded more than $6 million across 500+ programs.

WHWF's core products and program surface comprise giving circles, competitive grant funding, the Vivian Winston Scholars and Kaitlin G Covert Memorial Scholarship programs, the InstaGrant rapid-response small grant, and a State of Women and Children research series. Notable programmatic components include the 2019 "Changing Our Forecast" report and the 2023 "Our Girls" report, both co-produced with the Spokane Regional Health District and accompanied by an interactive data dashboard, providing localized research assets that double as donor and grantee intelligence.

The operating model is a small three-person team led by Executive Director Heather Hamlin, Operations Director Geneva Johns, and Development Director Katie Parsons. Revenue mechanics are diversified across recurring monthly member contributions, corporate partnerships, and event-driven fundraising; the organization is a member of the Philanos network of women's collective-giving organizations. The service area is concentrated in Spokane County, WA, and there is no evidence of significant geographic or vertical expansion beyond that footprint.

Name

Women Helping Women Fund

Legal name

Women Helping Women Fund

Website

https://whwfspokane.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Women Helping Women Fund is a Spokane-based 501(c)(3) that pools donor contributions through giving circles to fund programs serving women and children in Spokane County, and publishes regional research on the state of women and girls.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF), Community Health & Prevention Program Funding (HLAJALAF)

Keywords

• Women's philanthropy
• Collective giving
• Grantmaking programs
• Scholarship funding
• Community giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Spokane

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Donations: Members contribute to pooled giving circles that award grants to local nonprofit programs supporting women and children. Giving Circle Members who contribute at least $50/month receive a complimentary ticket to the annual WHWF Spring event.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners support the organization financially and demonstrate commitment to empowering vulnerable populations in the Spokane community. These organizational partnerships extend the reach and impact of the mission.
3. Annual Fundraising Events: Annual spring fundraiser and other events that generate donations for grantmaking to local programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Women Helping Women Fund is a collective giving nonprofit that pools donations from individual members and corporate partners through giving circles to award grants to local nonprofit programs supporting women and children in Spokane County. The organization also administers scholarship programs (Vivian Winston Scholars and Kaitlin G Covert Memorial Scholarship) for mothers balancing childcare and higher education costs, and operates an InstaGrant rapid funding program. It complements grantmaking with data-driven research publications and an interactive dashboard developed in collaboration with Spokane Regional Health District.

Product overview

Women Helping Women Fund operates as a collective giving nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs. The core offering consists of Giving Circles where members pool donations to collectively decide on grant allocations to local nonprofits serving women and children. Supporting programs include the Vivian Winston Scholars and Kaitlin G Covert Memorial Scholarship programs, which award scholarships to mothers balancing childcare and higher education costs. The organization also produces data-driven research, including the 'Our Girls' report and an interactive dashboard developed with Spokane Regional Health District, to guide funding decisions. Additional offerings include the InstaGrant program for rapid nonprofit funding and corporate partnership opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Collective Giving / Giving Circles A community-based philanthropy model where individual donors pool resources together to collectively discuss and decide where to make pooled gifts, supporting local nonprofits through dollars, volunteer events, and monthly Nonprofit Connect sessions. Designed for community members seeking to engage in philanthropy without heavy time commitments.
• Grant Funding Program Provides funds to nonprofit programs that ensure local women and children in Spokane County have a brighter tomorrow. The organization has funded over 500 programs focused on issues faced by women and children since inception, with grants awarded through a board-led allocations process involving research and site visits.
• Vivian Winston Scholars Scholarship

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $6 million raised and awarded to support women and children since 1992
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PhilanoscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPhilanos is a network of women's philanthropy organizations. WHWF is listed as a proud partner of Philanos, indicating membership in a professional network that connects women's funds and giving circles for shared learning and collaboration.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• YWCA Spokane: Spokane-based nonprofit providing direct services to women and families, including domestic violence support. WHWF funds many of the same beneficiary populations and is a potential grantee/funding counterpart as well as a community peer.
• United Way of Spokane County: Local Spokane community fundraising and grantmaking organization. Competes for the same pool of Spokane-based corporate and individual donors, making it a directly comparable regional peer for fundraising and corporate partnership share.

Direct peers

• Impact100: A national collective-giving model in which members each contribute $1,000 to fund large transformative grants to nonprofits. Directly comparable pooled-donor / collective-giving approach, though generally open to all causes rather than women-focused.
• Texas Women's Foundation: One of the largest U.S. women's funds, funding programs that advance economic security and leadership for women and girls in Texas. Comparable mission and pooled-donor grantmaking model, though at significantly larger scale.
• Washington Area Women's Foundation: Regional women's fund serving the greater Washington, D.C. area, pooling donations from individual donors to fund nonprofits serving women and girls. Directly comparable giving-circle and grantmaking model.
• The Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts: A regional women's foundation pooling donations to fund programs advancing economic self-sufficiency for women and girls in western Massachusetts. Closely comparable size, regional scope, and giving-circle model.
• The Women's Foundation of Colorado: A state-level women's fund that aggregates donor contributions and regrants to organizations serving women and girls in Colorado. Highly comparable mission, collective-giving orientation, and data-driven grantmaking approach.
• Women's Foundation of Oregon: Oregon's statewide women's foundation, funding programs that help women and girls achieve economic independence. Comparable mission, donor aggregation model, and state-level geographic focus.

Others

• Greater Cincinnati Foundation: Large regional community foundation that administers donor-advised and women's-focused funds. Represents the more established community-foundation model WHWF could evolve toward as it matures its endowment and institutional giving.

Broad incumbents

• Philanos: National network of women's philanthropy organizations and giving circles. WHWF is a public partner; Philanos represents the broader movement and best-practice umbrella that WHWF both benefits from and competes within.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/whwfspokane
• Facebookfacebook.com/whwfspokane
• Instagraminstagram.com/whwfspokane
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whwfspokane

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women Helping Women Fund