Women's Legacy Fund
Improving the Quality of Life in Southwest Florida from a Woman's Perspective
Who We Are
The Women’s Legacy Fund (WLF) was established in 2007 by the Southwest Florida Community Foundation to enable women in Southwest Florida to direct their giving in focused, strategic ways. The fund’s mission is to improve the quality of life in Southwest Florida through a woman’s perspective.
Through an active membership and our annual grant program, we
- Inspire women to become leaders in philanthropy
- Educate women and the community on current issues and philanthropic strategies
- Empower women to strengthen our community from their unique giving perspective
How we operate
The WLF is managed by a steering committee, which is presently comprised of a Community Foundation trustee/WLF founder, the Director of Programs at the Community Foundation, the past chair of the WLF, the chair of the WLF grants committee, the WLF programs chair, and the WLF legacy chair.
Contributors’ annual donations are used for immediate grants as well as to increase the WLF’s permanent endowment fund. Annual contributors (members) choose the focus of the annual grants, which so far have included literacy, violence prevention, mental health, and homelessness.
Grants to local nonprofit organizations are selected by the WLF’s grants committee and funded by both annual contributions and income from the endowment fund.
The WLF presently has over $160,000 in our endowment fund. The funds are segregated but invested with other Community Foundation assets (currently over $60 million) and are managed by SEI, the national investment manager. The assets are overseen by the Finance Committee of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.
The WLF hosts bi-annual luncheons for members and guests. At these events, women come together to network, award grants, and learn about the impact of past grants.
The Community Foundation Advantage
The Women's Legacy Fund is a fund of the Southwest Florida Community Foundation. The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has 331 funds that were established by donors who wanted to ensure that their money was well managed, carefully invested, would grow in perpetuity, and would provide the most money available for grants. The Community Foundation has been serving Southwest Florida communities since 1976, and is governed by a board of trustees that is comprised of knowledgeable and well-respected community professionals. Former trustees who have chosen to be senior advisors also participate in leading the Community Foundation. The board of trustees oversees the Community Foundation’s operations through several committees, including audit, finance, grant making, and governance.
Donors who have a specific charitable interest, and who choose to give to an endowed fund so that the contribution multiplies over years, are reassured that their donor wishes will be followed. At the same time, because of the expertise of the Community Foundation staff and trustees, if certain nonprofits are financially unstable, ineffective, or out of business, the Community Foundation will ensure that the donor’s objectives are met with grants to another nonprofit that has the same mission.
Becoming a Member
Women may join the WLF at any time of year. We have three membership levels:
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Benefactress = $250
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Patroness (25 years or younger) = $100
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Prima Donor = $10,000 or more; considered to be a lifetime annual contributor
One half of all membership contributions (with the exception of any contributions specifically made for administrative or extraordinary expenses) will be pooled for the purpose of immediate annual grants; the second half will be pooled into the WLF's endowment fund, which provides additional grants to be made both now and in years to come.
Join Us
If you are interested in making a difference in Southwest Florida through the Women's Legacy Fund, download our Membership Form , read it over, and send it in.
WLF "Angels"
The WLF Angel program is a fundraising initiative unique to the WLF. Donors who would like to honor or memorialize a friend, relative, neighbor, or influential woman in their life contribute a minimum of $1,000 to designate her as a “WLF Angel.” Angels are publicly honored at WLF luncheons and are inducted into the “Hall of Angels” on the WLF website. WLF Angel contributions are placed in the endowed fund so they can provide future grants in perpetuity.
For More Information
Even with all of this online information, you might still have a few questions and we would love to answer them for you. Just call the Southwest Florida Community Foundation at 239-274-5900 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
