St. Cloud, Minn. – The Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation has awarded $165,000 during its most recent grant rounds.
In August 2024, the Women’s Fund launched their Central Minnesota Women’s Fund and Julianne Williams Fund grant rounds. Today, both funds have awarded a combined $165,000 to 15 area organizations, all of which focus on improving the lives of women and girls in Central Minnesota.
“Through their programming, each of these organizations supports the well-being, resiliency, abilities and self-determination of women and girls in our community. We are thankful for their dedication to making the St. Cloud region a place in which all can thrive.” says Sonja Gidlow, Chair of the Women’s Fund Grants Committee.
The Women’s Fund allocated $150,000 to the following:
- $15,000 was awarded to Anna Marie’s Alliance to support its shelter.
- $13,000 was awarded to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central MN for its Girls Forward program.
- $7,000 was awarded to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of St. Cloud for its Financial Empowerment for Senior Women program.
- $8,000 was awarded to City of St. Cloud -RSVP for its Intercultural Volunteer Experiences program.
- $11,000 was awarded to ConnectAbility of MN for it’s programming that supports women and girls with disabilities.
- $13,000 was awarded to Ellison Center for its Empowering Somali Women: Training and Mentorship to Support Early Childhood Mental Health program.
- $10,000 was awarded to Hooyo Hour Organization for Bilow Cusub: Empowering New Beginnings for Elderly East African Women program.
- $15,000 was awarded to Lutheran Social Service of MN to for its childcare program that supports vulnerable women/caregivers.
- $13,000 was awarded to QUEERSPACE collective for its youth program.
- $15,000 was awarded to Terebinth Refuge for its mental health programming.
- $15,000 was awarded to Veteran Resource & Enrichment Center for its Empowering Her: Strengthening Resilience program.
- $15,000 was awarded to What Would Bri Do dba Bri’s Lodge for its grief support for women programming.
Additionally, the Julianne Williams Fund awarded $15,000 in grants to three organizations. The Julianne Williams Fund was established to honor the life of Julianne Marie Williams, reflect the essence of Julie and promote the building of self-esteem, safety, confidence and overall empowerment of girls and young women through outdoor activities.
The grant recipients for the Julianne Williams Fund are as follows:
- $5,250 was awarded to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central MN for its SMART Girls program.
- $4,500 was awarded to Get Outdoors MN for its Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: Fostering Self-Awareness in Young Women Alongside Their Caregivers program.
- $5,250 was awarded to the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin Lakes and Pines for its summer camp programming.
Since 2002, the Women’s Fund of the Central Minnesota Community Foundation has been dedicated to strengthening the community by improving the lives of women and girls. The Women’s Fund has granted nearly $1.6 million to support local programs in three core focus areas: girls age 10-18, women experiencing adversity and elder women.
The Central Minnesota Community Foundation (CMCF) attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. Since 1985, CMCF has grown to over $143.7 million in assets and awarded over $148 million in grants to non-profits. The CMCF is governed by a local board of directors and is a partner of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers over 1,100 funds totaling nearly $225 million. Learn more at communitygiving.org/cmcf