Grant Fund Awards

The Women's Gift Alliance (WGA) is a nonprofit membership organization affiliated with the Idaho Community Foundation. WGA does not limit funding to women's causes but strives to address a broad range of community needs. Of the annual membership donations:

• Half are pooled and distributed through a grant solicitation and selection process.

• The remaining half is equally divided between Individually Designated Gifts and the WGA Endowment Fund.

The WGA awards annual grants through a collaborative selection process directed by its membership. The Grant Committee identifies and requests proposals from organizations that make a significant community impact and demonstrate one or more of the following criteria:

The Grant Committee, composed of generally 20 volunteers and 3 co-chairs, meets, reviews, and discusses each proposal. Financial statements of finalist organizations are reviewed, and WGA teams visit applicants on-site. 

Finalist proposals from local nonprofits are placed on a ballot and voted on by the entire membership. All Pooled Fund Grants are locally distributed within North Idaho.

The award amount is dependent on the size of the Pooled Fund each year. The WGA's first grant, in the amount of $26,000, was awarded in July of 2005. In 2021, WGA awarded three $25,000 Grants along with 2 Finalist Awards of $5,000 each. Individually Designated Gifts in 2021 were $20,000 for a total of $105,000 in grant gifting in 2021.