The Community Foundation

The Women’s Fund is dedicated to increasing support in Middle Tennessee for programs serving women and girls. The Women’s Fund was established within The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in 1994 by a committee of community leaders who wanted to invest in long-term solutions for transforming the lives of women and girls, improving the well-being of our entire community.

The Women's Fund awards grant funding to programs addressing:

• Achievement of economic self-sufficiency for women
• Prevention of violence and crime against women and girls
• Promotion of health and physical well-being and talent for women and girls

A Permanent Endowment

This permanent endowment Fund was created both to raise women's awareness of their own philanthropic potential and to increase and perpetuate financial support for community programs that address the needs of women and girls in Middle Tennessee.

As an endowment within The Community Foundation, it is a Fund for Now – and for Always. The interest generated from the Fund is given annually to provide support to Middle Tennessee nonprofit programs dedicated to helping women and girls in our community. As the principal grows, so does our ability to meet crucial needs; as our endowment has grown, our grant awards have also grown.

Grantmaking is at the heart of our work, but it’s not all we do. The Women’s Fund is committed to:

• Creating greater awareness of women’s and girls’ issues to support generations to reach their full potential
• Acting as a catalyst to bring together nonprofit organizations which serve women and girls for cooperative programs and solutions
• Serving as an educational and informational resource on community needs and solutions

Led by an Advisory Board of community leaders who are dedicated, solution-drive women, The Women’s Fund supports the work of nonprofit programs today, while continuing to grow its endowment to help secure future funding to impact the lives of women and girls for years to come. To learn more about our goals for future growth, see the Endowment tab.

The Women’s Fund of The Community Foundation is For Women … For Generations.

The Women’s Fund Advisory Board is comprised of community leaders who believe deeply in ensuring that the needs of women and girls in Middle Tennessee are met both today and tomorrow. Our Advisory Board members are a diverse group of women with a common passion for our community and the desire to improve the lives of all of its women and children.

Our 2011-2012 Board Members

Sherry Winn Howell – Advisory Board Chair
Elizabeth Akers
Cristina Allen
Grace Awh
Elizabeth Broyhill
Tricia Carswell
Holly Coltea
Brenda Corbin
Sondra Cruickshanks
Donna Dalton
Suann Davis
Katherine DeLay
Allison DeMarcus
Elizabeth Dennis
Kaye Elam
Irwin Fisher
Mary Gambill
Estie Harris
Lucy Haynes
Phyllis Hildreth
Collins Hooper
Tami Johnston
Coco Kyriopoulos
Deb McDermott
Rita Mitchell
Beth Moore
Julia Morris
Perri duGard Owens
Elizabeth Papel
Jane Powers
Perian Strang
Emily Tidwell
Laura Smith Tidwell
Laura Turner
Sukie Vaughan
Mimi Vaughn
Gail Williams
Mandy Young
Nancy Zoretic

Visionaries

Honey Alexander
Denise Alper
Sallie Bailey
Julie Boehm
Barbara Chazen
Andrea Conte
Colleen Conway Welch
Robin Costa
Anne Davis
Patricia Davis
Trisha Elcan
Jane Eskind
Kate Ezell
Julie Frist
Tipper Gore
Ruth Ann Harnisch
Ellen Lehman
Delorse Lewis
Barbara Mayden
Mary Rolando
Alice Zimmerman

Thanks to its generous supporters and volunteers, The Women's Fund has made grants of more than $673,000 to nonprofit organizations providing a range of services to support women and girls throughout Middle Tennessee.

The Women’s Fund is committed to continue to grow our endowment and grantmaking capability for the benefit of countless women and girls throughout Middle Tennessee.

2011 The Women’s Fund Grant Recipients

Faith Family Medical Clinic - To provide medical exams and wellness services for 78 uninsured women.

Families in Crisis, Inc. - To provide direct client assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Friends in General - To provide no-cost mammograms to uninsured and under-insured women over age 40.

Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, Inc. - To provide college preparatory experiences for under served girls.

Girls on the Run Nashville - To provide 33 girls the opportunity to participate in a life changing character development program.

Grace M. Eaton Child Care Center - To subsidize childcare for 23 currently enrolled children of mothers, who can't afford the full cost of childcare.

Magdalene, Inc. - Support for new collaborative efforts to improve mental health and recovery outcomes of women who are addicted and prostituting.

Mary Parrish Center for Victims of Sexual & Domestic Violence - To defray the costs of health care, transportation, food and other essential needs for residents.

Maury Regional Healthcare Foundation - To provide wigs, head-pieces, camisoles, mammograms and gas cards for cancer patients who cannot afford to purchase them themselves.

Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee - To help Hispanic/Latina students in Metro schools reach their potential by providing culturally competent support groups for teenage girls.

Nurses for Newborns of Tennessee - To in-home nursing visits that promote healthcare, and teach positive parenting skills.

Spruce Street Community Development Corporation - To conduct an eight-week summer program for girls that offers instruction in math and science through hands-on games and activities.

The Power of the Purse^® 2012

April 9, 2012

Featuring Award-Winning Actress, Humanitarian and Author Ashley Judd as Keynote Speaker 

The Power of the Purse^® luncheon celebrates women and their power to make a difference and benefits The Women’s Fund’s mission to support women and girls in need in Middle Tennessee. The event’s accompanying A Celebration of Women tribute book, which honors special women in our lives, will be distributed at the luncheon and with the May issue of Nfocus, with a reach of more than 17,000.
More Event Info

Tribute packages, starting at $100, are available now!  
More About Tributes

Tables and tickets for the 2012 luncheon are available now!
Purchase now
For more information about corporate underwriting opportunities, please refer to the download in the right column, or contact Liza Lentz at llentz@cfmt.org or 615-321-4939.

Check out photos and attendee stories from the March 2011 event, and submit your own, here.

About The Power of the Purse^®

The Power of the Purse^® annual luncheon is the primary fundraiser for The Fund. The event and its accompanying A Celebration of Women tribute book are intended to celebrate, honor and inspire the mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins, friends and mentors, and community leaders of Middle Tennessee for, among other things, their accomplishments, generosity, love and wisdom.

The luncheon brings prominent women from across the country to Middle Tennessee to speak about women’s ability to make a difference and to celebrate women and giving. Previous Power of the Purse^® speakers include Jane Pauley, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Anna Quindlen, Jennifer Buffett, Pat Mitchell and Jennifer Holliday, among others.


The purse, a symbol of women’s capacity for philanthropy, has become an emblem central to this event. At the luncheon, a silent auction features unique purses donated by retailers, community members and celebrities. Over the years, many generous donations have made the auction a huge success for the event and The Fund.

The success of Power of the Purse^® has contributed to the overwhelming growth of The Women's Fund and the availability of more grant dollars for nonprofit programs benefiting women and girls in our community. Since its inception in 1998, the luncheon and A Celebration of Women tribute book have raised over $1,000,000 net for The Women’s Fund.

The Women’s Fund is working to become Middle Tennessee’s leading resource for identifying and supporting the needs of women and girls. As the only endowed fund of this kind, by building our capital to $10 million we can effect powerful social change within our constituencies.

Through our endowment within The Community Foundation, the interest generated from the Fund is given annually to provide support to programs dedicated to helping women and girls in our community. As the principal grows, so does our ability to meet crucial needs and effect social change.

At $10 million, our ability to address current needs in our community will increase almost fivefold to $500,000 annually, enabling The Women’s Fund to not only address immediate needs, but also to address the root cause of the needs – to help craft solutions and effect social change. Growing the endowment enables us to shift from intervention to prevention, from temporary to permanent, and from short-term to transformative. Unmet needs will be met. Women’s lives will be transformed.

A Timely Opportunity, A Permanent Impact, Your Role

We are building on a solid foundation – more than 15 years of providing the vehicle for women-led change in the lives of women and girls and, as a result, their families and community. The Women’s Fund has been a catalyst, identifying challenges, marshaling resources and pursuing opportunities, and has granted more than $614,000 to over 70 area nonprofits in Middle Tennessee.

We have come so far, and yet we have only just begun to meet the tremendous challenges that lie ahead for women and girls in Middle Tennessee. To connect more individuals and families with resources that bring health, hope, education and enrichment, The Women’s Fund seeks to grow its endowment and grantmaking abilities.

We have the opportunity to focus on women-led solutions by providing leadership and stewardship in identifying the needs and supporting solutions. Together, we can unite money, ideas and actions to create lasting change for women and girls, their families and our community.

To learn about opportunities to contribute toward our endowment building goal, contact us at 615-321-4939.