Grants and Investments / Enduring Progress Initiative
Women and Girls of Color Deserve More than Pocket Change
A recent report from the Ms. Foundation, Pocket Change: How Women and Girls of Color Do More with Less, showed that less than 0.5% of foundation philanthropy in the U.S. is directed to women and girls of color. This is unacceptable. That’s why The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio launched the Enduring Progress Initiative (EPI), a groundbreaking effort to provide women of color with the capital they need and deserve.

Why The Women’s Fund?
According to the Pocket Change report, public foundations like The Women’s Fund can uniquely support organizations led by and for women of color. Our deep community relationships, transparent processes, and ability to be nimble funders enables us to quickly address specific funding barriers that affect women of color.
Enduring Progress Advisory Committee
Dr. Sierra Austin-KING
Regional School Improvement Coordinator for Diversity & Equity, Educational Service of Central Ohio; Senior Lecturer, Black Feminist Studies, Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Department of African American and African Studies, The Ohio State University
Jay Baliga
Consultant, Kaiser Consulting
Whitney Crane
Philanthropist
Sophia Fifner
Executive Director, Nisource Foundation; Director Of Communications, Nisource
Steven Moore
Chief of Staff, The Columbus Foundation
Letha Pugh
Co-Owner, Bake Me Happy; Co-Founder, Black, Out & Proud
Lindsay Karas Stencel
Partner, Thompson Hine
Julialynne Walker
CEO, Africa and Diaspora Development Linkages
Heather Whaling
President & Founder, Geben Communication

“I often say I started working full-time at Zora’s House in January 2021, but the truth is, I had been working at Zora’s House full time from the moment we opened in 2018. Thanks to Enduring Progress, 2021 was the first time I was being compensated for my work.”
LC Johnson, Founder and CEO, Zora’s House
Application Process
There’s not one. EPI is rooted in our trust-based approach to philanthropy, which means as few administrative hoops as possible. Enduring Progress Initiative prospects are invited to a pitch session with the Enduring Progress Advisory Committee to share why an investment would help build their capacity and get them to next. If you or someone you know is interested in being considered for a future pitch session, please contact us.