Collective Power

By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the January 2024 issue.

By Judy Sutton Taylor

This giving circle finds strength—and kinship—in numbers

These women know they can make a big impact when they work together.

Since 2016, the Western Suburbs Giving Circle (the local arm of the nonprofit Chicago Foundation for Women) has awarded more than $225,000 to area organizations focused specifically on helping women and girls. Members combine their funds—there is a minimum annual commitment of $1,000—to leverage the power of collective giving to groups they believe will improve lives in the western suburbs. “All of our members have a passion for helping other women,” says cochair Julie Olafson, who notes that participants come from all regions of the western suburbs and a variety of professions and backgrounds. “That’s what truly connects us.”

A retired IBM executive, Olafson says she was looking for a way to continue advocating for women after spending her career mentoring and coaching them when she joined the group nearly five years ago. “The statistics are mind boggling for nonprofits that specifically serve women,” Olafson points out. (A 2022 report from the Women & Girls Index at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis showed that women’s and girls’ organizations received less than 2 percent of overall charitable giving.)

“Our giving circle targets small nonprofits with budgets of $3 million or less,” she adds. “We know that these are the groups that are trying to get off the ground, and our contributions can have a big impact.” Recent grant recipients have included Inellas Restoration Center and Magdalene House Chicago, which offer transitional living arrangements for victims of domestic violence, and a subdivision of Metropolitan Services of Chicago in the western suburbs that helps victims of human trafficking.

CFW reviews all grant applications submitted for all of its giving circles—there are also arms on the West Side, South Side, and North Shore—to ensure adherence to its guiding principles. The foundation requires services or programs be intentionally designed to benefit women and girls, support a woman’s right to reproductive justice, and be represented by board and staff members who reflect the communities they serve.

From there, each giving circle is presented with 10 to 15 nonprofit grants for their respective geographic areas. The Western Suburbs Giving Circle then reviews and votes on its candidates, conducting site visits at five or six and deciding on grant award amounts. “What we do is very serious, but it’s also fun,” Olafson says. “We have a great camaraderie because we share a passion to make an impact.”

For more information, visit cfw.org/giving-councils.

Photo: Elyse J. Kennard