2023: AWF Year in Review
As we enter 2024 and hit the midway point of our 25th year as the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, we want to take a moment to reflect on what your support made possible in 2023.
The Atlanta Women’s Foundation plays an essential role in helping more women and girls to live safe, healthy, economically self-sufficient, and vibrant lives. As a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls, we raise funds for grantmaking through our collective impact model that amplifies the work of strategic nonprofits serving the metro Atlanta area. AWF supports organizations that improve the lives of economically vulnerable women and girls in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.
In addition to our role as a funder, we serve as an educator and a connector. As an educator, we provide leadership and philanthropic training and conduct research into the challenges faced by women and girls. As a connector, we bring people together through events and experiences designed to empower attendees, expand our impact, and champion grant recipients.
This is made possible thanks to friends like you who invest in our work. When you invest through AWF, your impact for women and girls goes further—creating stronger, more stable families and communities for everyone.
Thank you for being a catalyst for change in the lives of women and girls in our community. Your support has enabled another life-changing year. We look forward to doing more together in 2024!
2023 Funding and Impact
The 5-Year Women’s Pathway to Success Program culminated this summer.
Through the program, AWF invested $2.3 million in workforce development programming that resulted in job creation, reduced poverty, and eliminated barriers to employment for women in metro Atlanta. AWF will continue to support workforce development programs in the future, ensuring a continued pathway to success for women and girls.
This program has impacted over 20,000 women through access to the following:
- Workforce training and development,
- Microenterprise development,
- Childcare,
- Financial literacy, and
- Employment opportunities for women at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
There were thousands of success stories to come out of this program. Here is one:
AWF grantee Year Up Greater Atlanta shared Mary’s* story with us: My journey started in 2019 when it seemed as if the world was falling apart around me. I was a senior in high school when I found myself living in my car, working two jobs, and without a family to come home to. I took a lot of time to reflect on who I am, where I came from, and who I want to be. I was determined as the daughter of immigrants, a minority that struggles every day for basic human rights, never to give up. I also decided, just like my ancestors, that I would never be a victim of my circumstances. AWF grantee Year Up has helped me achieve these goals in ways that I could never have imagined. Deciding to apply was one of the best decisions I had ever made. And with their help, I learned how to navigate the corporate world, how to represent my professional brand, and how to turn my life around.”
AWF is grateful to Georgia Power, Inspire Atlanta, Stitch Fix, and all our donors for supporting the Women’s Pathway to Success Program. We look forward to sharing more evaluated results from the program soon!
ALL GIRLS FORWARD: Girls Empowerment Program was launched!
The program is working to ensure Atlanta’s girls are empowered through education, socio-emotional development, and pregnancy prevention. Over the next five years, All Girls Forward will support local nonprofit organizations in providing the critical combination of services needed to ensure Atlanta’s girls experiencing poverty can be on a level playing field with their peers.
This combination of services includes access to the following:
- mental & physical health services;
- supplemental educational opportunities, including STEM activities;
- college readiness support;
- mentoring; and
- financial literacy programming.
With your support, AWF plans to invest $2.5 million in local girl-serving nonprofits by 2027.
AWF funded a total of $500,000 to the ten organizations below in the summer of 2023: Agape Community Center – Cool Girls, Inc. – Girls, Inc. – Girls on the Run – Global Village Project – Los Niños Primero – Ser Familia Inc. – STE(A)M Truck – VOX Teen Communications – Wellspring Living
Learn more about how the organizations are utilizing their funding here.
AWF is grateful to the East Cobb Middle School BETA Club, Inspire Atlanta Class of 2023, Georgia Power, and all of our donors for your support of the Girls Empowerment Program.
The 4th year of funding for Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program was distributed.
This program focuses on higher education and asset building for low-income women. To date, over 6,700 women experiencing poverty have had access to services.
AWF funded a total of $500,000 to the seven organizations below in the summer of 2023: 9to5 Georgia – Atlanta Habitat for Humanity – Clayton State University Foundation – Gwinnett Tech Foundation – H.O.P.E., Inc. – LiveSafe Resources – Nicholas House
Learn more about how the organizations are utilizing their funding here.
AWF is grateful to the Coca-Cola Foundation and the Truist Foundation for their lead support of the Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program.
The Two-Generation Initiative launched thanks to funding from the Liz Blake Giving Fund.
Funding supports organizations focused on young moms ages 13-25 and their children. Most of these moms will have children between 0 and 3 years old. A primary objective of the initiative is to develop linkages between high-quality early childhood development and workforce development services for moms.
AWF funded a total of $140,000 to the four organizations below in the summer of 2023: Families First – H.O.P.E., Inc. – House of Dawn – Quality Care for Children
Learn more about how the organizations are utilizing their funding here.
A special thanks to Liz Blake for making this initiative possible.
In addition to strategic grantmaking, AWF published new research.
This State of Girls in Metro Atlanta report outlines the various demographic, economic, educational, and health data for Metro Atlanta’s girls, specifically focusing on how the pandemic has affected the status of girls across a five-county footprint. The All Girls Forward: Girls Empowerment Program is a response to this report.
The State of Girls in Metro Atlanta was prepared by Alex Camardelle, AWF Consultant, and Jennifer Owens, President and CEO at HealthMPowers, Inc.
2023 Events & Programs
AWF also hosted successful events and programming to raise funds for grantmaking and to empower and champion all women in Metro Atlanta.
Numbers Too Big To Ignore Luncheon raised $1.1 million!
The Atlanta Women’s Foundation is grateful to everyone who attended and supported our recent annual Numbers Too Big to Ignore Fundraising Luncheon. The robust conversation between iconic actress, model, author, and advocate Brooke Shields and seasoned WSB-TV anchor Linda Stouffer left an indelible mark on us. We hope it did the same for all who attended.
The 17th annual Sue Wieland Embracing Possibilities Award was distributed at the Numbers Luncheon. In 2006, Sue Wieland and her husband John made a $1 million gift to The Atlanta Women’s Foundation. That generosity continues to be honored with the annual Sue Wieland Embracing Possibility Award. The award is a special grant of $20,000 given annually to one of our grantee partner organizations. The selected organization demonstrates an outstanding ability to make significant changes in the lives of women and girls through their ongoing work and by using the example of one individual that the organization sees as a shining example of their program.
The 2023 Sue Wieland Embracing Possibility Award winner is LiveSafe Resources, and their shining example is Macy Johnson. LiveSafe Resources empowers domestic violence survivors to reclaim their lives with dignity and strength, serving as a beacon of hope and restoration. Their multifaceted approach delivers not just immediate safety but also long-term healing and independence for those affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.
The 2023 Class of Inspire Atlanta raised a record $460,000 to support the All Girls Forward Program and additional mission needs.
Twenty-eight women were chosen to take this year’s Atlanta Women’s Foundation Inspire Atlanta challenge to raise at least $10,000 each for programs to enhance and enrich the lives of girls impacted by poverty.
Inspire Atlanta is a community impact initiative that challenges women to develop their leadership skills, create meaningful change, tackle critical issues in the community, champion a fundraising campaign to support AWF and build a lasting network of fellow female movers and shakers. The initiative culminated in May with a celebration to honor its participants. The top fundraisers on the day of the celebration were:
- Stephanie Herring of Assurant was the top fundraiser, raising an impressive $50,300, a new record for the program.
- Rajibir Bal of Novelis was the runner-up, raising $40,622
- Pam Dureod of Ford Motor Companies rounded out the Top 3 with $40,450
New this year was the Spirit of Inspire Award, which went to Shameka Fahie of Georgia Tech, who raised $11,500 and shined throughout the initiative as a motivator for the entire class. She worked non-stop to reach her goals, prompting this inaugural award.
Hear firsthand from Stephanie, Pam, and Shameka about their Inspire Atlanta experience.
All Women Forward brought together attendees from across industries to network and support women and girls in our community.
All Women Forward was created to bring more women (and men) from historically underrepresented professions together in support of AWF and the women and girls we serve.
Atlanta’s own Cassandra Worthy was the featured speaker, interviewed by AWF Board alumna Dr. Sujatha Reddy.
The event raised over $150,000 for AWF’s mission.
25 Years of Impact
Learn more about AWF’s impact over the last 25 years and how, together, we can continue to create change for women and girls in Atlanta! Also, see a sneak peek of our new brand coming in 2024: 