About Us
The Jewish Women’s Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to expand and improve opportunities and choices in all aspects of Jewish women’s and girls’ lives through strategic and effective grantmaking. The Foundation empowers Jewish women as leaders, funders, and decision‑makers.
JWF operates as a giving circle and serves as an incubator for informed Jewish philanthropists and leaders. Trustees have the unique opportunity to become empowered as funders by studying pressing issues that impact women and girls and taking a hands-on approach to grantmaking, including the opportunity to serve on committees, read grant proposals, conduct site visits, and ultimately vote on the projects that they think will have the biggest impact on the community.
We launched as an independent project of Jewish United Fund in 1997 and have since grown from a small group of visionary women into the largest Jewish women’s foundation in the nation. Over 390-strong, we are a diverse, multigenerational group dedicated to improving the lives of Jewish women and girls throughout the world.
Our Impact
We empower.
JWF’s giving circle experience provides a unique philanthropic opportunity for women in the Chicago area. As funders and decision-makers, trustees allocate grants to improve the lives of Jewish women and girls.
We unite.
JWF brings together more than 390 trustees, including 55 multigenerational families, connecting the passion, wisdom, and experience of a diverse community of Jewish women serving as catalysts for social change.
We collaborate.
JWF forms strategic partnerships and builds momentum on key issues impacting Jewish women and girls, partnering with 240 different project and innovative initiatives to date.
We invest.
Since 1997, JWF has awarded $6.7 million in grants to promote justice, equality, and empowerment for women and girls in our community and across the globe.
We impact.
JWF’s over $16 million endowment fuels our investment in the health, well-being, economic security, education, and leadership development of Jewish women and girls.
We transform.
With the vision of a just world in which every Jewish woman and girl can reach her full potential, JWF changes the landscape for Jewish women and girls—now and in the future.