Valentine Foundation

About the Foundation

Vision

The Valentine Foundation envisions a society in which all women and girls thrive.

Mission

Valentine is a private foundation committed to achieving this vision in the Philadelphia region by:

  1. Funding nonprofits working at the intersection of racial and gender justice. The trustees prioritize funding programs that pursue social change by addressing sexist and racist attitudes, policies and practices.
  2. Strengthening the leadership capacity of organizations serving women and girls; and
  3. Aligning our endowment with our vision.

Recognizing the legacy of gender and racial oppression, the Foundation prioritizes funding organizations led by and/or primarily focused on:

  • Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
  • Women, Transgender, and gender-expansive people.

The Foundation has two grantmaking streams, one from the the Foundation and one from the Visionary Leadership Fund.  Additionally, Valentine makes investments in the community through low-interest loans to nonprofit organizations in accordance with the Mission Aligned Investment policy.

When evaluating applications for Valentine Foundation Grants, the Trustees of the Foundation rely on several Indicators of Social Change, as detailed by the Women’s Funding Network, to inform their grantmaking decisions. Grants are evaluated on their adherence to a specific set of these Social Change Indicators as they have been adopted by the Valentine Foundation.

The Valentine Foundation’s Visionary Leadership Fund was established in 2005, on the 20th anniversary of the Foundation. Grants are made from this fund to pay for leadership training for women working in nonprofits serving women and girls.

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Valentine Foundation, the Foundation Trustees modeled a grantmaking project after one Phoebe Valentine had created on the occasion of her 50th birthday. Read more about this on our Birthday Project page.

Valentine Foundation grants are made to tax-exempt organizations, primarily those serving the Greater Philadelphia area or that have a national focus. The Valentine Foundation is a member of the Philanthropy Network, the Women’s Funding Network and Exponent Philanthropy.

Browse our Foundation Grantees archives for a full list of the programs for women and girls that have been funded by the Valentine Foundation since the year 2000.

Annual Reports

Financial & Audit Information

Celebrating over 35 Years of Funding Social Change for Women & Girls