Visionary Leadership Fund

Grant Applications

Start Your Application Here

Eligibility

Eligible nonprofit organizations have at least one paid staff, operate in the Greater Philadelphia region, and serve at least 70% women or girls or have a program that serves 70% women and/or girls.  If the organization is eligible because it has a program specifically for women and/or girls, the individual leader(s) who benefit from this grant must have an active role within or responsibility for this program. The Leadership Fund seeks to support both current and aspiring women leaders and will accept nominations for an individual or a group from eligible organizations.

We encourage submissions from women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles. Our grantmaking goal is to close the gender, racial, ethnic, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and other equity gaps in non-profit leadership. We do this by actively funding the leadership development of as many current women executive and aspiring leaders from groups that have historically been under-represented in leadership roles as possible, within our means and mission.

Our definition of “women and girls” includes anyone who is cis-gender or trans woman/girl, or non-binary.

The groups we focus on who have historically been under-represented in leadership roles include, but are not limited to, those who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQ+, and/or People with Disabilities.

The Greater Philadelphia region refers to southeastern Pennsylvania counties (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia) as well as contiguous counties in southern New Jersey (Camden) and Delaware (New Castle).

Note: It is the responsibility of the Applicant and the Nominated Individual(s) to ensure that the Nominated Individual(s) are eligible and available to attend the proposed leadership initiative. For example, some initiatives require pre-requisites, or applications for admission, or other qualifications.

2023 Grant Schedules

Application Period

The application period is December 12, 2022- February 13, 2023.

January 31, 2023– Deadline for the Applicant (see definition below) to complete their section of the application and to notify the Nominated Individual(s) (see definition below) to complete their section.

February 13, 2023– Final Application deadline.  Both the Applicant and Nominated Individual(s) sections must be completed by this date.

Applications are to be completed using our online grant application tool.

Start Your Application Here

Grant Application Definitions:

Leadership Development Initiative: This is the leadership training, workshop, conference, consultant, or other activity that you are requesting the grant for.

Applicant: The “Applicant” is the person who completes the grant application on behalf of your organization and is responsible providing information about your organization. The Applicant will also identify a Champion for each of the people who will participate in the Leadership Initiative.

  • The “Champion” is the person in your organization responsible for ensuring the success and support of the Nominated Individual(s) in the Leadership Development Initiative. This person could be the individual’s supervisor or another staff or board member.

Nominated Individual(s): The “Nominated Individual(s)” are the individuals who will be attending or participating in the proposed leadership development initiative.

2023 Grant Schedules

Completing the Grant Application

There are two parts to the grant application: The first part is for the Applicant to complete; the second part is for the Nominated Individual(s) to complete. The Applicant sends a link (as part of the application) to the Nominated Individual(s) so they can complete their part of the application.

Though the two parts of the application are separate, we strongly encourage your Applicant and Nominated Individual(s) to discuss your responses with each other.

Both the Applicant section and the Nominated Individual(s) sections must be completed by the grant application deadline for your application to be considered complete.

In some cases, especially for small organizations, the same individual might be both the Applicant and the Nominated Individual. This is fine and we welcome grant applications from small non-profit organizations.

Award Period

  • Awards are made by May 2023 for leadership development activities initiated in 2023-2024.
  • A total grant pool of $40,000–$50,000 will be awarded to successful applicants.

2023 Virtual Question and Answer Information Sessions

We will host two virtual (online) Q&A information sessions.

  • Session 1: Tuesday, January 10th, 2023, from 9:00am–10:00am
    • Join January 10th Zoom Meeting:
    • https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88248221373?pwd=MUFnQXJ4UExGakt6RDFSSU9TMnRkQT09
  • Session 2: Wednesday January 18th, 2023, from 5:00pm- 6:00pm
    • Join January 18th Zoom Meeting:
    • https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83110044972?pwd=bUlaeUttTmtEWEEyR1ZVNXVvUjZLQT09
  • You are welcome to attend either of these Q&A sessions to ask questions about eligibility, your proposed leadership initiative, and our grant application process.

Start Your Application Here

Tutorials for Applying for a Leadership Fund Grant

Please review these instructional resources for completing your online application.

Additional Information

Contact

Alexandra V. A. Frazier, Executive Director, at info@valentinefoundation.org or 610-283-5579.

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