Women’s Fund of Central Indiana

The Funding Opportunity

The Women’s Fund annual grant round is open to any organization serving Central Indiana women and/or girls.

Our Impact

Women’s Fund has awarded more than 600 grants and $11 million to women- and girl-serving organizations and programs in central Indiana.
Women’s Fund’s OPTIONS program has helped nearly 500 women develop their own philanthropic practices.
Women’s Fund has awarded nearly $250,000 in OPTIONS alumnae scholarships to help fund post-secondary education for 9 women.

Learn More on Women's Fund's Website

Application Opens:
April 1, 2025 (8 a.m.)

Application Deadline:
April 30, 2025 (4 p.m.)

Grant Notifications:
September 23, 2025

What is Funded

Women’s Fund of Central Indiana is interested only in gender-specific efforts, not programs that just happen to serve women and/or girls.

Organizations whose mission focuses on service to women and/or girls can apply for operating support. Other organizations can apply for project/program support.

Women’s Fund of Central Indiana is particularly interested in funding programming in the following areas:

- Breaking negative cycles (e.g., intimate partner violence and poverty) and supporting economic stability and upward mobility, including career development and workforce issues.
- Health for women and girls, with specific emphasis on reproductive health, infant and maternal mortality and mental health.
- Girls’ programming that is asset-based and has a demonstrated impact.
- Small, grassroots organizations with revenues less than $250,000 that are led by and serve women and girls of color.

Women’s Fund will not consider funding for the following items:

Organizations not committed to gender equity
Organizations whose board of directors or advisory group is composed of less than 50% women
Programs promoting religion, including proselytizing or religious training (see below)
Fundraising activities (such as golf tournaments or galas)
Political campaigns
Individual or personal requests
Organization-sponsored conferences or event sponsorships
Schools

Women and girls in Central Indiana have a variety of spiritual practices and religions; some practice no religion at all. Women’s Fund of Central Indiana remains neutral regarding women and girls’ chosen religious expression. We believe all women and girls deserve support regardless of spiritual belief. Therefore, it is our policy not to fund programs that include prayer, the promotion of religion, religious preferences, objectives, education, and/or training.  If your organization’s mission statement is religious in nature, you must describe the role that mission and presence have in the grant activities for which you are seeking Women’s Fund support.

As a good steward of donor dollars, Women’s Fund is required to closely examine organizations’ financial and governance structures. Women’s Fund understands that some executive directors serve on an organization’s board of directors according to the organization’s bylaws. However, no paid staff or their family members should be a board officer or compose 50% or more of the organization’s board of directors. If an organization’s staff or board members own a for-profit organization and the for-profit interacts with the not-for-profit, there must be a clear financial and governance delineation between the two and separate books kept for the for-profit and not-for-profit organization.

Eligibility

Geographic Area:

Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby Counties

Eligibility:

Women’s Fund provides grants to 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organizations.
Organizations that do not have 501(c)(3) status may be able to use a fiscal sponsor*.
Organizations must serve those who identify as women and/or girls in Central Indiana (Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, and Shelby Counties).

Organizations that received a 2025 Women’s Fund annual grant are NOT eligible to apply unless 2024 organizational revenues were less than $250,000.
Organizations that received a Women in Health Collaborative Fund grant in 2025 are eligible to apply.
The maximum allowable request is $25,000.

Review Process

All applications will be reviewed and selected by Women’s Fund staff and Women’s Fund Grant Committee.
Evaluators adhere to a strict conflict of interest policy and other internal controls to ensure that grant funding is distributed in an objective manner based on the merits of each proposal.

How to apply

Applicants must submit all application materials using our Grants Portal (powered by SmartSimple).

If this is your first time submitting an application through this system, you will need to create a user profile for your organization.

For guidance on setting up your account and navigating your applicant profile, please refer to our Grants Portal 101 resource for guidance or reach out to GrantSupport@cicf.org.

Apply Here