The Small Grants Committee is excited to present the first-ever Small Grants Ballot! Last week, all members should have received the confidential Small Grants Ballot Information Packet. The voting window for members is October 1-10, 2026, and the deadline to cast your vote is Oct. 10 at 11:59 p.m.
The Small Grants Pilot Project was launched in response to 2025 member survey results urging the Women’s Fund to offer more flexible grants that would be available to smaller agencies. We developed the pilot program, not sure if agencies would respond. And respond they did, with 61 applications and a total ask of $1,240,000!
With a Small Grants pool of $100,000, the committee very carefully considered which agencies to place on the ballot. All the agencies address one of the critical community needs identified by the Women’s Fund, and all have a mission that aligns with ours.
When you review the Small Grants Ballot Information Packet that you received, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Every member who contributed in 2025 is eligible to vote individually—there is NO GROUP voting for Small Grants.
- Also, there is no Ballot Review Meeting for the Small Grants ballot.
- On October 1, 2026, eligible members will receive an email with a link to the official ballot.
- Grantees will be announced in early November; there will not be a Celebration of Grants for these small grants.
If you’re a member who contributed in 2025, and do not receive a ballot by email on October 1, please contact smallgrants@womensfundsb.org or info@womensfundsb.org.
Please remember that our grants process, including the Information Package and the Ballot, is CONFIDENTIAL to members only. Members should not share this information or forward the material. Most importantly, members should not contact any agency on the ballot directly.
Please join us in this new grantmaking adventure and vote in early October!