FAQ

The mission of the Women & Girls Fund of the Mid-Shore is to use the power of pooled resources to improve the lives of women and girls on the Mid-Shore.

To understand the needs of women and girls in our community and to raise awareness of those needs and, as we are able, to support programs which address them.

The Fund started in 2002 with a group of women meeting and exploring the way such a fund could be set up. The first donation was received that year and our first grants were given in April of 2003 after working with the United Fund and Mid-Shore Community Foundation to learn about needs in our region.

We believe that if the lives of women and girls are improved the entire community benefits.

Any non-profit organization that has an IRS 501(c)3 designation or a qualified financial sponsor may apply for their programs that benefit women and girls.

Our grants committee works in small teams to review every application and decide if requests meet our mission and fall within our giving guidelines. Site visits with applicants is key to learning about organizations, helping evaluators to understand the organization and the purpose and value of its programs. Most always, grant requests exceed the funds available for grants, and the Fund’s Board of Directors is responsible for selecting programs that demonstrate their potential impact for improving the lives of local women and girls. The grants committee forwards its recommendation to Mid-Shore Community Foundation for final approval and ratification.

We request follow up information from the organizations that received grants. Site visits are conducted to see the programs first-hand. If granted funds are not utilized for the specified purpose, we will request that the granted money be returned.

The complete list of grants is available on our website.
https://womenandgirlsfund.org/grant-recipients-2/

As of April, 2025, the Fund had awarded $967,006 in grant dollars to 118 distinct organizations across the five counties of the Mid-Shore.

The Mid-Shore Community Foundation connects private resources with public needs to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties, Maryland. Our association with the MSCF allows us to invest our endowment with the monies from all of the funds managed by the foundation thereby allowing for economies of scale. The MSCF is responsible for the investment decisions, the filing of necessary tax returns and providing the necessary IRS documentation for donations received, freeing the Board of the Women and Girls Fund to concentrate on our mission. We also benefit from hearing about many needs in our area through grant requests received directly by the MSCF. Without the services of the MSCF, the costs of running a separate foundation would be too expensive to make the Fund viable at this point.

The MSCF charges 1.25% for funds up to $500,000. For accounts with Funds from $500,000 to $5,000,000 the fee is 1%. For accounts over $5,000,000 the fee is .75%.

While event-related income covers their expenses, all other donations go into the endowment. The spending policy for endowed funds is calculated at the close of the fiscal year on June 30th at 5% of the market value of the fund, averaged over the preceding 12 quarters. Grants are presented at our April Spring Grants & Awards Luncheon.

The problems that impact our communities are numerous and include teen pregnancy, homelessness, day care, abused and neglected children, poverty, low self-esteem, drug and alcohol abuse, transportation problems, lack of affordable housing . . . the list goes on and on.

Any contribution to the fund is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

Any and all contributions matter. We do not have categories of giving because we feel that each donation helps us make a difference in the lives of so many, we call it “the power of pooled resources”. Donors of $1,000 or more are recognized as “Founding Donors.” To date we have had many repeat donors and donations ranging from $12.00 to $25,000.00.

We hope and expect you will continue to contribute to the charities of your choice, but by pooling our resources, together we can address some of the many needs in our community, which often go unnoticed or are overlooked. As an individual donor it can be difficult to know about all of the organizations that exist and all of the needs of those organizations. We have the opportunity to help identify programs that have the potential to effect change across the Mid-Shore. The W&G Fund is building an endowment that will be used to fund needs forever. Think of it as a savings account. Your donation helps to build a growing legacy, a legacy that will be here long after all of us are gone.

Donate – add your name to our growing list of donors.
Volunteer – we need your help!
Spread the word – if you know of anyone you think would be interested in becoming involved, let us know. Keep your eyes and ears open – if you hear of a program that you think we should learn more about let us know. If you know of an organization or group we should talk to, let us know.