Women's Century Fund Raises $10 Million for Research and Action Programs
March 13, 2000
Wellesley, MA – The Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) announced today that it has successfully completed a fundraising campaign to support its research and action programs, surpassing its goal of $10 million, more money than has been raised by any other women's research center endowment drive. More than 1,250 donors, just half of whom were Wellesley College alumnae, from 48 states and nine countries have committed $10.4 million to the Women's Century Fund to support the WCW whose work on gender equity, women's psychological development, violence against women, child care and out-of-school time are internationally recognized.
National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" host, Linda Wertheimer and Lynn Sherr of ABC's "20/20", stirred support for the Women¹s Century Fund at events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New York and Washington, DC. The two journalists praised the Centers saying, "WCW's vital contribution to a broader understanding of key issues facing society today provides the kind of reliable research, theoretical perspectives and unbiased information that we all need. By putting women's experiences at the center of inquiry, WCW not only provides answers, it poses critical new questions."
"The campaign's success proves that women and men - (10% of the donors are men) - are willing to invest in a brighter future for women," said Susan McGee Bailey, WCW Executive Director. "Donors clearly understood the Centers' need for a more stable source of funding and responded generously when asked."
Women's Century Fund National Chair, Lulu C. Wang, founder and CEO of Tupelo Capital Management in New York, summarized the importance of the Centers¹ work, "WCW deserves our enthusiastic support because of the critical nature of its groundbreaking work, its peerless ability to put findings into practice, and the vision it offers of a more promising and equitable future for all."
The Women's Century Fund will increase the financial security of WCW and enable the centers to launch critical pilot studies, aggressively promote the results of its research, provide "bridge" funding for researchers between funded projects, and train the next generation of professionals.
The Wellesley Centers for Women unites the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women and the Stone Center for Developmental Services and Studies in a joint mission to educate, inform, and expand our knowledge of women's lives. It is home to an interdisciplinary community of scholars engaged in action, research, publication and training.
