Our Mission

The Bucks County Women's Fund improves the lives of women and girls through advocacy, education, partnerships and grants. Managed by women, we build gender equity, create social change, and promote a culture of philanthropy among women and girls.

Our Vision

We invest in women's lives and girls' futures with the goal of achieving a society that values, respects and supports all women.

Our Concerns

To fully understand why Bucks women have joined in a collective, caring and unselfish effort to battle the difficulties faced by women and girls, consider the statistics:

• Today, 3 percent of Bucks County families are below the poverty level. In female-headed households, 11 percent are below the poverty level. (Source: 2000 Census)
  
  
• In Bucks County, between 84 and 89 percent of homeless people are women and children; 64 percent are children, 20-25 percent are women. (Source: Bucks County Chapter, American Red Cross)
  
  
• Studies indicate one out of three women in the US is a victim of intimate partner violence. In Bucks County, A Women's Place helps more than 4,000 domestic violence victims annually. (Source: A Woman's Place)
  
  
• The wage gap persists; women earn only 71 cents on every dollar paid to men in comparable positions. For the number of women in managerial and professional positions, Pennsylvania ranks 33 among US states. (Source: Institute for Women's Policy Research, "The Status of Women in Pennsylvania")
  
  
• National foundations collect and dispense millions of dollars; only 6.4 percent goes to meet the needs of women. (Source: Women's Funding Network)
  
  

Our Commitment

At the heart of what we do is the belief that helping women help themselves translates into improving the lives of their children and families, and ultimately the community at large.

We accomplish this through a sustained involvement in the following:

• By providing financial support to organizations that promote the economic self-sufficiency of women by addressing needs in child care, housing, health care, life skills, and access to information and services.
  
  
• By actively pursuing financial contributions aimed at building a $2 million endowment to guarantee a perpetual funding source to ensure political, economic and social equity for all women and girls in Bucks County.
  
  
• By listening to community needs, recognizing when and where the most critical needs arise and by responding directly to fund innovative programs to address issues affecting women and girls.
  
  
• By educating the community about the strengths and needs of women and the importance of philanthropy.