Vision
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute will be recognized internationally as the preeminent center for the study and education about women’s philanthropy.
Mission
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute furthers the understanding of women’s philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination.
History of the Institute
The seeds from which the Women's Philanthropy Institute grew germinated in 1991 when Sondra Shaw Hardy and Martha Taylor established the National Network of Women as Philanthropists (NNWP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. NNWP served as a clearinghouse of information on women's philanthropy and dedicated to education for philanthropists, development professionals and nonprofit leaders. NNWP changed its name to the Women's Philanthropy Institute and became incorporated as a free-standing nonprofit in 1997. Over the next six years, WPI provided more than 200 workshops and presentations across the United States reaching more than 15,000 women donors and philanthropy professionals. WPI became part of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in January 2004.
The Center on Philanthropy convened a symposium on women's philanthropy in 2005. "Women and Philanthropy: Gaining Momentum" attracted a capacity crowd and sold out six weeks prior to the event. Presentations from the 2005 symposium formed the core of chapters in The Transformative Power of Women's Philanthropy, edited by Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Martha Taylor and published in 2006.
For the first time in the Center's 20-year history of convening symposia, the 2008 symposium repeated a prior year's theme. "Moving Women's Philanthropy Forward: Influences, Intent, Impact" in November 2008 also reached capacity and sold out.
What We Do
Education & Training
Research
Convening
WPI Advisory Groups
WPI Council
WPI Research Committee
Educational Services Committee
