What We Do

The Women’s Fund of Greater Chattanooga accomplishes its work through the following strategies and initiatives:

1. Advocacy:

• Our first and primary strategy is to put more resources on the table to help low-income women.  We are at work on influencing a key piece of federal legislation, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program so that more women may have the option to attend and complete college and/or other postsecondary educational opportunities.

• We pay attention to the work of our local government and remain nimble so we are able to respond as issues arise that affect the well being of women in our community.  For example, Hamilton County Commissioners recently declined state funding for our local Health Department’s Family Planning Program.  We called our constituents and other interested partners in our community to action. Together, we engaged in conversation with our Commissioners, resulting in a reversal of their decision so that women in need have access to the health care services they deserve. 

• We engage, mobilize and respond to time sensitive federal legislation such as Bill S. 596: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act of 2011.

• We have and will continue to provide training to our community partners and leaders by conducting advocacy workshops to enhance our skills in effecting policy change on the local, state, and federal levels.

2. Research:

We have commissioned a series of research and data briefs on the economic status of women in Hamilton County.  In addition to providing general gender specific demographic information not previously documented in our county, the briefs shed light on information such as the wage gap, impact of education on income levels, gender differences in poverty, and the role education plays in TANF reform.  We will be publishing and promoting this research over the course of the next three to six months.

3. Philanthropy:

We engage women as philanthropists at all levels, stressing the democracy of philanthropy. In addition to conducting direct mail appeals and a major donor campaign, we have launched the Nightingale Network to engage young women in philanthropy for social change.  With a funding match from the Women’s Fund, the Nightingale Network made our first grant into the community on June 30, 2011.

4. Acting as a Convener:

We have conducted several focus groups of service providers to discuss the pressing needs of the most limited resources or living in the most compromised circumstances.  From these focus groups we have created a working group of local programs helping women achieve a college education so they may find opportunities for collaboration, shared advocacy platforms, and shared resources.  As our advocacy platforms evolve, we will continually convene women most directly impacted by these policies in order to gather their feedback on our platforms and engage them in the process with us.