Herstory: 1987 to today

We Are More Powerful Together Than Alone

The Women’s Foundation of Colorado (WFCO) started small, as good things do, with the spark of an idea. In 1985, a small group of Colorado women came together to discuss the many women’s funds cropping up around the country – catalyzed by the launch of the Ms. Foundation in the mid ‘70s followed by a handful of others from New York to Dallas. Women’s funds provided a space for donors, volunteers, and leaders to work together to support gender equity and were rooted in the belief that we can create more changes together than alone.

Around kitchen tables and on living room couches, these women shared food and wisdom and knew that Colorado, too, needed a place to advance economic opportunities and philanthropy by and for women. Their work was rooted in addressing a serious and significant issue: the disproportionate number of women living in poverty.

With seed funding from the Hunt Alternatives Fund, WFCO was formed. From the beginning, our leaders came together from different backgrounds in service of a shared vision: to support economic security of women across our state by opening doors to opportunity.

Hundreds of donors fueled WFCO’s formal launch in January 1987. Over the two years leading to the launch, individuals made generous gifts and pledges totaling $2 million, including support from local funders such as the Piton Foundation, Mile High United Way, and the Colorado Trust, and corporations such as the United Bank of Denver.

These donations seeded a true community foundation, an organization that combines resources from many community sources in support of a shared focus on supporting women and girls in Colorado. Our leaders created permanent funds and a dedicated endowment, using some dollars to address pressing present-day challenges, and setting aside others for future needs that would emerge.