2017-2021 Strategic Plan Rooted in Community Insights
We Listened. We Learned. We Focused.
Colorado currently boasts one of the nation’s most prolific economies, yet far too many women still encounter systemic barriers to earning a livable wage. In fact, over 260,000 Colorado women live in poverty and hundreds of thousands more live on the economic edge, where an unexpected car repair or medical bill can trigger a financial meltdown from which they and their families cannot recover.
WFCO and our strategic planning partner, Joining Vision and Action, spent a year developing our 2017-2021 strategic plan and asking our stakeholders and ourselves, "how can we create better economic opportunities for Colorado women to progress toward prosperity?"
We surveyed and listened to nearly 1,300 community members, including women who reported they cannot meet their families’ basic needs. Community input helped us emerge with the clarity of a single vision for our work, a refocused mission, strengthened core values, and the insights needed to maximize our impact.
From 2017-2021, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado will:
- Leverage our three decades of experience while continuing to innovate and integrate our research, nonpartisan public policy advocacy, and grantmaking to create more pathways to economic prosperity.
- Focus on improving access to critical supports, education, job training/placement needed for women to secure and hold on to livable wage jobs.
- Harness the power of our statewide networks, resources, and diverse voices to create the social, economic, and systemic changes needed for lasting positive change.
- Cultivate a collective movement of financial investments, engagement, and support that empowers every Coloradan to catalyze change.
Thirty years ago, our founders knew, as we do now, that the road to change requires a deep and sustained commitment. They created our legacy as the state’s leading philanthropic force for women and families in Colorado, and we'll build on that legacy with additional ways to connect the passions of our donors with the economic prosperity of every Colorado woman in order to create a stronger, more prosperous Colorado for us all.
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