Program Structure
The Young Women’s Advisory Council (YWAC) is made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who are women-identifying, trans, or gender-expansive young leaders ages 16-24 from Greater Springfield and Franklin County, Massachusetts. Through leadership development, social justice programming, and learning about the role of philanthropy, these young leaders identify barriers, consider solutions, and make recommendations for change in their community.
YWAC launched in Springfield in 2017 and seven cohorts have experienced this transformative program. Participants are guided through sessions on topics including intersectional identity and socialization; feminism and the empowerment of women, girls, and gender-expansive people; leadership development; understanding power, privilege, and oppression; civic engagement, philanthropy, community organizing, and movement building. In January of 2024, YWAC expanded to Franklin County through our community partner, MCSM.
Each year, YWAC members, learn about trust-based and participatory philanthropy through the Young Women’s Initiative (YWI) grantmaking process and decide where WFWM should distribute a special pool of funding to local organizations whose work addresses the barriers identified by these young philanthropists. Current cohort members and alumnae use participatory grantmaking, which is the process of shifting the decision-making power to those who are closely impacted by the work. Past grants tackled issues such as economic security; mental health awareness; school-to-prison pipeline; safety and anti-violence; leadership and visibility; gender-based care; and sexual violence.
