2025 was Women Leaders in Philanthropy’s (WLIP) 30th anniversary and its 10th year as a collective giving group, and it marked the occasion by granting out its largest total ever: $75,000 to causes important to the West Cook region. As they did so, then-vice chair Kristin Carlson Vogen also challenged her fellow members to keep the momentum going for 2026.
“I said, we really need to be able to grant out $100,000 that we contribute in our 10th anniversary year, and we accomplished that goal,” explained Vogen, who is now chair of WLIP. “It’s great to be able to say that we’re going to grant that significant amount into the community, all of which was raised by members of Women Leaders.”
WLIP is a volunteer-run giving group with the Foundation, and its ongoing mission is to support local social impact organizations and causes, provide philanthropic education for women, and reinforce connections and social networking for women. The group uses ranked choice voting to select causes to fund rather than specific organizations, entrusting the Foundation to identify nonprofits addressing those causes and inviting them to submit grant proposals.
“Notably, 64 of our members voted on our causes this year — the highest number participating since changing our model 10 years ago,” Vogen said.
Sixty percent of the funds collectively contributed by WLIP members will go to local organizations addressing food security. The remaining 40% will go to nonprofits in the following three areas:
- Legal support for underserved, immigrant and/or low income populations
- Reducing gun violence
- Youth/young adult after-school enrichment programs
“Philanthropically, there’s just so much that women can do, and the movement of giving circles is growing exponentially across the country,” Vogen said. “Collective giving has been around for a long time, but the trend of being able to organize and make a difference not only by volunteering, which a lot of women do, but also by thinking about our monetary opportunities to make a stronger impact.”
“I think the opportunity to come together and learn about and support organizations you might not otherwise hear about is incredibly empowering.”
Learn more about WLIP and how to join at oprfcf.org/women-leaders.
