In 1987, a small group of visionary women from diverse backgrounds joined forces to found The New York Women’s Foundation. Their goal was to identify and fund community organizations in New York City run by and for women whose programs assisted low-income women and girls in need of critical services and economic independence. The next spring, The Foundation held its first Celebrating Women® Breakfast in a crowded church hall where $50,000 was awarded to our first 4 grantee partners.
Our annual Celebrating Women® Breakfast is more than a fundraising event. It is an occasion to bring women from the entirety of The New York Women’s Foundation community together to celebrate. We honor the strength and courage of our grantee partners, who find groundbreaking solutions to seemingly intractable problems. We honor the visionary women who serve as role models, leaders and philanthropists. And last, but certainly not least, we honor our Board, Alumnae and volunteers whose courage and fierce determination sustain and inspire us to keep moving forward.
Celebrating Women Award: Given to a woman whose significant achievements have influenced the lives of – and provided a role model for – women and girls.
Vision Award: Given to a strategic philanthropist whose contributions are directed towards women and girls.
Century Award: Honors a woman leader whose social activism, strategic philanthropy and work on behalf of low-income women spans many decades
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Hillary Rodham Clinton
Soffiyah Elijah
Leymah Gbowee
Dolores C. Huerta
Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai
Gloria W. Milliken
Jessamyn W. Rodriguez
Mary J. Blige
Tina Brown
Jennifer Buffett
Anne E. Delaney
Abigail E. Disney
Barbara Dobkin
Stephanie Schwartz Ferdman
Barbara Denning Finberg
Eileen Fisher
Agnes Gund
Polly W. Guth
Helen LaKelly Hunt
Swanee Hunt
Sheila C. Johnson
Billie Jean King
Lorie A. Slutsky
Edith Blakeslee Phelps
Barbara Scott Prieskel
Sara Lee Schupf
The Women of Meeting Point International, Uganda
The Young Women’s Initiative (YWI)
Joan Melber Warburg
Joan H. Wei
Jan Abernathy
Madeleine K. Albright
Christiane Amanpour
Ana Maria Archila
Brenda Berkman
Christine Beshar
Amalia Betanzos
Diana Brooks
Gretchen Buchenholz
Tory Burch
Tarana Burke
Alice Cardona
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Irene Diamond
Marley Dias
Barbara Ehrenreich
Eve Ensler
Whoopi Goldberg
Nikole Hannah-Jones
Dr. Dorothy Height
Maria Hinojosa
Judith Jamison
Cristina Jiménez
Judith Kehoe
Angelique Kidjo
Geraldine Laybourne
Lilly Ledbetter
Donna Lieberman
Rachel Lloyd
Vivian Denise Nixon
Dr. Muriel Petioni
Karen A. Phillips
Ai-jen Poo
Queen Latifah
Lisa Quiroz
Merble Reagon
Cecile Richards
Faith Ringgold
Ann R. Roberts
Kathy Rodgers
Dr. Helen Rodriguez-Trias
Celina Romany
Rosita M. Romero
Margarita Rosa
Elizabeth A. Sackler
Linda Sarsour
Hildy Simmons
Gloria Steinem
Isabel Carter Stewart
Marie C. Wilson
Advance Justice For Women