The Women’s Giving Alliance of Northeast Florida is a group of women who pool their philanthropic resources to make an impact on the lives of women and girls.
An initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the WGA comprises hundreds of women who have become members since its founding in 2001 with 20 members making an annual contribution of at least $1,500 each.
Through those contributions, the organization has awarded grants totaling more than $10.5 million to 80 nonprofits in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties.
It has built an endowment of $6.1 million to ensure the future of its philanthropic work.
The members agree on an area of focus and then solicit grant applications from local 501(c)(3) organizations that program in the focus area.
For several years, the grants were focused on poverty relief. That changed for the 2025-26 grant cycle.
“This year, we opened grants for organizations that provide services for the safety of women and girls,” said Sabeen Perwaiz, WGA president for 2025 and 2026 and president and CEO of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance.
The new focus area was chosen after research that engaged more than 40 civic, corporate and nonprofit leaders and input from members.
For the 2025 grant cycle, WGA received 64 applications and awarded $612,500 in grants to 10 nonprofits.
“We have a grants committee and a decision team on the committee. Some of the members read the applications and there is another committee that rates the financial well-being of the organizations. There is a whole process of review, then members score the applications and then we look at how much money we have,” Perwaiz said.
Five nonprofits received two-year grants for the 2025-27 grant cycle:
• Betty Griffin Center: $125,000.
• Literacy Alliance of Northeast Florida: $70,000.
• The LJD Jewish Family & Community Services: $125,000.
• Three Rivers Legal Services Inc.: $125,000.
• The Women’s Center of Jacksonville: $125,000.
Five nonprofits received one-year grants for the 2025-26 grant year. These grants are designed for smaller organizations with operating budgets of $250,000 or less:
• I Am The Prize Inc.: $10,000.
• Lara Idowu Foundation Inc.: $10,000.
• Rakad Dance Camp: $10,000.
• Silent Women Speaking: $10,000.
• University of North Florida Black Alumni Association: $2,500.
During its 24-year history, WGA has grown to more than 400 members with a dual mission of using collective giving to improve the lives of women and girls in Northeast Florida and empowering women to be strategic philanthropists.
“You don’t have to be Delores Weaver to be a philanthropist. Sometimes, people assume that you have to have immense wealth to be a philanthropist. I love our idea of collective wealth. We can all be philanthropists and work together,” Perwaiz said.
Since 2012, Weaver, former co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, has donated more than $220 million to more than 300 organizations.
Perwaiz said the annual membership renewal and new member recruitment season for WGA begins Nov. 1 and ends Feb. 28. The organization’s goal is to have 500 members.
Perwaiz has another goal for the 2026 membership campaign.
“I hope more people of my generation – I’m 40 – would realize that our gifts, our time and our talent matter. We don’t need to wait for a different season in life. We can contribute in this time and we can do this.”
Visit ganefl.org for membership details.