Founded in 1981, the mission of the WBA Foundation is to provide grants to nonprofits serving the legal and related needs of women and girls in the DC Metropolitan community by leveraging the generosity of the legal community and its allies.
Women's Bar Association Foundation centers its grantmaking on the legal and related needs of women and girls in the DC metropolitan community, with annual community grants and a fellowship tied to public interest law training. Recent awards show a consistent pattern of mission support to Washington, DC-based legal service organizations and allied nonprofits, alongside support for a law student summer internship through its Founders Fellowship. The foundation’s giving is shaped by a regional focus rather than a broad national portfolio, and its program design includes both an open community grants process and a fellowship reserved for one of six area law schools. In the recent grant list, Amara Legal Center received support in both 2023 and 2024, while Ayuda also appears across multiple years, indicating that the foundation maintains ongoing relationships with some recipients. Other recent grantees include First Shift Justice Project, DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, Tzedek DC, Safe Sisters Circle, and Network for Victim Recovery of DC, all based in Washington, DC. The overall picture is a foundation oriented toward legal services, access to justice, and related support for women and girls in the metropolitan area.
Legal services are a central thread in the foundation’s work. It gave $10,000 to First Shift Justice Project in 2023 for mission support, and the same amount to Ayuda in 2023 and 2024 for mission support. Domestic violence and victim recovery also appear in the portfolio: Safe Sisters Circle received $10,000 in 2023 and $7,500 in 2024, while Network for Victim Recovery of DC received $8,000 in 2023 and $7,500 in 2024. The foundation also supports caregiving and family-law related services through grants such as $10,000 to DC KinCare Alliance in 2023 and $7,500 in 2024. Immigration-related legal help is reflected in support for Amara Legal Center and Mil Mujeres Inc., both Washington, DC-based organizations serving women and girls in the region.
Typical grant size is tightly grouped around the middle of the distribution, with p25 at $7,000, a median of $7,500, and p75 at $9,062. The recent record also shows repeated support to the same organizations across 2023 and 2024, including Ayuda, Amara Legal Center, DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, First Shift Justice Project, Safe Sisters Circle, and Network for Victim Recovery of DC. That pattern points to recurring relationships rather than one-time awards. The foundation gives through community grants and a fellowship program, and the community grants program uses a Letter of Inquiry followed by invited full proposals.
$82K
$1.3M
$309K
$342K
Most grants fall between $7K and $9K, with a median of $8K.
25th Percentile
$7K
Median
$8K
75th Percentile
$9K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in DC.
DeChane Dorsey
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Grantmaking is concentrated in Washington, DC. The top state by grant count is DC, and every recent grant listed went to a US recipient, with 100% of grants in the US. Recipient cities in the recent list are consistently Washington, DC, including Amara Legal Center, Ayuda, DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, and Tzedek DC. The foundation’s headquarters is in Alexandria, VA, but recent giving is directed elsewhere in the metro area rather than to Virginia recipients.
Its Community Grants program uses a multi-stage process: a Letter of Inquiry first, followed by invited full proposals. The program accepts unsolicited inquiries for community nonprofit organizations serving the legal and related needs of women and girls in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
It funds nonprofits serving the legal and related needs of women and girls in the DC metropolitan community. The recent grant list shows support for legal services, domestic violence and victim recovery, caregiving and family-law related services, and immigration-related legal help.
The foundation’s typical grant size is clustered around $7,000 to $9,062, with p25 at $7,000, a median of $7,500, and p75 at $9,062. Recent awards in the list often fall at $7,000, $7,500, $8,000, $9,000, or $10,000.
Yes. Several organizations appear in more than one year of recent grants, including Ayuda, Amara Legal Center, DC Volunteer Lawyers Project, First Shift Justice Project, Safe Sisters Circle, and Network for Victim Recovery of DC. That suggests ongoing relationships with a set of local legal-service and related nonprofits.
Its giving is regional. The recent grants all went to US recipients, and the listed recipient cities are Washington, DC. The top state by grant count is DC, while the headquarters is in Alexandria, VA.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Current and upcoming funding from Women'S Bar Association Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Supports nonprofits serving the legal and related needs of women and girls in the DC Metropolitan community. The Request for Letters of Inquiry includes eligibility details.
Deadline: LOIs due by August 31, 2026; full proposals due by November 20, 2026; grant announcements made January 15, 2027.
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Shift Justice Project | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Safe Sisters Circle | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| DC KinCare Alliance | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| DC Volunteer Lawyers Project | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Network for Victim Recovery of DC | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Mothers Outreach Network | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Amara Legal Center | Washington, DC | $8,571 | 2026 | Mission support |
| American University | WAshington, DC | $7,500 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Georgetown University Health Justice Alliance | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2026 | Mission support |
| The Human Trafficking Legal Center | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2026 | Mission support |
| Network for Victim Recovery of DC | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2024 | Mission support |
| DC KinCare Alliance | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Safe Sisters Circle | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Mothers Outreach Network | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Tzedek DC Inc | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2024 | Mission support |
| First Shift Justice Project | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Amara Legal Center | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2024 | Mission support |
| DC Volunteer Lawyers Project | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Ayuda | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2024 | Mission support |
| Safe Sisters Circle | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| First Shift Justice Project | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| DC Kincare Alliance | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Amara Legal Center | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Ayuda | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Tzedek DC | Washington, DC | $9,250 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Mothers Outreach Network | Washington, DC | $9,250 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Safe Sisters Circle | Washington, DC | $9,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Mothers Outreach Network | Washington, DC | $8,500 | 2023 | Mission support |
| DC Volunteer Lawyers Project | Washington, DC | $8,500 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Network For Victim Recovery | Washington, DC | $8,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| DC School of Law Foundation | Washington, DC | $7,500 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Network For Victim Recovery | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| DC Kincare Alliance | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Ayuda | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| DC Volunteer Lawyers Project | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| First Shift Justice Project | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Amara Legal Center | Washington, DC | $7,000 | 2023 | Mission support |
| Mil Mujeres Inc | Washington, DC | $5,500 | 2023 | Mission support |
Safe Sisters Circle
$8,571Mission support
Network for Victim Recovery of DC
$8,571Mission support
Mission support
Amara Legal Center
$8,571Mission support
Network for Victim Recovery of DC
$7,500Mission support
Safe Sisters Circle
$7,500Mission support
Amara Legal Center
$7,000Mission support
Safe Sisters Circle
$10,000Mission support
Amara Legal Center
$10,000Mission support
Safe Sisters Circle
$9,000Mission support
Network For Victim Recovery
$8,000Mission support
DC School of Law Foundation
$7,500Mission support
Network For Victim Recovery
$7,000Mission support
Amara Legal Center
$7,000Mission support
Mil Mujeres Inc
$5,500Mission support
