Women's Foundation of Mississippi
The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi is a Form 990 (a public charity) based in Jackson, Mississippi. Its mission is economic security for women and girls, pursued through grantmaking, advocacy, research, training, public education, and community engagement.
Women's Foundation of Mississippi at a glance
In short: Women's Foundation of Mississippi gave $773K across 18 grants in 2025 (avg $43K), mostly in Mississippi. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $772,777
- +99.0% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 18
- +20.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $42,932
- +65.8% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $42,500
- Total assets
- $4,181,446
- +30.8% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Mississippi (97% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026.
How to apply to Women's Foundation of Mississippi
- How to Apply
-
The Foundation’s November 2025 LOI cycle is past. Its 2026 maternal health RFP describes a proposal process for eligible Mississippi nonprofits serving the named locations; the supplied RFP information does not state a submission deadline.
- Review Cycle
- The November 2025 LOI was due November 21, 2025, and invited full proposals were due December 19, 2025. Both dates have passed.
- Deadline
- The November 2025 LOI was due November 21, 2025, and invited full proposals were due December 19, 2025.
- Contact
Mailing address: 2906 North State Street Suite 302, Jackson, MS 39216
Phone: (601) 326-0701
Website: https://womensfoundationms.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
5 open opportunities from Women's Foundation of Mississippi
Annual Grant Cycle
Women's Foundation of Mississippi
Amount
Up to $700,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Infant & Maternal Health Grant
Women's Foundation of Mississippi
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Mississippi Women in the Lead
Women's Foundation of Mississippi
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Who Women's Foundation of Mississippi funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Delta State University ($73K). Together the top 10 received $534K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($73,334), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
74 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 54 grants of 74 (73%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
The Foundation states that it serves women and girls throughout Mississippi. In filing year 2025, 97% of grant dollars went to recipients in Mississippi and 3% to recipients in South Carolina. The 2026 maternal health RFP identifies East Biloxi, Jackson, and Sunflower County as its service areas.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 18 itemized grants.
States
Cities
How Women's Foundation of Mississippi gives
- 22% of 2025 grantees were also funded in 2024. Method
- Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−17%). Method
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $125K (2023) to $927K (2022). In 2025 it made 18 grants totaling $773K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Delta State University Cleveland, MS | Delta state university robert e. Smith school of nursing: access to opportunity | $73,334 |
| 1 grant to individuals Recipients not named | — | $73,334 |
| Ms Valley State University Itta Bena, MS | Provide scholarships, emergency assistance, and wraparound services for students pursuing degrees in elementary education | $73,332 |
| University of Mississippi Foundation Jackson, MS | To develop systematic ways to improve overall access to prenatal care, provide safe centers for birthing, provide care to high-risk patients living in rural Mississippi, and ensure mothers have access to mental health services during the perinatal period. | $65,000 |
| Institute for Advancement of Minority Health Ridgeland, MS | Enhance maternal health education and support services, provide infant health monitoring and interventions, improve maternal and child health outcomes, increase patient/provider communication, and create a peer support network to address mental health issues for women. | $50,000 |
| Excel by 5 Jackson, MS | Delta bloom: growing healthy families from the start is designed to address critical health disparities impacting mothers and children in the Mississippi delta. | $50,000 |
| Delta Health System Greenville, MS | Support the initiative to reduce maternal/infant mortality in the ms delta by integrating doula support into prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care. | $50,000 |
| Ms Black Women's Roundtable Jackson, MS | Support Ms Women's Policy Institute | $47,777 |
| Six Dimensions Consulting LLC Ridgeland, MS | Provide professional growth and personal well-being of birth workers who serve pregnant and postpartum women in the delta. | $45,000 |
| Refill Jackson Initiative Jackson, MS | Empowering disconnected young adults (1824) to gain confidence, skills, and motivation to enter, navigate, and stay in the workforce. | $40,000 |
Ready to take the next step with Women's Foundation of Mississippi?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4,181,446 | $2,471,356 | $1,458,819 | $772,777 | 18 | $223,121 |
| 2024 | $3,197,379 | $1,462,440 | $1,021,180 | $388,332 | 15 | $110,098 |
| 2023 | $2,810,520 | $1,251,557 | $886,934 | $125,000 | 4 | $117,783 |
| 2022 | $3,161,584 | $742,506 | $1,616,360 | $927,000 | 24 | $39,709 |
| 2021 | $3,722,610 | $2,073,394 | $1,388,998 | $618,500 | 13 | $86,581 |
| 2020 | $2,876,000 | $1,545,538 | $1,550,483 | $605,594 | 24 | $56,378 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The Foundation’s stated mission is to improve the lives of women and girls by promoting social change and economic self-sufficiency through advocacy and strategic grantmaking. Its three stated focus areas are Healthy Women and Well-Being, Access to Opportunity (including education and skills development), and Two-Generation/Whole Family approaches.
The Foundation’s 2025 grants show support for organizations working in areas such as maternal and infant health, education, workforce development, and women’s policy. For example, an individual recipient Community College Development Foundation describes its mission as raising funds for capital improvements and providing student scholarships. The Institute for the Advancement of Minority Health describes its mission as reducing health disparities among disadvantaged and underserved minority populations in Mississippi through community-based partnerships and culturally appropriate solutions. Excel by 5 describes its work as certifying child-friendly communities that promote children’s early education and care, health, and safety. These are the grantees’ stated missions, not the Foundation’s.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the Foundation reported 18 grants totaling $772,777. Grant amounts ranged from $15,000 to $73,334, with a median of $42,500. Its largest awards included $73,334 to Delta State University for “Access to Opportunity” at its Robert E. Smith School of Nursing; $73,334 to an individual recipient Community College for student wrap-around services; and $73,332 to Mississippi Valley State University for scholarships, emergency assistance, and wraparound services for students pursuing elementary education degrees.
Other notable awards included $65,000 to the University of Mississippi Foundation for work to improve prenatal care access and services for high-risk patients in rural Mississippi; $50,000 each to the Institute for the Advancement of Minority Health, Excel by 5, and Delta Health System for maternal, infant, and family health initiatives; and $47,777 to the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable to support the Mississippi Women’s Policy Institute.
The Foundation’s November 2025 call invited Letters of Interest for projects in its three focus areas, with anticipated grants of $20,000–$50,000 for 12-month projects. That call required applicants to be 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing with the Mississippi Secretary of State Charities Division and operating in Mississippi. Selected applicants were to be invited to submit full proposals. The stated LOI materials included the organization’s mission, proposed project and population served, local need, geographic area served, and estimated project budget. A separate 2026 maternal health RFP seeks community-based projects in East Biloxi, Jackson, and Sunflower County, with grants of $75,000–$100,000 per year for three years. It requires 501(c)(3) documentation, audited financial statements, and the most recently submitted Form 990.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
Officers and directors listed on the 2025 filing include Chair Michelle Owens; Chair Elect Bethany Tarpley; Past Chair Mary Largent Purvis; Treasurer Ashley Wicks; Treasurer Elect Robbye Good; Secretary Erin Shirley Orey; and board members Donna Barksdale, Kathryn York, Lindsay Thomas Dowdle, and Rita Brent.
Women's Foundation of Mississippi is led by Melanie Powell, Executive Director on every filing since 2024; 1 of 15 officers listed in 2025 is compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Melanie Powell
Executive Director
On filings since 2024
40 hrs/week
$104K (2024) → $124K (2025)
Michelle Owens
Chair
Member at Large → Chair Elect, 2024
Chair Elect → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Donna Barksdale
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Lindsay Thomas Dowdle
Board Member
Chair → Past Chair, 2024
Past Chair → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mary Largent Purvis
Past Chair
Chair Elect → Chair, 2024
Chair → Past Chair, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bethany Tarpley
Chair Elect
Board Member → Secretary, 2024
Secretary → Chair Elect, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Kathryn York
Board Member
Board Member → Treasurer, 2023
Treasurer → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ashley Wicks
Treasurer
Board Member → Treasurer, 2025
On filings since 2023
3 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Erin Shirley Orey
Secretary
Board Member → Secretary, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Felicia Brown Williams
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rita Brent
Board Member
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robbye Good
Treasurer Elect
Board Member → Treasurer Elect, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Greta Kemp Martin
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Holly Smith
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Medora Justus
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (17)
- Former: Ashley Sanders (2020–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Margaret Cupples (2020–2024) — Past Chair
- Former: Tracy Devries (2020–2024) — Executive Director
- Former: Shanell H. Watson (2020–2023) — Secretary
- Former: Trudy Fisher (2021–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Barbara Logan Smith (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Holly Lange (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Susan Phillips (2020–2022) — Treasurer
- Former: Julieta Mendez (2021–2022) — At Large
- Former: Lorose Moore (2021–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Grace Lee (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Norma B. Ojeda (2020–2021) — Board Member
- Former: Vonda Reeves-Darby (2020–2021) — Past Chair
- Former: Evelyn Edwards (2020) — Board Member
- Former: Kim Burke (2020) — Board Member
- Former: Lorose Hunter (2020) — Board Member
- Former: Rosalyn Howard (2020) — Board Member
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $124K, to Melanie Powell (Executive Director).
Frequently asked questions about Women's Foundation of Mississippi
How much does Women's Foundation of Mississippi give each year?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi gave $773K across 18 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $388K across 15 grants.
What is Women's Foundation of Mississippi's typical grant size?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi's median grant in 2025 was $42,500, and its average grant was $42,932, across 18 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Women's Foundation of Mississippi give grants?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi gives mostly in Mississippi: 97% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The most frequent recipient cities were Jackson, MS (7 grants) and Ridgeland, MS (2 grants).
Does Women's Foundation of Mississippi give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 18 grants with a stated purpose on Women's Foundation of Mississippi's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support.
Who are Women's Foundation of Mississippi's largest grantees?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi's largest 2025 grantees include Delta State University ($73,334), Ms Valley State University ($73,332) and University of Mississippi Foundation ($65,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($73,334), which are not listed by name. Together they received 27% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is Women's Foundation of Mississippi?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi reported $4.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $2.5M.
What does Women's Foundation of Mississippi fund?
The Foundation’s stated mission is to improve the lives of women and girls by promoting social change and economic self-sufficiency through advocacy and strategic grantmaking. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Women's Foundation of Mississippi?
The Foundation’s November 2025 LOI cycle is past. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑
What is Women's Foundation of Mississippi's EIN?
Women's Foundation of Mississippi's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 26-4419982. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(7)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS November 12, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS November 11, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS November 14, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS November 6, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS November 5, 2025)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS August 17, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Women's Foundation of Mississippi's focus areas in our free grants database
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). Women's Foundation of Mississippi funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 4, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/women-s-foundation-of-mississippi-morg_61427afffd7b49258d471ce919381a06
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_264419982_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{Women's Foundation of Mississippi funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/women-s-foundation-of-mississippi-morg_61427afffd7b49258d471ce919381a06},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-04. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from Women's Foundation of Mississippi's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Women's Foundation of Mississippi down — hundreds of funders to go?