Four Philly Area Nonprofits Receive Multi-Year Funding to Strengthen the Region’s Care Economy
WOMEN’S WAY awards $940,000 in grants to support local solutions that center and strengthen care work across the region.
For Immediate Release | Philadelphia, PA | August 13, 2025
WOMEN’S WAY proudly announces the inaugural grantees of its Gender Economic Equity Program (GEEP), a new initiative investing in the local care economy as a strategy to build gender and economic equity.
The care economy refers to the essential work of caregiving, paid and unpaid, that supports families, communities, and the broader economy. This includes childcare, elder care, disability services, and more. Despite its vital role, this work is often undervalued, underpaid, and disproportionately carried out by women and other gender-marginalized people.
Each of the four grantees—Along the Way, Connectedly, Therapy Center of Philadelphia, and Women in Dialogue—will receive $235,000 over a three-year period. This investment supports general operations, staff wellness, and a gender equity pilot. In addition to funding, grantees will also engage in a Community of Practice and a Gender Equity Designer program to build collective knowledge and catalyze systems-level change.
GEEP is made possible through the support of Vanguard.
The 2025 GEEP grantees are:
Along the Way: Supports low-income single mothers through free and low-cost in-home childcare and wraparound services such as legal consultations, case management, and job referrals, empowering women to pursue education and careers.
Connectedly: Strengthens support networks for older adults, especially grandparent caregivers, homebound individuals, and older women living independently. Their programs reduce isolation and increase well-being, with a focus on low-income older women of color in Philadelphia.
Therapy Center of Philadelphia: Provides high-quality, affordable psychotherapy to women, trans, and gender non-conforming individuals. With an intersectional approach, they center healing and liberation in their therapeutic relationships.
Women in Dialogue: Brings women together to advocate for the economic recognition of caregiving work, waged and unwaged. Their work elevates policies and resource allocation that support pay equity, guaranteed care incomes, and community-led change.
“For too long, the care economy has been undervalued and underfunded despite being the backbone of our communities,” said Diane Cornman-Levy, Chief Disruptor at WOMEN’S WAY. “The Gender Economic Equity Program is our strategy to change that. By investing in local leaders who are reimagining care, we are moving toward an economy that values care, advances gender equity, and builds long-term community wealth.”
“Vanguard is proud to support WOMEN’S WAY and the changemakers they champion,” said Aldustus Jordan, Head of Community Stewardship and President, Vanguard Group Foundation. “Our support of this initiative reflects Vanguard’s philanthropic commitment to investing in community-led solutions throughout the region that are building long-term financial stability, fostering economic mobility, and strengthening financial ecosystems in under-resourced communities.”
Launched in 2025, GEEP is part of WOMEN’S WAY’s broader effort to disrupt the root causes of gender and economic inequities and strengthen alternative models centered in love, dignity, and liberation. By investing in local organizations and centering the care economy, GEEP aims to move our region toward long-term, transformative change. For more details, visit womensway.org/geep.
Click here to download our press release. For inquiries, please contact Misha Rodriguez, WOMEN’S WAY Director of Communications at mrodriguez@womensway.org or (215) 985-3322, ext. 221
