The leaders who started—and support—it all. In 1986, Mary Jo Pulte gathered a group of 30 Michigan women to discuss philanthropy and the imbalance in donations to women’s programs. At that time, only 3% of philanthropic dollars went to programs for women and girls in the United States.

Empowered to change that statistic, the women founded Michigan Women Forward, formerly known as Michigan Women’s Foundation: the only public, statewide foundation devoted to the economic and personal well-being of Michigan women and girls.

Each year, thousands of individuals, families, corporations and foundations generously donate both time and money to support MWF’s programs that provide opportunity for Michigan women to succeed.