Formerly called the Michigan Women’s Foundation, Michigan Women Forward is a foundation devoted to the economic and personal well-being of women and girls in the state. It has offices in Detroit, Lansing, and Grand Rapids. The organization was started in 1986 when Mary Jo Pulte gathered a group of 30 Michigan women to discuss philanthropy and the imbalance in donations to women’s programs — only 3 percent of philanthropic dollars at the time went to programming for women in the U.S. MWF is the only statewide, public foundation working for the betterment of adult and young women. MWF offers microloans from $2,500 to $50,000 for small businesses legally established and registered within the state. The organization also runs programs such as UGOSTEMGirls, which brings science, technology, engineering, and math education to Michigan girls, and UGOGirlsforChange, which helps high school-aged females find causes they are passionate about and become change-makers within their communities.
