California · Nonprofit
LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION
LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $610,000 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($300,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.6M
- Funders on record
- 5
- Grants received
- $610k
- Net assets
- $563k
What Leading Women Defined Foundation does
Mission
Leading women defined provides an unparalleled, one-of-a-kind platform that equips and empowers women, especially black women, to lead with purpose, conviction, and influence. We create transformative experiences found nowhere else, nurture a supportive sisterhood, amplify their voices, inspire growth, and spark social impactultimately forging a legacy of lasting significance.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Lwd summit - this exclusive, invitation-only annual summit brings together accomplished women, especially black women, from varied industries for forward-thinking conversations on leadership, wellness, and social impact. Attendees engage in unparalleled networking opportunities, attend inspiring fireside chats, and implement actionable strategies to elevate their leadership journeys and amplify their influence.in 2024, the summit centered on the theme "power:full," celebrating the individual and collective power women wield, while acknowledging the energy and vitality required to perform at the highest levels. Programming and conversations explored how to navigate these spaces while prioritizing the replenishment needed to show up as the best, most full, and authentic version of oneself.
$1,645,868 spent$239,750 earned by the program70% of program spendingLwd rising leaders summit - the rising leaders program is a select initiative tailored for high-achieving women aged 25 to 35. By invitation, participants receive personalized mentorship, essential leadership training, and the confidence to drive meaningful change in both their professional and personal lives. Through this program, women cultivate valuable mentorship relationships and gain the tools needed to excel across private, public, and nonprofit sectors. Emphasizing holistic growth, the program supports comprehensive development, empowering each leader to create a lasting legacy of impact.
$379,882 spent16% of program spendingLwd forum @ the paley museum, nyc - a partnership initiative that explored the intersection of media, culture, and leadership. Through curated panels and discussions with industry leaders, this program amplified the voices of women, especially black women in media, fostering conversations that drove representation and impact.
$203,865 spent9% of program spendingLwd savor the summer - the savor the summer event is an opportunity to recharge and refresh in the oasis of sisterhood to create space for self-care and serendipity.
$125,235 spentof which $4,800 as grants5% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $2,354,850.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2018, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2018, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $1.6M to $674k (−57%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
85% of LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (81% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 7 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Gabrielle Glore
Executive director
Board chair
Debra L Lee
Director and chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2021 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $275k → $50k.
3 of 5 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 46% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 49% of grant income and the top three 95%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
46% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2021 73% · 2022 94% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside California, across 2 states in all.
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $280k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION has grown faster than three-quarters of the 11,263 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,263 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
50%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION?
- LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION (California) receives grants from 5 organizations whose IRS filings report $610,000 to it, the largest being THE FORD FOUNDATION ($300,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 5 organizations giving $610,000 in grants to LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION?
- THE FORD FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $300,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LEADING WOMEN DEFINED FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2018–2024), and the filings of 5 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing