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Fort Wayne Branch, AAUW Trust

P.O. Box 10993, Fort Wayne, IN 46855

The Fort Wayne Branch American Association of University Women (herein referred to as AAUW) Trust was established in 1979 when the Branch received a bequest from the estate of R. Hazel Miller. An additional bequest in 1989 from the estate of Letha Falls was added to the capital account. In 1998, a generous donation was given to the Trust in memory of Anne K. Waterfield. Additional gifts and memorials are recognized in the Treasurer’s AAUW Fort Wayne Branch Annual Reports.

AAUW Trust purposes include:

Encouraging education among members of AAUW and of the community

Funding appropriate studies and projects in keeping with the objectives of AAUW

Promoting standards of excellence in public school education and in higher education

Cooperating with persons, organizations, trusts, or foundations with similar purposes

Grants ranging from five hundred to three thousand dollars are distributed once a year. An individual or organization receiving a grant may reapply no earlier than three years from the date of the received grant (for example, a grant recipient of April 2023 would be eligible to reapply in January 2027). The grant application period is January 1 through February 28. The application form is included in this website and must be returned by way of this medium. The Trust Board meets in March to review the grant requests for eligibility and awards determination. Recipients will be notified and in April, at a public meeting place, both parties will sign a contract (see sample on this website) and the monies will be disbursed.

Public acknowledgement of receipt of a grant must be made by all recipients through means acceptable to the Board.

Further, at the end of the grant period, detailed accounting of the use of the funds is to be documented and examples given of print materials and other media used for public awareness of the project and acknowledging the use of AAUW Trust funds.

Finally, a presentation of the grant use, goals, and measure of accomplishment of said goals shall be made before the Board at the following April public meeting including physically giving the said documentation to the Board Chair or representative.


AAUW Trust Historian’s Report for 2023

A total of six grants were awarded in 2023, totaling: $5,000.00. The grants were awarded to the following recipients:

  • Amani Family Services – To continue the educational development of staff members in order to maintain best practices and serve the community to the best of our ability.
  • McMillan Health Center – To provide preventive health education to address women’s issues of pregnancy prevention and mental wellbeing through programming.
  • Solid Foundation Learning Center – To provide experientially virtual scenarios that will allow students to make positive choices related to incidents that trigger traumatic experiences and relieve stress.
  • St. Joseph Missions – To provide emergency shelter and resources for single homeless women, regardless of faith, in an environment that respects their dignity as human persons, affords the opportunity to live individually and collectively with others in a safe environment of self-government, and empowers them to network with local businesses and social services for employment and self-sufficiency.
  • Wellspring Interfaith Social Services, Inc. – to provide a safe place for youth in our community and give campers numerous opportunities to be physically active and offer activities and curricula focused on nutritional awareness, and health education.
  • Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne – to provide research, education, and advocacy for issues affecting women and girls in Allen County.

A total of 409 grants have been awarded as of 2023. Through the years, the AAUW Fort Wayne Branch Trust has awarded grants to date totaling the amount of $466,012.42.