WHO WE ARE NOW

UUWF is a national membership organization working to advance justice for women and promote their spiritual growth.

We are an independent, non-profit, 501c3 corporation and one of only two associate member organizations of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

We are the inheritor of a proud tradition. UUWF was formed in 1963 through consolidation of the Association of Universalist Women (founded in 1869 and believed to be the first organization of lay church women in the United States) and the Alliance of Unitarian Women (1890).

We focus on key public policy priorities: reproductive justice, immigration reform, economic justice, and other issues as these impact women and girls.

We carry out three major funding programs:

• Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley Scholarship program gives modest scholarships to aspirants/candidates for UU ministry or religious education or music leadership credentialing programs, who identify as women of color, Latina, or Hispanic.
• Margaret Fuller grants for scholarly projects that reflect prophetic and innovative explorations of religious feminisms.
• Equity and Justice grants for innovative UU projects that effect positive social change for women and girls in the US.

We are committed to presenting engaging and empowering workshops and programs at the annual Unitarian Universalist General Assembly. We’ve also partnered with UU Women and Religion to create a lively presence in the Exhibit Hall. Over the years we’ve sponsored several key publications, including Voices of the New Feminism in the 1970s, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven in the 1980s and again in 2007, and Rise Up and Call Her Name in the 1990s.

We maintain three award programs:

• Our Ministry to Women Award honors individuals or organizations that have been a resource to women in an outstanding manner.
  
• The Clara Barton Sisterhood through which local congregations, individuals, or women’s groups can honor women aged 80 or older for their contributions to church and community life.
• Our Sermon Award highlights the writer of a sermon that addresses a topic related to the UUWF's mission. 
  

We work with Meadville-Lombard Theological School in Chicago to create and maintain UU women’s history archives in their HEResies Collection.

We are you. And with a gift of any amount each year, you become a UUWF member. Join us as we work to advance justice for women and girls and promote their spiritual growth.