In the late 1980s and early 1990s, women locally and around the country were advancing in education, careers, and civic life, yet most still encountered the notorious “glass ceiling.”
Two decades after major civil and equal rights legislation in the 1960s and ‘70s, women in Central Indiana were still overlooked as leaders and philanthropists, rarely finding a way into positions of influence.
That dynamic sparked the question at the heart of our organization’s founding: what would it take to build a region where women’s leadership and resources were fully valued?
That early vision came from Dr. Diane Brashear.
A respected community leader, medical professional, and advocate for women and girls, Diane was somebody who could bring just about anyone together. In 1991, Diane and then-president of Lilly Endowment Inc., John Mutz, convened local stakeholders to discuss the barriers women were still facing in Central Indiana. This began the journey toward what would eventually become the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, announced on February 28, 1996.
From the start, our work was highly collaborative in all ways, reflecting, as Diane put it, “the way women do things”. Beginning as a field-of-interest fund housed within the Indianapolis Foundation (and later, Central Indiana Community Foundation), Women’s Fund of Central Indiana would retain its own identity and become one of only two women’s funds in the state with a dedicated staff (alongside our partners at Women’s Fund of Greater Fort Wayne).
By 1999, Women’s Fund had grown from an idea into a civic force unlike any other at that time in Indiana. Founded and led by women, it combined grantmaking, advocacy, research, and philanthropy education.
By 2005, before the end of its first decade, Women’s Fund had already made 150 grants totaling more than $1.5 million. Funding went to nonprofit partners throughout the nine-county region, moving women closer to the center of the conversation, both as funders and funding recipients.
In 2026, the Women’s Fund celebrated its 30th anniversary by expanding its impact and advocacy statewide, becoming the Women’s Foundation of Indiana.
These historical publications help tell the story of Women’s Foundation of Indiana and the women and girls we serve.
