As the Trump administration moves to slash federal support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the Hadassah Foundation has launched a $500,000 fund to support leadership training and skills for women and girls, giving “special consideration” to initiatives reaching underrepresented populations.

The new “Fund for Leadership, Opportunity, and Sisterhood,” also known as the “The Bayley Fund,” was created through a $500,000 grant from Jacquie Bayley, a past board member of the Hadassah Foundation, a former regional president of Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America’s Pacific Northwest region, and a current board member of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America.

According to Bayley, creating opportunities for young women to develop leadership skills is critical for creating a society in which women, and others who aren’t represented in leadership, are able to overcome those barriers. 

“To those people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity, belonging to a group or having an organization create a project or an opportunity for them to come together, to learn, to develop skills in an atmosphere that appreciates them, to me, there’s nothing better,” she told eJewishPhilanthropy. “It creates some confidence that perhaps they could, become an entrepreneur of their own, or a leader in some way, and then go on to be leaders for others who are younger than them who come up through the ranks.”

The Bayley Fund will help underwrite one of Hadassah Foundation’s $80,000 “core grants,” specifically supporting initiatives that provide leadership training to women and girls, and prioritizing those that cater to women ranging in age from adolescence to young adulthood. This year, the fund supported a core grant to jGirls+ —  the feminist teen publication recently acquired by Moving Traditions — and enabled Hadassah Foundation to award three grants this year as compared to two in 2024. The foundation said it also awarded 12 grants of various types this year and donated to the Women’s Collaborative Fund, which allocated grants to five Israeli organizations.

According to a statement, organizations that reach those “who are less likely to have access to opportunities due to their background, race, ability, or other factors” will receive special consideration. According to Hadassah Foundation Chair Ellen Soffer Steinberg, the fund will support both core grants awarded annually, and enable the organization to increase the number and size of grants awarded.

“Women and girls are powerful agents of change, yet too little funding goes toward supporting

them, and men remain the majority of leaders in important decision-making positions,” said Soffer Steinberg in a statement.