Grace + Ivory started as a way to change the wedding-dress process for women, but it also started with a mission: To support all women and girls—not just those trying on wedding dresses—in any way possible.
We partner with the Chicago Foundation for Women to do exactly that: A portion of the proceeds from every single dress sold benefits the 40-year-old organization, which invests in community-led organizations moving the needle for women. In 2025 alone, CFW granted more than $3 million, serving 150 organizations.
There’s no better time to advocate for women than when you’re on your bridal journey—it’s a time so special and so imbued with femininity, but also one we are extremely privileged to be able to celebrate.
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, we spoke with two CFW liaisons—Program Officer, Collective Giving Vanessa Lee, and digital communications associate Bailey Hosfelt (who will say “I do” in 2026!)— to share more about the work they are doing and how you, beautiful bride, can make an impact, too.
Grace + Ivory: In your words, what is CFW all about?
Vanessa Lee: Chicago Foundation for Women invests in grassroots leaders and community-based organizations that are actively breaking down barriers for women, girls, and gender-expansive people across the Chicago region. We imagine a future where safety is not a privilege, dignity is a given, and women have real choice in their lives. Everything we do is about helping make that future real and lasting.
GI: Tell us about the nonprofits and organizations CFW supports.
VL: We are excited about the organizations our Giving Councils and Circles (GCCs) support. The GCCs are composed of women and gender-expansive community members who pool their resources and make funding decisions based on lived experiences. From there, support flows directly to organizations doing innovative, responsive work that is deeply connected to the communities they serve.
GI: Why is your wedding, or your bridal era, an important time to take action for women?
Bailey Hosfelt: During your wedding or “bridal era,” so many people—from family members and friends to guests and vendors—are generously giving their time, resources, and talents to you, and it presents the perfect opportunity to give back to others.
Planning a wedding involves making many intentional choices, from selecting your vendors to picking where you will buy your wedding dress. This presents the opportunity to support women-owned and minority-owned businesses. Something personally meaningful to my fiancée and me throughout the planning process, as a lesbian couple, is ensuring that our wedding funds almost exclusively support queer-owned and women-owned businesses by choosing them as our vendors or where we make our purchases. This is a meaningful way you can take action for women in the lead-up to the big day.
Also, adding an option to your registry for guests to donate to women-focused organizations that you and your spouse-to-be deeply care about is another way you can take action for women as part of your wedding.
Planning an event that marks the beginning of your married future with your partner is an excellent time to reflect on the futures of those around you, specifically how you can invest in creating the positive change you want to see in the world.
GI: CFW just celebrated a milestone 40 years. What does that mean to you?
VL: Forty years of CFW is a powerful moment to pause and examine history. What our four founders did in 1985 was truly unheard of at the time. They leveraged their social and professional networks, drew from their own lived experiences, and reached out to women who, like them, believed that society and their place within it could be transformed.
By the end of that first year, these women had incorporated the Foundation, elected its first board of directors, and begun fundraising. By the spring of 1986, CFW made its first grants totaling $50,000. Since then, the Foundation has granted more than $54 million to advance gender equity across the Chicago region.
In turbulent moments like the one we are living in now, looking back at how change was built offers us an important vantage point for the work ahead. CFW’s 40-year legacy is a reminder that bold, collective action rooted in courage and community can shape the future, even in uncertain times.
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