Our Vision
Every woman has a clear path to achieve her full potential.
Our Mission
WWIN provides scholarships and supports to help Washington women facing barriers to opportunity succeed in college and careers so they, their families and our communities can thrive.
Our Values
Respect
We recognize the inherent worth of each person and foster a culture where diverse experiences and points of view are honored.
Self-Determination
We trust each woman as the best expert in her own experience and support the educational path she chooses to fulfill her life’s goals.
Equity
We recognize that higher education is not equally accessible to all women and commit to using our resources to remove barriers to opportunity.
Community
We believe a supportive network of women has the power to lift each other and make generational change.
Initiative
We regularly evaluate the environment and our programs to respond effectively to changing needs.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We focus our efforts to assist Washington women facing barriers to opportunity to have equitable
access to higher education. We celebrate the different experiences, backgrounds and qualities that contribute to each person’s unique identity. We strive to create an inclusive WWIN community – of scholars and alumnae, board and staff, volunteers and supporters – that reflects the diversity of Washington state. We believe our community is stronger when each person is empowered to bring their authentic self to it.
Always give back.
Never give up.
WWIN has positively impacted the lives of thousands of women across our state. These women share a common trait: the determination to move forward for themselves, their families and their communities. With the support of WWIN, their stories of struggle have evolved into stories of hope, courage, gratitude and dreams fulfilled.
History of WWIN
In 1992, Julia Pritt founded Washington Women in Need to help low-income women transform their lives with grants for higher education and health care. Through the decades, WWIN has evolved to meet the changing needs of women in our state. We sunset the health care grants and deepened our commitment to college completion, when we launched a renewable scholarship opportunity in 2014.
Today, WWIN’s holistic Star Scholar Program provides an annual cohort of 150 Washington women with the financial support, personalized coaching, and community to help them achieve their college and career goals. Our distinctive mix of financial resources, individualized attention and the power of belonging that we foster, yields amazing results. 99% of Star Scholars persist and complete their degrees. As a result our statewide community of alumnae grows each year.
Grounded in the core values of our founding, WWIN offers women the opportunity to live the lives they imagine for themselves—and in turn, their success lifts families, communities and Washington.
WWIN has changed the trajectory of thousands of lives.
Starting WWIN has been the most rewarding experience of my life, because I know the women we help will get the education they need in order to support themselves and their families.”
- Julia Pritt, WWIN Founder
2025 Annual Report
See what we have accomplished together for women, families and our communities.
