About the Funds, Groups and Foundations We Support

Educational Opportunities Fund

The Educational Opportunities Fund supports educational and lifelong learning opportunities that give women a chance for a lifetime of success. Some of our programs include Fellowships and Grants; the Fellows Alumnae Initiative, which inspires women by providing access to the network of past and current AAUW fellows and grantees; and the Undergraduate Scholarship Clearinghouse, which educates women by allowing students to find and apply for much-needed scholarships from AAUW branches across the country.

Legal Advocacy Fund

The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund provides funding and a support system for women seeking judicial redress for sex discrimination. The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund is the nation’s largest legal fund focused solely on sex discrimination in higher education. Since 1981 the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund has helped students, faculty, staff, and administrators in higher education challenge discriminatory practices such as sexual harassment, denial of tenure or promotion, pay inequity, and inequality in women’s athletics programs.

AAUW Lobby Corps

AAUW’s Capitol Hill Lobby Corps has been visiting legislators in Congress and delivering our public policy message since 1972. Ellen McGovern recruited the first AAUW Lobby Corps members to help monitor Title IX committee hearings and distribute position papers explaining AAUW’s position. Since then, Lobby Corps members have made thousands of visits to congressional offices bringing AAUW’s presence and priorities to the elected officials and staff. Lobby Corps member attend training sessions to learn about Congress and practice communicating their message. AAUW public policy staff members provide in-depth briefings on priority issues. Each week that Congress is in session, Lobby Corps members study a briefing paper prepared by the AAUW staff before they visit members of Congress who are “on the fence” regarding that particular issue. Each Thursday, Lobby Corps members receive their assignments and materials and fan out on the House of Senate side to ask for support on a particular issue and to deliver pertinent materials. In 1998, a student Lobby Corps project was begun. College students train and lobby with the Lobby Corps during a semester.