About WIF

• Women in Focus, Inc. is a local organization established in 1983 composed of about 28 passionate women who are single-minded in their promotion of educational excellence for underrepresented students from Dane County.
• We are a sisterhood of women striving to provide support for each other and to celebrate the gifts that each woman brings with her presence. Membership brings a commitment to these values.
• Established in 1983, the Founding WIF Members created an active force in the Madison community to inspire young students of color to emulate successful role models of color.

What we do:

• We award scholarships to both high school seniors and adults returning to continue post-high school education.
• Since 1986, our awards to scholars in Dane County have totaled over $900,000. Please see our Scholarships page.
• We celebrate our scholar’ accomplishments at our Scholarship Award Reception.
• We invite past scholarship recipients to be our guest speakers at the Dream Ball and the reception.
• We support educational excellence through our literacy program, by distributing books and conducting group activities that encourage kids to read. We are currently working with the family shelter at the Salvation Army, in addition to the Juneteenth celebration and other community evnets. Please see our Literacy page.

How we do it:

• Our signature fundraising event is the “I Have a Dream” Scholarship Ball celebrated each January on the Saturday preceding Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The timing of the event highlights our firm belief in living out the values expressed by Dr. King. We have been hosting this event since 1986.
• We are the grateful recipients of support from numerous organizations and individuals who have embraced our cause. Please see our Sponsor page.
• We also partner with and collaboratively support other organizations with similar literacy and educational goals.