WSW Community Programming
Community Promise
Each year, ALIST invests time towards an initiative designed to serve the BIPOC entrepreneur community. Becoming an ALIST client or partner directly impacts keeping these efforts going. 6 years of programming so far building an equity ecosystem uniquely centering women of color entrepreneurs.
In 2020, we built an online community to organize and amplify women-owned businesses in the PNW. We still maintain and moderate @alist_wsw today and have over 5000 followers.
In 2021, we interviewed 9 women of color founders and released an inspirational series featuring their founder stories of opening a business. We added another story in September 2025.
In 2022, we shifted to utilizing our economic power in a unified way. We physically brought the WSW Community together in an effort to save Portland restaurants owned by women. Founder Meet Ups and our WSW GoFundMe were born.
In 2023, we used the collective power of WSW to accelerate new businesses opened by women and offered our first grant program to 5 businesses to host a WSW meet up.
In 2024, we helped organize the first Filipino Food Tour in Oregon and we continued to provide WSW Host Grants and Meet Ups for women entrepreneurs. We also held the first Boss-A-Thon to elevate the need to invest in women, crowdfunded to offer Heritage Month Microgrants and developed the first WSW Calendar to fundraise for 2025 projects.
In 2025, we held 2 more WSW Meet Ups with local DEI consultants as our hosts, put on our first Dine Out for WSW tour and fundraiser with 9 local restaurants, started the Community Organizer Grant to offer in addition to our Heritage Month Microgrants, and collaborated with Vegan Ventures to launch the first Women In Portland tour.
Founding WSW
A video produced by our partner Jess of Fli Media sitting down with Amanda Mailey after the first year of the WSW financial ecosystem forming over saving local restaurants post pandemic.
Women Supporting Women
Through the leadership of our founder Amanda Mailey, Women Supporting Women (WSW) was formed in 2022 as the organizing body of women entrepreneurs uniting for change. With over 500 women now participating, we distribute money across the founder community in a tangible way. Through the collective power of WSW, we are building a new model that taps into women’s positions of power to better serve BIPOC communities. There are 4 components to this ecosystem of support.
Organizations sponsoring our community activations
Community crowdfunding collecting individual donations
Hosting an experience for women entrepreneurs and the general public that is organized by women entrepreneurs
Women buying tickets to the event and buying products
In 2024 alone, ALIST collected $57,982 for the ALIST Community Projects. In 3 years, we’ve raised $18,097 in donations, $61,604 in sponsors, and $33,970 in ticket and calendar sales = $113,671. Collective action backed by community funding.
As Featured On
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The Portland Observer
Addressing How to Empower and Financially Support Women Founders. Read the March 2024 article.
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PDX Today
Support local women entrepreneurs at The Boss-A-Thon culinary experience. Read the March 2024 article.
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Koin 6 News
Local women business owners build connections with monthly meetups. Watch video
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Portland Business Journal
How a monthly meal helps women business owners and builds community. Read the September 2022 or April 2022 article.
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Portland Monthly Magazine
Ripping the City with Amanda Mailey, founder of Women Supporting Women. Read the December 2022 article.
Strategic Partnerships
Throughout the year, we are actively looking to expand the financial contribution to more strategic partners and sponsors. We have the vision, business model. an all women-led team of small business owners, and high interest in the community. If you have a line item in your company goals to better serve local small businesses, women entrepreneurs, B-I-POC families, and community leaders, we want to hear from you. Please consider becoming an ALIST WSW sponsor to help subsidize the cost of these initiatives and make a real impact. If you would like to invest in keeping these going, please contact us today.
The Boss-A-Thon
In 2024, ALIST collaborated with KF Curates to design a new platform to give boss women the stage to shine light on a social cause that affects us all, the big equity gap in investments made in female entrepreneurs. The event was also a new fundraising format that centered, amplified and honored women of color leaders + engaged allies, change makers, and investors to benefit the WSW Community Fund.
The result? We have crowdfunded $5,692 & signed on OnPoint Community Credit Union as a WSW program sponsor for the 3rd year in a row! Kaysha Duffy made the announcement while on the stage as a panelist. The event itself distributed $9,699.75 to women who organized the event and gave the stage to “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion,” which was the national theme of Women’s History Month.
We won’t be hosting another Boss-A-Thon this year, but we’re celebrating our 5 year WSW anniversary on October 15, 2025 and you’re invited. This event is open to the public!
Boss Women Take the Stage
Empower her, yes. But don’t forget to invest, promote, hire, listen to, and follow our women leaders.
The Boss-A-Thon 2024: HerStory Fireside chat with Amanda Mailey moderated by Zanele Mutepfa-Rhone.
The Boss-A-Thon 2024: Investing in Women Panel Discussion with Kaysha Duffy, Director of Impact at OnPoint Community Credit Union and Tamara Brown, Vice President, Relationship Banking Officer at Heritage Bank NW moderated by Zanele Mutepfa-Rhone.