1996 — WomenCount was first launched as a women’s voter turnout effort during Bill Clinton’s re-election. The campaign slogan? “They used to say women couldn’t vote. Now they say we won’t.” Among the founders: San Francisco entrepreneur Susie Tompkins Buell and then-Alameda County District Attorney Kamala Harris. 

Women make up 11 percent of Congress and 2 percent of governorships. 

2000 — The first Electing Women giving group is founded in Denver by businesswoman Judith Wagner and former Colorado Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler, who believed that women candidates needed more financial support and women donors needed more meaningful ways to get involved.

Women make up 12 percent of Congress and 6 percent of governorships. 

2008 — WomenCount, long dormant, re-activates as an online organizing effort, grabbing headlines with its “Not So Fast” ad campaign, which called for an end to the pressure being placed on Hillary Clinton to bow out of the presidential primary campaign. Petition drives and other political activism followed, helping WomenCount build a national audience and a powerful mobilization list. 

Women make up 16 percent of Congress and 14 percent of governorships. 

2015 — After years of success for Electing Women Denver, the national Electing Women Alliance is formed as an umbrella network to leverage activities of several in-person giving groups. Founding groups include Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles. 

2015 — WomenCount, continuing to innovate with the times, relaunches as a crowdfunding donation platform based on two trends from the world of finance and politics: Women candidates’ disproportionate reliance, compared to men, on smaller, individual donations; and crowdfunding’s emergence as a multi-billion dollar industry. 

2016 — One year after the Electing Women Alliance’s initial expansion, a new giving group was launched in Vail, CO, less than 100 miles from Electing Women’s founding group in Denver.

Women make up 19 percent of Congress and 12 percent of governorships. 

2018 — The EWA network continues to expand, adding groups in Austin, Chicago, New Mexico, New York, and Washington, DC.

2022 — WomenCount and Electing Women Alliance, which long shared overlapping members of the team as well as shared mission and vision, officially integrated operations. Giving groups are also launched in Seattle and St. Louis. 

Women make up 27 percent of Congress and 14 percent of governorships. 

2024 — Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada officially launch giving groups. 

2025 — Electing Women and WomenCount have raised a combined total of $30 million for women candidates. 

Women make up 28 percent of Congress and 26 percent of governorships.