Philanos is pleased to announce Crickett Woloson, Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle, as the 2025 recipient of The Willoughby Award. This is awarded on International Women’s Day in honor of Colleen Willoughby to recognize a member of a Philanos Affiliate who has used her collective giving experience to take philanthropy and leadership in new directions in her local community.
Colleen Willoughby challenged the status quo of traditional philanthropy 25 years ago when she found it deeply troubling that women did not have an organized vehicle for using their own money to invest in their communities. Through collective giving, she inspired women to find and amplify their voices today, tomorrow and for the future.
Crickett Woloson has been a leading visionary in the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle for incorporating social justice and DEI Initiatives in the Circle’s values. She also led the Circle’s efforts to introduce Trust-Based Philanthropy into their grantmaking before many of its members had heard of the term. “Our Circle has benefited from her vision - working hard to streamline our grants process, educating members to the needs of smaller nonprofits, and overall enhancing our reputation in the greater Baltimore community,” shared her award nominators.
Crickett led her Circle through a series of workshops designed to rethink their mission, vision and values. She worked tirelessly to help other members understand the need to incorporate concepts of equity in the Circle’s approach to grantmaking. As an ardent believer in honest dialogue, Crickett frequently quotes the adage, “If you want to travel fast, travel alone; if you want to travel far, travel together.”
Thanks to Crickett, the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle has traveled far - modifying their grants process, engaging with more community-led organizations and altering the voting process - and even more importantly they have traveled together. The Membership has overwhelmingly accepted initiatives leading to more equitable outcomes.
In addition to being an active leader for her own circle, Crickett and her husband created the Elbow Fund, using the principles of Trust-Based Philanthropy to support Black-led nonprofits in Baltimore and support an underfunded philanthropic group. Through this fund, she strives to create positive social change in Baltimore by partnering with proven and passionate community leaders of Black-led organizations. This work includes identifying leaders through primary research and diligence, listening to and mentoring their partners and creating strategies to remove barriers. The Elbow Fund has enhanced the efforts of the community groups doing this work and through partnerships, raised the awareness of and need for investments in this work.
Crickett also uses her time and financial resources to actively support CLLCTIVLY, a Black-led organization founded in 2019 with a mission to foster collaboration, increase social impact and amplify the voices of Black-led organizations in greater Baltimore.
Just as Colleen Willoughby challenged the status quo of traditional philanthropy, Crickett has challenged herself to apply collective giving principles to address the needs within her community. “I am now much more intentional and strategic about which organizations the Elbow Fund supports, and how those organizations are chosen,” she said. “I became a student of participatory grantmaking and was determined that future grantmaking would be collaborative and collectively driven by members of the communities impacted by the barriers imposed by the systems all around us.”
Congratulations Crickett on a well-deserved award!
The Willoughby Award is sponsored by Colleen S. Willoughby, and Past Philanos Board Member Dale Clifford, in honor of her mother Laura Egerton Lothrop.
View past recipients, here.
