During 2005-2006, WID celebrated its 25th Anniversary.  The year-long celebration was marked by four cornerstone events recognizing the past, present and future of this professional organization, as well as the central role of development in advancing the work of the nonprofit sector.

The Anniversary year kicked off at a sold-out luncheon honoring Emily Kernan Rafferty, the first woman President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as our 2005 Woman of Achievement on May16, 2005.  The event was held at the Princeton Club and was sponsored by Raybin Associates, Inc.

The second event, a summer networking reception paid tribute to WID's founding members. WID's current President, Brenna Sheenan Mayer, and Elizabeth “Betty” Becker, WID's founder, received a special proclamation from the Director of the NYC Commission on Women's Issues in the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declaring July 13, 2005, Women in Development Day.  The event attended by over 350 women development professionals was held at the Kimmel Center at NYU and included the cutting of a ceremonial birthday cake provided as a surprise by the staff of NYU's George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising which sponsored the event.

On February 6, 2006, three women who have broken through the glass ceiling and currently head prominent nonprofit organizations in the New York City area were featured in a panel discussion moderated by Alair Townsend, publisher of Crain's New York Business. The panelists were Aileen C. Hefferren, Chief Executive of Prep for Prep, Jennifer E. Herring, President and CEO of The Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk and Wanda D. Wooten, Executive Director of the Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center. The luncheon program was held at the Princeton Club in New York City and sponsored by The Stanford Group, Inc.

Yet another remarkable woman, Ellen V. Futter, President of the American Museum of Natural History, who has worked in the development field for the last three decades was honored at the fourth and culminating event, the 2006 Woman of Achievement Luncheon on May 1, 2006 at Cipriani 42nd Street. This gala celebration was again sponsored by the all-woman consulting firm, Raybin Associates, Inc.

Women in Development's 25th Anniversary has also been the subject of feature articles and notices in the New York Nonprofit Press, the New York Sun, and the Philanthropy Journal. The issues addressed have included the transformation of this sector from one of male-domination to that of female saturation over the last 25 years. While celebrating the handful of women who have risen through development to become the chief executives of New York area nonprofits, the continuing lack of pay equity for women in this profession, despite their success, has also been spotlighted.