The Amplify Her® Foundation, a new private grantmaking foundation created to support the economic and social advancement of women changemakers from under-invested communities in New York City, held an official launch celebration. The foundation will also release “If She Can Make it Here,” a comprehensive research report that identifies the most significant barriers faced by women and girls from underserved communities in the city and interventions to help them overcome those obstacles and meet their full leadership potential.
“After years of working to advance women in the public, nonprofit and political arenas, what consistently stood out to me was the dearth of funding and support specifically for nonprofit organizations serving women and girls. Women and girls face unique challenges and yet funding is rarely tailored to their needs…” —Marti Speranza Wong, Amplify Her Foundation founder, executive director and board chair.
To help guide their grantmaking and programming, the foundation partnered with IDEO.org and The New York Women’s Foundation on “If She Can Make it Here.” Using IDEO.org’s human centered design process and The New York Women’s Foundation’s deep knowledge of the issues facing New York City communities, the report centers the voices of the women and girls whom the foundation seeks to support.
“IDEO.org was thrilled to partner with Amplify Her Foundation on this important foundational research. Using the tools of human-centered design, our goal was to ensure that the process reflected our commitment to center the voices and experiences of women and girls..” –Shauna Carey, CEO of IDEO.org.
The report relies on academic and government research and statistics, as well as information gathered through in-depth focus groups with over 50 women and girls and a survey of over 1,000 women and girls in the city. By directly speaking with and listening to members of the communities the foundation seeks to support, “If She Can Make It Here” provides surprising insights and revelations. Amplify Her Foundation hopes that the report will be a valuable resource to other philanthropic organizations and nonprofits seeking to help women and girls.
The launch celebration took place at the Museum of the City of New York, on Oct 3rd. Opening remarks were delivered by New York State Attorney Letitia James. In addition, a panel featured women leaders from The New York Women’s Foundation, IDEO.org and Women.NYC and remarks from Tarana Burke, founder and chief vision officer of me too. Movement.
Tarana Burke received the inaugural GlassBreaker Award. The event also celebrated the unveiling of a new research report on women’s leadership in New York City, which includes a number of grantmaking considerations for funders of women and girls.
More information about the event and other speakers can be found here.
To learn more, visit www.amplifyherfoundation.org
One: New Report Uncovers Sneaky Lack of Transparency In Development Finance Institutions Giving for Gender Equality
As more and more finance is channeled through development finance institutions (DFIs), Publish What You Fund has encountered a striking lack of transparency about these investments and how they are supporting gender equality.
The “2X Challenge” was launched at the G7 Summit 2018 as a commitment by DFIs to collectively mobilize $3 Billion in private sector investments in developing country markets over 3 years. These investments provide women with improved access to leadership opportunities, quality employment, finance, enterprise support, and products and services that enhance economic participation and access.
Publish What You Fund has examined how DFIs are disclosing their 2X investments and found big gaps in the information available. The lack of standardized information makes it almost impossible to measure the value, impact, and progress of gender lens investing. In a new research paper, “Taking stock of the 2X Challenge: The transparency of gender lens investments“ we assess the current state of 2X disclosure and suggest how the 2X community can improve its transparency and accountability.
Read the full report here:
Two: Public Interest Registry Announces 2023 .ORG Impact Awards Finalists, Activist Padma Lakshmi to Host
On October 2, 2023, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the people behind .ORG, named the finalists for the 5th annual .ORG Impact Awards. Padma Lakshmi—activist, author, and host/producer of Hulu’s Taste the Nation—will host the awards ceremony where the winners will be revealed on November 16 in Washington, D.C. The program recognizes and rewards outstanding mission-driven individuals and organizations from around the world for their positive contributions to society
“We are honored to welcome our 2023 .ORG Impact Award Finalists into our growing community of changemakers, who inspire us to make the world a better place. We created the awards to celebrate those within the .ORG Community who work tirelessly to uplift their communities—and this year’s finalists represent hope for a brighter future” said Jon Nevett, President and CEO of Public Interest Registry.“
This year’s finalists represent the top five entries across seven award categories:
- Community Building
- Quality Education for All
- Environmental Stewardship
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
- Health and Healing
- Hunger and Poverty
- Rising Stars (leaders, under 25, making a difference in their communities)
The winner of the .ORG of the Year award will receive a donation of $50,000 USD while the other category winners will each receive $10,000 USD.
Finalists with a focus on Gender Lens include:
Kakenya’s Dream
Kakenya’s Dream invests in girls from rural Kenya through educational, health, and leadership initiatives to create agents of change.
The Citizens Foundation
The Citizens Foundation (TCF) supports the education of underprivileged children and works towards increased gender equity in Pakistan.
Burn Design Lab
Burn Design Lab designs clean burning cookstoves manufacturing systems to save lives, reduce deforestation, and promote the economic empowerment of women in the developing world.
Custom Collaborative
https://www.customcollaborative.org
Custom Collaborative is an NYC-based nonprofit that trains, mentors, and advocates for no/low-income and immigrant women to build the skills necessary to achieve economic success in the sustainable fashion industry and envisions a world in which all women possess the skills, confidence, and agency to design their futures and contribute to a sustainable world—regardless of race or socio-economic background.
GirlLEAD Talent
https://thegirlleadproject.org
GirlLEAD provides an all-inclusive, accessible and affordable platform for women and girls in marginalized communities to acquire world-class science, technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills, enabling them in their unique capacity to change the world.
Pinkishe Foundation
Pinkishe Foundation runs multiple programs for the benefit of girls and women, the flagship of them being PadBank, to spread Menstrual Hygiene awareness and distribute free reusable sanitary pads.
About Public Interest Registry
Public Interest Registry (PIR) is a nonprofit that operates the .ORG top-level domain—one of the world’s largest generic top-level domains with more than 10.8 million domain names registered worldwide.
Visit www.pir.org for more information.
Three: Letter from Geneva: An Expert’s Call For Global Feminist Unity
Everywoman.org is a diverse coalition of women’s rights advocates, scholars, lawyers, frontline practitioners, and organizations in more than 125 nations. For 10 years, they have pursued a singular goal: A treaty to transform lagging global response to gender-based violence. The goal is to have a method to hold States legally accountable for violence committed against women.
This past week, Lisa Shannon, Co-Founder and CEO of Every Woman, sent out a letter explaining the urgency of the situation, and calling for the unity of all women, to put aside the divisiveness that arises from differences of opinion on specific issues. In other words, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Working together with so many groups in so many countries, perfect unanimity is very difficult to attain. The important issue is to keep the end goal in mind and work together towards it.
“Through our consultation with more than 140 nations, UN experts, thousands of activists across the globe, and careful tracking of the world-wide anti-rights movement, we have come to a conclusion: In this era of backlash against human rights, the global feminist movement must stand together,” Shannon explains in the letter.
Shannon recounts a discussion with a “fiery NGO rep”. While the two women agreed on every issue raised, the sticking point was not our positions on issues or the policy we are advancing, but rather that we have engaged in dialogue with some who may differ on a specific issue. This was the black mark. In her meeting report later shared with us by colleagues, this NGO representative labeled us an “anti-feminist, anti-rights organization.”
“Friends,” Shannon pleads, “this divisiveness has gone too far.
“Make no mistake, to the extent the feminist movement chooses to in-fight, we are in direct service to the anti-rights movement. We are delivering on their well-laid strategy.
“The refusal of the global women’s rights movement to set aside differences and engage in constructive problem solving is, for the movement, a death knell. Women and girls…cannot afford for us to fall prey to this movement fallacy.”
The letter continues by setting out a proposed set of guidelines and principles to help the womens’ movement move forward on a united front.
Click here to download the letter.
To go to the main website:
Four: Megan Thee Stallion’s Pete & Thomas Foundation to Partner with the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium on Special #BlackGirlJoyChallenge This Month. Details were kept under wraps until 10/11/23
As reported here on 8/29/23, the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (Southern Black Girls) acquired the support and partnership of Megan Thee Stallion’s Pete and Thomas Foundation for a new venture. Megan and her foundation will return in partnership with the Southern Black Girls to host their own #BlackGirlJoyChallenge, will soon launch a special cycle of their signature #BlackGirlJoyChallenge with Megan Thee Stallion’s Pete and Thomas Foundation.
It is time to announce the launch of the special cycle of the #BlackGirlJoyChallenge was launched on the International Day of the Girl Child. News and details were kept under wraps until Wednesday, October 11.
The venture seeks to empower and uplift young Black girls and gender-expansive youth across the southern United States, promoting mental health and wellness through the celebration of JOY.
The challenge will award 100 micro-grants to young girls and gender-expansive youth, between the ages of 12-24, across the southern United States. That includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia
The micro-grants will be awarded to applicants who have compelling and creative ideas to spread joy and positivity within their communities.
Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (Southern Black Girls) and Megan Thee Stallion’s Pete and Thomas Foundation are both featured in our book Feminist Giving.
If you haven’t already ordered your copy, head right over to Lulu now.
Feminist Giving is also available on Amazon:
Video of Megan Thee Stallion upon Announcing this Partnership:
Five: NCRP Opens New Era of Board Leadership by Adding Two Key Women
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) opened in a new fiscal year this week by announcing the election of a new Executive Committee and welcoming three nonprofit and foundation leaders as members of its Board of Directors.
A philanthropic advocacy group based in D.C., NCRP announced that Sarita Gupta (Vice President of U.S. Programs at The Ford Foundation), Nana Gyamfi (Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration) and Eric Ward (Executive Vice President of Race Forward) had joined the board effective October 1. In addition, President and CEO of Missouri Foundation for Health Dr. Dwayne Proctor had been elected the Board’s new Chair.
Sarita Gupta is vice president of U.S. Programs, overseeing the Ford Foundation’s domestic work including Civic Engagement and Government, Creativity and Free Expression, Future of Work(ers), Technology and Society, Disability Rights, and Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Justice. Gupta has more than two decades of experience working to expand people’s ability to take collective action to improve their workplaces, communities, and lives.
Gupta helped build numerous workers’ rights campaigns, serving as executive director of Jobs With Justice and co-director of Caring Across Generations. She is also co-author of The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century.
Nana Gyamfi is the Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), a Black national organization that fights for the rights of Black migrants and African Americans through organizing, legal advocacy, research, policy, and narrative building to improve the conditions of Black communities by advancing racial justice and migrant rights.
A Movement attorney for over 25 years, Nana is co-founder of Justice Warriors 4 Black Lives and Human Rights Advocacy, organizations dedicated to fighting for human rights and Black liberation.
(NCRP) has served as philanthropy’s independent watchdog since 1976. We work with foundations, nonprofits, social justice movements and other leaders to ensure that the sector is transparent with, and accountable to, those with the least wealth, power and opportunity in American society.
Our storytelling, advocacy, and research efforts, in partnership with grantees, help funders fulfill their moral and practical duty to build, share, and wield economic resources and power to serve public purposes in pursuit of justice.
For a full list of the current NCRP Board of Directors, visit the NCRP website at https://www.ncrp.org/about-us/board.
Related:
All In: MacKenzie Scott’s Unique Trust and Transparency in Giving
Women on Top, New Initiative to Give $1M In Scholarships and Grants
Women’s Funds Show Philanthropy the Way to Transparency, Diversity
