Maya Angelou famously said: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” She may not have been talking about Donald Trump, but the advice seems especially pertinent to him.
There is no distinction between social justice and climate justice. The poorest suffer from a deteriorating climate and the majority of those suffering are women. They are often women with children who do not have the means to relocate to a safer location.
We Don’t Have Time is the world’s largest media platform for climate action. The organization was created after the election of Trump in 2016. This event made it plain that world leaders were not going to take significant action that would even slow down climate degradation. “Trump digs coal” was a slogan and an election pitch that helped him get elected.
While Trump has (finally!) been convicted of some of his crimes, he is also still out there looking for ways to downgrade the world for everyone except the super-rich. Recently, he gathered a group of CEOs from major fossil-fuel companies and solicited what can only be called a bribe. While perhaps not using these exact words, his message was “Give me a billion dollars for my election campaign and I will give you the legislation you want, and eliminate pesky laws that you don’t like.” Seriously, it doesn’t get much more blatant than that.
This “fundraising” event occurred in a week when an area four times the size of Denmark was flooded in Brazil. Hundreds of towns and cities were submerged.
We Don’t Have Time has a plan on how to help stop environmental degradation. The fastest and most effective way is to Move the Money.
This is a campaign to insist that investors and financial institutions turn their back on fossil fuels and start investing in solutions. When this happens and the money dries up, policymakers will follow.
To visit the website and get a better idea of what concrete steps we can take, please follow the links below:
One: Family Child Care Founder On How Philanthropy Can Help Advance Equitable Child Care
Quality, affordable child care is both a necessity and a dream. All Our Kin, is a national organization that their website describes as “leader in the movement to transform our country’s child care system”.
The approach taken is innovative. All Our Kin acts as a partner with family child care educators. The caregivers own their business and provide flexible, affordable in-home care. AOK provides support for most facets of the caregivers’ business. This includes licensing support and professional learning. AOK provides necessary information to meet health and safety regulations, including mentorship to fulfill state licensing requirements.
Once they become licensed child-care providers, the educators receive one-on-one coaching on the situations that arise from caring for a group of children of different ages, or those with special needs. All of this enhances child growth and development in race and ethnic identity development and language and literacy.
AOK also provides substantial coaching on how to operate as a business. Caregivers receive a free ten-week program on contracts, policies, risk management, accounting, and how to maintain records for tax purposes.
In turn, the caregivers then play a key role in their local economy. They operate their own business that provides care for parents who are struggling to hold down a job.
All Our Kin maintains a Family Child Care network to provide education and mentorship, advocacy and leadership opportunities, thereby creating community with other caregivers. Specialized consultants who specialize in early childhood visit the individual provider’s location with follow-up learning that includes model lessons and demonstration of new strategies.
All Our Kin has received national recognition as a field model. It operates in 27 states, including Washington, DC and has a network of over 1100 small business owners and staff.
To visit the website for a wealth of additional information, please follow this link:
To read the 2023 Impact Report, use this link:
https://allourkin.org/2023-Impact-Report
Two: Dove Chocolate Creates Tool to Help Mothers Re-enter Workforce
According to a Joblist Survey conducted in 2021, approximately 61% of people who have experienced at least a 12-month gap in employment are women. Explaining that gap to a prospective employer can be problematic, if an applicant can reach the interview stage.
The survey was conducted at the end of the pandemic, but one suspects that the attitude of employers has only grown less tolerant of gaps in the resume since then. One significant reason women are more likely to have long absences from work is the choice to care for a child. This is the so-called “Mommy Gap’.
For Mother’s Day 2024, Dove Chocolate introduced an innovative tool to help mothers seeking to rejoin the workforce. The tool is called The Mom Experience Translator, an innovative AI tool designed to help moms looking to reenter the workforce after taking a “Mommy Gap”, when mothers choose to leave their jobs to raise their children.
The tool is free. It allows mothers to input an open job description, select from a list of pre-populated skills and add additional accomplishments and areas of expertise that they use every day as a parent. The tool translates these parenting skills into functional job skills that recruiters and hiring managers are seeking.
“DOVE has long been a brand that empowers and uplifts women,” said Gabrielle Wesley, Chief Marketing Officer, Mars Wrigley. “We’re thrilled to inspire moments of everyday happiness this Mother’s Day, by helping to provide additional support and highlight the incredible strength, power and excellence moms bring to the table in all aspects of life.”
To read the entire press release:
Three: Women’s Foundation of Boston Announces Over $2.1 Million in 2024 Grants
The Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFB), announced today that it has awarded $2,173,000 to 10 nonprofits through its 2024 grant cycle.
WFB is a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates economic empowerment, leadership, and mentoring programs that equip women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders,
This year’s grant cycle is the largest in the Foundation’s history.For this grant cycle, 55 percent of the total funds will be distributed to new grantee partners, and 27 percent will be distributed to organizations exclusively serving Western Massachusetts. This demonstrates the organization’s expanded mission to empower economically women and girls beyond Greater Boston and reach the entire Commonwealth.
Since the organization began awarding grants only seven years ago, the Foundation has committed an impressive $8,300,000 to organizations focused on improving the financial, professional, and emotional well-being of women and girls. The selection of Grantees involves a rigorous process that evaluates each organization’s operations leadership and financial stability, along with the program’s impact potential and scalability.
For more information about the selected grantee organizations and the funding they received please view the press release at the link below.
https://wfboston.org/news/womens-foundation-of-boston-announces-2024-grant-recipients
Four: Inclusiv Launches the ‘Inclusiv Impact Deposits Fund’ with Investments from Kataly Foundation, Bank of America
We have run a number of stories about the difficulty that entrepreneurs who are women and/or Persons of Color have an extremely difficult time securing funding for a startup. The problem exists for ordinary citizens too.
Inclusiv, is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). It recently announced the launch of the Inclusiv Impact Deposits Fund. The fund will raise and deploy $100 million of social impact deposits in community development credit unions (CDCUs) to increase their impact in areas that have historically been underserved.
These deposits provide vital loan capital to fuel lending by community development credit unions. CDCUs provide important banking services to help people with low incomes build savings and wealth. CDCUs reinvest deposits locally
CDCUs reinvest deposits locally through affordable loans to people with low incomes in order to expand homeownership, finance small businesses, foster climate resiliency, and support financial security. Such institutions finance everything from affordable housing, small businesses, community facilities, health care centers, and other projects that spark growth.
The Fund will provide needed liquidity to credit unions working to meet their communities’ credit needs on terms designed to support mission-driven, affordable lending in historically redlined and under-resourced communities.
Redlining is the practice of denying loans or insurance to persons who live in certain neighborhoods or areas of a town or city. The denial was irrespective of whether the applicant would qualify on their personal merits. Women have historically also found it difficult, if not impossible, to secure loans based on personal merit.
Inclusiv made the announcement during their annual conference, where it was revealed pioneering investors, including the Kataly Foundation and Bank of America, have already committed $84 million to date.
“The Inclusiv Impact Deposits Fund builds upon Inclusiv’s experience – now five decades long – of channeling investment to communities that have historically experienced under- and disinvestment,” said Cathie Mahon, President and CEO of Inclusiv. “We are thrilled to commemorate our 50 years of history with this partnership with the Kataly Foundation, Bank of America, and other investors as we look forward to building prosperity and opportunities through meaningful investments in CDCUs that are advancing financial inclusion and equity in their communities.”
To read the full press release, please use this link:
For additional information on Inclusiv, please visit the website:
Five: Annual Opportunity Network Gala Raises More Than $3.4M To Expand Student Access and Opportunity
The Opportunity Network (OppNet) has announced that it raised $3.4 million at its annual “Night of Opportunity Gala” hosted on May 8th in New York City. Funds will go towards supporting the organization’s long-standing mission to close the opportunity gap and expand access to higher education, career opportunities and professional networks for first generation, underserved, students.
The evening’s distinguished honorees included Rashida Jones, President of MSNBC; Anu Aiyengar, Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions at J.P. Morgan; and Jamie Hector, acclaimed Actor, Director, and Philanthropist. Additionally, the gala recognized outstanding student and alumni honorees: Silvana Navia (OppNet Class of 2024), Sen Feng (OppNet Class of 2025), Tahrif Chowdhury (OppNet Class of 2028), and Windy Dias (OppNet Class of 2022).
The guest list included members from across the worlds of finance, entertainment, philanthropy and media.
OppNet’s leadership, including its new President and CEO Lucria Ortiz, as well as esteemed honorees, and current and former OppNet Fellows, marked the event with speeches.. Sports journalist and broadcaster Taylor Rooks served as the emcee for the evening, guiding guests through a program that honored individuals dedicated to service and achievement.
“On behalf of the entire OppNet staff and board of directors, I am elated by the resounding success of this year’s gala and extend heartfelt appreciation to all our funders, donors, and sponsors for their unwavering support of our mission and the young individuals we serve,” said Ortiz. “Beyond the financial contributions, this milestone underscores the profound impact of our programs and highlights the remarkable dedication, resilience, and accomplishments of our students. I eagerly anticipate harnessing this momentum to propel us towards an even more prosperous year ahead, as we remain steadfast in our commitment to forging pathways of opportunity for those who need them most.”
“As a first generation college graduate myself, supporting OppNet’s mission is all the more important to me. I am grateful for all of the dedicated support from leaders across various sectors and the tireless work of our team and our board to make this year’s gala a success,” said Raquel Vargas Palmer, OppNet Board Chair and Partner at KPS Capital Partners.
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