COVID Archives

How Marsha P. Johnson Institute Gives Direct Support to LGBTQ+ POC

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute has committed over $250K in direct donations to black LGBTQ+ individuals to provide post-pandemic support.

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute has donated over $250K in 2020 to Black LGBTQ+ individuals disproportionately affected by COVID-19 (Image credit: Marsha P. Johnson Institute)

As the pandemic continues and with it, disproportionate impacts on Black transgender people, the Marsha P. Johnson Institute today announced the donation of over $250,000 to more than 500 individuals across the United States in 2020.

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute’s COVID-19 Relief Fund provides a one-time direct relief payment of $500 to Black transgender or non-binary identified people. The Institute is committed to centering the needs of those most beyond the margins; priority for the awardees was given to Black trans women and those who have experience as sex workers, have been formerly incarcerated, and other vulnerable community members.

How Will the Rockefeller Fdn Make Vaccines More Accessible to POC?

The Rockefeller Foundation has launched the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative to improve vaccination rates in communities of color.

The Rockefeller Foundation's Equity-First Vaccination Initiative will collaborate with organizations across the U.S. to improve vaccination rates in communities of color. (Image credit: Rockefeller Foundation) — The Rockefeller Foundation’s Equity-First Vaccination Initiative will collaborate with organizations across the U.S. to improve vaccination rates in communities of color. (Image credit: Rockefeller Foundation)

The Rockefeller Foundation announces the launch of a historic $20 million Equity-First Vaccination Initiative to improve the vaccination rate among communities of color, which have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Representing less than one-third of the 74 million people who are now fully vaccinated in the United States, communities of color are twice as likely to die from Covid-19 and three times as likely to be hospitalized as white Americans. To close this gap, the Foundation will initially collaborate with five organizations to deploy equity-first, hyper-local public health interventions in five U.S. cities: Baltimore, Md.; Chicago, Ill.; Houston, Texas; Newark, N.J.; Oakland, Calif. During the second phase of the Initiative, the Foundation will collaborate with several national organizations to take lessons learned from the five cities and ensure that at least 70 million people of color are vaccinated by July 2021.

What Robin Ganzert Knows About Creating a More Humane World

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Robin Ganzert, Ph.D., president and CEO of American Humane.

What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

When I first started out in the philanthropy space, I wish I had known to stay laser-focused on an organization’s mission. There are a lot of distractions that can cause people to stray away from their organization’s key outcomes. It takes effort to ignore the noise. By using measurable outcomes to gauge mission success, you can make a meaningful difference in building a better world. I think that my ability to zero-in on the mission helped in the organizational transformation of American Humane. If I had recognized the importance of prioritizing the mission from day one, I would have made a larger impact immediately.

Innovative Alliance for Girls Report Defines Gender-Inclusive Solutions

The Alliance for Girls has just released a new, innovative report that defines solutions to creating gender-inclusive communities.

Radical Visions of Safety for Girls, By Girls aims to define how communities can create spaces that teach and nurture gender-inclusivity. (Image credit: Alliance for Girls)

Alliance for Girls, the largest alliance of girl-serving organizations, released its Radical Visions of Safety for Girls by Girls report. This groundbreaking report puts forward solutions for community safety based on the input and lived experiences of girls, gender expansive youth and their champions.

“COVID and the racial justice uprisings of 2020 exposed more people to how the top-down, punishment-based old ways of thinking about safety, and the entrenched systems that were supposed to keep us safe, have always failed Black and brown girls,” said Emma Mayerson, founder and executive director of Alliance for Girls. “This report features the leading edge of violence prevention informed by the practical vision of Black girls and girls of color, gender expansive youth, and the adults who champion them. These solutions will lead to our collective safety and freedom.”

(Liveblog) #GenerationEquality and a Blueprint for a Gender Equal World

On St. Patrick’s Day, Women Moving Millions led a lively discussion as part of its 2021 #GenerationEquality Series. Entitled “Building a Blueprint for a Gender Equal World,” the virtual event featured Latanya Mapp Frett (Global Fund for Women), Michelle Milford Morse (UN Foundation), and Kavita Ramdas (Open Society Foundations).

On March 17th, 2021, Women Moving Millions, the UN Foundation, the Global Fund for Women, and Open Society Foundations gathered to discuss #GenerationEquality. (Image Credit: Women Moving Millions)

Executive Director Sarah Haacke Byrd began the day’s event with a moment of silence for the Asian-American community in Atlanta, where violent attacks in local spas have recently taken place. She also shared context for the day’s conversation, following the 25th anniversary of the Beijing agreement for gender equality. New legislation is due to be created and ratified within the United Nations, all designed to gather the world’s powers to advance gender equality.

Tracy Gary on Activating Donors for Gender Justice

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Tracy Gary, Philanthropic and Legacy Advisor at Unleashing Generosity.

1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession?

My sense of abundance and true resourcefulness has come from giving and service to the nonprofit sector. We can’t do it well without mentors.

From the time I was first exposed to my parents’ giving and their encouragement about my donating, even as a teenager it was clear to me that determining what to give to and how possibly to choose amidst issues, populations and changes needed, would take careful community listening and some wise elder guidance or partnerships.

Dear America, Why is Canada Leading the Charge for LGBTQ+ Funding?

In February 2021, the Canadian federal government announced new outgoing funding for 76 LGBTQ+ organizations across the country. Totaling $15 million CAD ($11.85 million USD), these new grants offer a much-needed capital injection for LGBTQ+ organizations at a time when the queer community struggles to meet and offer support for each other. This funding represents an exciting and forward-focused campaign for Canada — but says plenty about the lack of federal LGBTQ+ funding opportunities in the United States.

A child shows support for Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) at a march in Alberta, Canada. (Image Credit: Denin Lawley)

Our neighbors to the north have frequently led the way in liberal and progressive policymaking, and this new round of federal funding is yet another way that the Canadian federal government is outpacing our own in terms of progressive thinking. The Biden Administration already has its work cut out for it “rolling back the rollbacks” from 45, but it cannot ignore the conspicuous funding gap between federal programs and the LGBTQ+ community.

Register Now! Critical Discussion on Abortion and Reproductive Justice

On March 3rd, Ipas, ARROW, SAfAIDS, and ASAP will join forces to present a webinar on the importance of a gender lens in healthcare.

Ipas, ARROW, SAfAIDS, and ASAP will discuss important topics concerning women's healthcare and COVID-19 on March 3rd. (Image credit: Ipas) — Ipas, ARROW, SAfAIDS, and ASAP will discuss important topics concerning women’s healthcare and COVID-19 on March 3rd. (Image credit: Ipas)

Building resilient reproductive health access
Why we must use a gender lens during the pandemic and after

Wednesday, March 3, 9:00 – 10:30am EST

As International Women’s Day approaches, please join us to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on women is driving innovation and new approaches to expand reproductive health access—right now and for the long term.

Presenters in this webinar will discuss how COVID-19 is impacting all facets of reproductive health and why a gender lens is necessary to overcome challenges and sustain change. And they’ll share examples of promising strategies and programs that can help build a more equitable reality for women and girls after the pandemic.

Sex Doesn’t Stop for a Pandemic: Maverick Collective Pivots in COVID

When the world stops, life keeps going — especially for communities where social isolation and living off of savings are not viable options.

Maverick Collective connects women and girls around the world with essential sexual and reproductive healthcare. (Image Credit: Maverick Collective/PSI)

It’s a well-known fact that COVID-19 has made life at the bottom of the social pyramid even harder. Women and girls around the world, particularly in communities of color, are among the hardest hit by the ripple effects of the pandemic. The news reports address loss of income, life, and community, but the lesser-known impacts should not be forgotten.

Access to healthcare, particularly for women, was already a commodity difficult to come by in certain parts of the world. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, women and girls’ access to contraceptives, feminine hygiene products, and maternity care hangs more precariously than ever before.

How Science Is Using Gender-Lens Thinking Induced by COVID

A new research paper exploring how COVID-19 gender policy changes have helped female scientists and improved research quality was published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research shines a pandemic-inspired light on how self-identified females are specifically impacted by COVID. Their job roles as scientists are being redefined and their increased caregiving roles are taking priority.

women in science — Image credit: Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash

The results of the study, although unsurprising in terms of perpetual gender inequities, are unique to today’s world. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) initiated their “COVID-19 funding competition” in February of 2020, and found fewer females applied. Those that did apply, were also less likely to be approved.

Category: COVID