Gender Equity Funding Archives

ERA Coalition Delivers Star-Studded Gala in Pivotal Year for Law

The Living Equality Gala, an event organized by the ERA Coalition, started with Broadway singer Rebecca Naomi Jones singing a rousing rendition of “Ain’t it Good.”

“It is in fact really good,” said Caroline Clarke, who, along with Debra Messing, co-hosted the event. “We are all gathered here tonight to celebrate that for the first time in 99 years, our congress has unflinchingly declared that women’s equality is a priority in the United States of America.”

Honorees and hosts as well as audience members sang “Happy Birthday” to Dolores Huerta as part of the Living Equality Gala festivities. (Image Credit: ERA Coalition)

Both Messing and Clarke discussed the pivotal year we are in for the landmark Equal Rights Amendment, with 2021 being seen as the year that the Amendment will finally be added to the U.S. Constitution.

$11M to Grantees: How CFF Will Take Down Gender-Based Violence

The Collective Future Fund has chosen 25 organizations to start its first multi-year grantmaking effort, pledging a total of $11 million.

*In this grantmaking effort, the Collective Future Fund has chosen organizations dedicated to ending gender-based violence in all its various forms. (Image credit: CFF)*

On March 31st, 2021, the Collective Future Fund (CFF) awarded grants to 25 organizations in its first multi-year grantmaking effort, totaling $11 million over the next three years. The grant recipients are working at the forefront of movements to end gender-based violence in all its forms, and are all led by BIPOC women, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary and im/migrant survivors of color.

How Robert Wood Johnson Fdn is Funding Growth for Girls Who Invest

Girls Who Invest, being backed by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will bring 175 new students to its Summer Intensive Program.

Girls Who Invest works to include more women in the world of asset management and finances. (Image credit: GWI)

Girls Who Invest (GWI), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry, welcomes a cohort of 175 scholars to its 2021 Summer Intensive Program.

Through GWI’s flagship ten-week program, each of these accomplished rising college juniors will complete a four-week rigorous program of study on the core tenets of investing. The program is taught by leading academics and industry professionals, including faculty from the Wharton School and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Scholars then complete six-week paid internships in frontline investing at one of GWI’s more than 100 partner firms. After completing the academic program (held virtually for the second year), scholars are equipped with the industry knowledge and financial, technical, and soft business skills required to excel in their internships and future asset management roles. The scholars participating in this year’s Summer Intensive Program will join more than 500 women who have successfully completed the program since 2016.

Fiona McKay: Financial Sector Must Evolve to Prioritize Social Returns

Fiona McKay’s website asks a simple but striking question: What would the world look like if more women controlled the money? It’s a question I often find myself pondering, too, as a social worker, a small businesswoman, a parent, and a gender equality activist.

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Description automatically generated with low confidence — Fiona McKay, author of the report, Trailblazing Women in Investment. (Image Credit: Fiona McKay)

McKay isn’t just pondering this profound question, though. She’s actively doing research on the way that gender norms shape our experiences, particularly in the financial sector. She is the author of Trailblazing Women in Investment, a new report that discusses gender lens investing and the barriers that women still face with controlling the money in finance.

Ford Foundation Backs New Black Feminist Fund with Seed Money

The Black Feminist Fund just received a generous commitment of $15M from the Ford Foundation to jumpstart this new effort.

On March 25th, the Ford Foundation announced its commitment of $15 million in seed funding to help launch the Black Feminist Fund, a new philanthropic fund developed and led by a core group of Black feminists who sit at the nexus of feminist organizing, advocacy, and philanthropy globally. Ford’s initial investment will be vital to help jumpstart the fund’s work to create a network of support around key issues that impact Black women around the globe.

The Ford Foundation’s $15 million seed investment is from the proceeds of the foundation’s unprecedented social bond launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic. The new funding to the Black Feminist Fund is in addition to Ford’s ongoing support for organizations working to advance racial and gender equality around the world. The foundation’s increased commitment recognizes that Black women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Announcing Recipients of The Fifth Third Foundation’s Grant Program

The Fifth Third Foundation’s Innovation Meets Main Street program has announced the black, women-owned businesses receiving $1.2M in grants.

Launched in September 2020, the Innovation Meets Main Street program was designed to empower black, women-owned businesses throughout the U.S. (Image credit: Fifth Third Foundation)

The Fifth Third Foundation announced the recipients of $1.2 million in grants for Black, woman-owned businesses and the organizations that serve them through the Innovation Meets Main Street: Boosting Black, Woman-owned Businesses program, which was announced in September 2020.

The initiative was a partnership between Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and was completely powered by Fifth Third as a part of a larger $8.75 million pledge to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(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.

Goldman Sachs Invests Over $10B in New Black Women Initiative

Goldman Sachs has launched the One Million Black Women Initiative to target the inequality facing black women across the U.S.

$10B in direct investment capital and $100M in philanthropic capital will be committed to this initiative by Goldman Sachs. (Image credit: Goldman Sachs)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced a new investment initiative of more than $10 billion to advance racial equity and economic opportunity by investing in Black women. In partnership with Black women-led organizations, financial institutions and other partners, Goldman Sachs will commit $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade to address the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations, which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The initiative, One Million Black Women, is named for and guided by the goal of impacting the lives of at least 1 million Black women by 2030.

Google.org Launches New $25M Impact Challenge for Women and Girls

Editor’s Note: The following letter is from Jacqueline Fuller, President of Google.org.

Google.org President Jacqueline Fuller and CEO Sundar Pichai have launches the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls. (Image credit: Google.org) — Google.org President Jacqueline Fuller and CEO Sundar Pichai have launched the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls. (Image credit: Google.org)

When women and girls have the resources and opportunities to turn their potential into power, it changes the trajectory of their lives and strengthens entire communities. I’ve seen this play out first hand while living in India, where public health programs that put resources and decision-making in the hands of women drove much stronger outcomes for their families and villages. I’ve seen this in my own life, when bosses — both male and female — gave me stretch opportunities and bet on my leadership.

Dining for Women Amplifies Gender Equality Mission with New Name

Editor’s Note: The following announcement was made on March 6 by the leadership of Dining for Women.

Together Women Rise is about women and allies coming together all over the world, from all backgrounds and communities, to achieve global gender equality.

Our new name, logo, and tagline are aligned to create a fresh, modern look for our organization — one that is inviting and inclusive to all and tells the world exactly why we exist and what we aim to accomplish.

Together is front and center because our community is strong: gathering together in our chapters and working together with you, our grantees, lies at the root of our impact. Women, because global gender equality is our guiding star; Rise, because we envision a world where all women and girls around the world can reach their full potential and become powerful agents of change to build a stronger, more sustainable, and peaceful world.

Category: Gender Equity Funding