How Texas Women’s Foundation Made $160K in Grants for Storm Recovery

Texas Women’s Foundation, a philanthropic leader advocating for women’s progress and stability in the southern state, has dispersed nearly $2 million in grants from their Resilience Fund since the onset of COVID-19. The disastrous aftermath of the winter storms in February left the most vulnerable of the Texan population, low-income women and their families, in dire need of assistance. The Resilience Fund didn’t hesitate.

Funds from The Resilience Fund of the Texas Women’s Foundation helped to address the massive damage of winter storms in the region in February. (Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash)

The Resilience Fund is one of many established by the Texas Women’s Foundation, which uses evidence-based approaches to tackle the inequities that women, and specifically women of color, face in their state. The fund’s grants are a consistent and needs-based answer to the devastation these winter storms brought with them, including dozens of unnecessary deaths and nearly $20 billion in damages.

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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)
$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.

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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. 

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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.

together women rise


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.

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Equality Can’t Wait Challenge Announces Finalists for $40M Award

The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge has announced the finalists working to expand the power and influence of women in the U.S.

Ten finalists have been selected to move on to the final round of the Equality Can't Wait Challenge (Image credit: Equality Can't Wait)
Ten finalists have been selected to move on to the final round of the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge (Image credit: Equality Can’t Wait)

On March 8th, the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge, which will award $40 million to help expand women’s power and influence in the United States by 2030, announced 10 projects that will move on to the final stage of the competition.

The Challenge, hosted by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates’ investment and incubation company—with additional support from MacKenzie Scott and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and managed by Lever for Change—was launched in June 2020 to accelerate the pace of progress toward gender equality in America.

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Everytable Seeks Additional $10M In Investments To Make Food Affordable

After receiving $4M in program-related investments, Everytable sets a new goal for an additional $10M in 2021.

Everytable is dedicated to ending food inequality in the U.S. by lowering prices of high-quality food and hiring from low and moderate income communities. (Image credit: Everytable)
Everytable is dedicated to ending food inequality in the U.S. by lowering prices of high-quality food and hiring from low and moderate income communities. (Image credit: Everytable)

Everytable, a Los Angeles-based social enterprise seeking to end food inequality by making nutritious food affordable and accessible for all, has received a total of $4 million in program-related investments (PRI) and grants from several foundations and organizations to support a pioneering Social Equity Franchise program that fosters economic empowerment among entrepreneurs from marginalized communities. In 2021, Everytable seeks to raise an additional $10 million to fund the program’s expansion in both Los Angeles County and New York City.

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When Women Lead, the Environment is in Safer Hands

A comprehensive look at the voting habits of Congressional women on environmental issues reveals that women are a substantial factor in passing environmental legislation.

A graphic from Rachel’s Network shows how women’s leadership is rising in proportion to men’s leadership in Congress. The report, When Women Lead
Women’s Environmental Voting Records in Congress, 1972-2020, gives detailed analysis on women’s environmental voting record in Congress. (Image credit: Rachel’s Network)

Women leaders have been recognized as some of the most significant supporters of environmental policy and legislation for years now. A new report by Rachel’s Action Network breaks down women’s participation in environmental change since 1972. The ecofeminist funder network has previously released similar reports in 2003 and 2011.

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Hive Fund Update: Growing Imprint of New Climate and Gender Funder

When we last heard from the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, the new grassroots funding organization had just announced its first round of grantees in the spring of 2020. Almost a full year later, the fund has expanded its grantmaking efforts to four states (and a few regional and national partners) and is making waves in funding impact in the historically underserved American South.

The Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) is one of the grant recipients from The Hive Fund. WECAN is “a solutions-based organization engaging women and feminists worldwide in policy advocacy, on-the-ground projects, direct action, trainings, and movement building for global climate justice.” (Image Credit: The Hive Fund)

So, What’s Been Going on So Far with The Hive Fund?

What we were initially so excited about was the Hive Fund’s unique approach to fixing a very prevalent problem: The conspicuous funding gap for women’s climate organizations in the American South. And so far, the Hive Fund has proven to be a wave-making, impact-oriented force for the greater good.

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ArtNet: Ripple Effect Tribute to 26 Women Artists and their Inspirations

In celebration of International Women’s Day, ArtNet News identified 26 women working in art that have inspired the industry.

French Sculptor Louise Bourgeois is among the 26 women named by ArtNet as an inspiration to the art world. (Image credit: ArtNet)

It is not always easy being a woman in this world, and being a woman in the art world can be doubly challenging. Gallery rosters and museum collections around the world have been skewed against women for centuries, and many of today’s top institutions still have yet to appoint a female director. Even so, there is a vast community of women in the art world, dedicated to supporting and uplifting each other.

On this International Women’s Day, we looked to a group of art-world women who inspire us, and we asked them to take a moment to shine a light on some of the women who have inspired them. From mothers and grandmothers to feminist critic Linda Nochlin, who first called into question the apparent absence of great women artists—here are 26 women worth celebrating today and every day.

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Increasing Women’s Food Security: Jessamyn Sarmiento of WFP USA

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Jessamyn Sarmiento, Chief Marketing Officer of World Food Program USA. 

  1. What do you wish you had known when you started out in your profession? 
Jessamyn Sarmiento, courtesy of Jessamyn Sarmiento

Sometimes it’s good to break the rules. When you first start a career, everyone tells you how things are done. That’s the way it is. Here are your parameters. Don’t color outside the lines. I learned over time not to take this so seriously. There’s a lot to be said for trusting your own judgement. You can do things differently and will end up being much more creative. Instead of adhering 100 percent to “the right way” all the time, focus on what you believe to be your best ideas. Make your mistakes and learn from them. Don’t let others box you in. 

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