Philanthropy Women

Greengrants’ Laura García on the Gift Feminism Gave Her

Editor’s Note: This interview in the Feminist Giving IRL series features Laura García, President and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund. Greengrants connects grassroots activists in under-served and under-funded communities with the resources and mentorship they need to fight for environmental justice, water rights, healthy ecosystems, and economic empowerment for women and families.

laura garcia — Laura García, President and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund. (Photo Credit: Global Greengrants Fund)

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

When we are young, many of us begin our careers feeling insecure and that we are not valuable professionals in our workplaces. This insecurity has a lot to do with an organizational culture that exploits people who are young and inexperienced, without recognizing their value.

Influential Women Show Solidarity for DV Survivors in COVID

Reese Witherspoon, Octavia Spencer, Megan Rapinoe, Iman, Sheryl Sandberg, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amy Schumer, Awkwafina, Viola Davis, Mariska Hargitay, Patty Jenkins and More Pledge Support and Funds

LOS ANGELES, May 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — According to The United Nations Population Fund, six months of lockdowns could result in an additional 31 million cases of gender-based violence across the globe. The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), CARE, and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) launched Together For Her last month to deploy funds, address the dire need for resources, and support the global response against domestic violence amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stacy’s Rise 2020 Opens Applications for Female Founders

If you’re a fan of hummus and veggie dip, you’re probably a fan of Stacy’s Pita Chips, too. However, like most businesses, the snack brand wasn’t always a familiar fixture in grocery stores. A combination of smart advertising tactics, mentoring, and financial support brought the female-founded brand from its origins in sandwich carts to its place in grocery stores (and our pantries!).

In honor of the brand’s rise to fame, Stacy and Frito-Lay partnered to create the Stacy’s Rise Project, a grant program designed to elevate female-founded brands. The 2020 application cycle is now open, the fourth in the Stacy’s Rise program, and it offers $10,000 grants to 15 women-owned businesses.

Major League Baseball Commits $3 Million for Domestic Violence

NEW YORK (AP) — Six organizations that aid survivors of domestic violence are among groups that will receive $50,000 each from Major League Baseball and the players’ association as part of a Healthy Relationships Community Grant initiative.

MLB and the union committed to donating $3 million from their joint charitable fund in seven phases through 2021, they announced Thursday. Other groups receiving money advocate for positive mental health and relationship skills.

Lutheran Settlement House in Philadelphia will use its money for a bilingual domestic violence program; Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center Inc. in Newburyport, Massachusetts, for a children’s safety project; and YWCA of San Diego County for its Becky’s House domestic violence program.

Grantmakers for Girls of Color Gives One Million for COVID-19

The Love Is Healing COVID-19 Response Fund is providing one million dollars in grants to resource organizations and efforts addressing the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls, fem(mes), and nonbinary/gender expansive youth of color. The grant-making initiative represents Grantmakers for Girls of Color’s first grantmaking effort as an independent entity.

(Photo Credit:) *Credit: Grantmakers for Girls of Color*

Monique W. Morris, Ed.D., newly appointed executive director of Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4CC), notes, “In this moment and beyond, philanthropy must address the lack of diversity, quality, and responsiveness of capital directed to support girls of color at the intersection of their complex identities and experiences.” Morris adds, “Even before this pandemic, girls and gender expansive youth of color have faced interlocking forms of oppression that prevent their full participation in our country’s future.”

Funding the World We Want to See: Sonal Sachdev Patel

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Sonal Sachdev Patel, writer, activist and CEO of GMSP Foundation.

Sonal Sachdev Patel, CEO of God My Silent Partner Foundation (GMSP) Foundation. (Photo courtesy Sonal Sachdev Patel)

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

So much. I wish I had known to go straight to the grassroots. The civil society leaders on the frontlines know what their communities need and know how to deliver it. But they’re constrained by a funding environment that is too often inflexible, impatient and imperialistic in terms of who drives the agenda. When we started in 2006, we were giving project-based funds. After listening to our local partners, we shifted to unrestricted funding.

First Round of Half Million in Grants for MN Women and Girls in COVID

Women’s Foundation Announces First Round of COVID-19 Response Fund Grants to 27 Organizations – COVID-19 Women & Girls Response Fund

(May 7, Minneapolis) — Today, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota (WFMN) announced its first round of investment in 27 organizations through its COVID-19 Women & Girls Response Fund, for a total of $233,000 in general operating grants.

first round of half million — The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota made its first round of grants, totaling $233,000, for nonprofits supporting women and girls in Minnesota. (Image Credit: WFMN)

The COVID-19 Women & Girls Response Fund is issuing a half-million dollars in emergency grants of up to $10,000 to organizations serving women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, older women, and women and girls who need short-term financial support for everyday needs due to the effects of COVID-19 (childcare, eldercare, food, housing, transportation, health, and wellness). Grant applications are being accepted monthly and on a rolling basis, as funds are available.

Ellevate Launches New Fellowships to Support Women in COVID

A fellowship granting fund, EllevateHER Forward equips women who have been economically impacted by the pandemic with tools and resources to return to work.

NEW YORK, May 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Ellevate Network, the largest community of women at work, launches EllevateHER Forward, a fellowship granting fund designed to alleviate the economic burden of the novel coronavirus pandemic on women and support their journey back to the workplace.

ellevate launches new fellowship — Ellevate Network will provide $250.000 in matching funds to support Forward Fellows. (Image Credit: EllevateHER Forward)

EllevateHER Forward Fellows are equipped with comprehensive membership packages that include networking opportunities, a wide range of professional and personal development programming, online resources, Ellevate’s signature 12-week virtual program Squads, and access to a community of over 150,000+ women. Contributions made to the fund will be matched up to $250,000 by Ellevate Network.

How Vodafone is Funding Women in STEM during COVID

In the midst of crisis, some foundations are working harder than ever to protect and empower women and girls, particularly in terms of providing funding for women in STEM.

Vodafone Americas Foundation recently announced a $75,000 commitment to MIT Solve’s Learning for Women & Girls challenge, as well as $50,000 in funding for OpenIdeo’s COVID-19 Business Pivot Challenge. This funding reflects the Foundation’s new commitment to empowerment and education for women and girls, as well as the organization’s flexibility in times of crisis.

Lucina Di Meco: Why We Need More Women Making Decisions

Editor’s Note: This interview in our Feminist Giving IRL series features Lucina Di Meco, Senior Director of Gender Equality and Girls’ Education at Room to Read and author of #ShePersisted. Women, Politics & Power in the New Media World.

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

It’s more important to do what you truly believe in and makes you happy and excited, than what you think might look good on your resume. To a young woman in my field I would say: do the meaningful work that you enjoy doing, and trust that something good will come out of it.

2. What is your current greatest professional challenge?