Dear community,
G4GC’s Black Girl* Freedom Fund (BGFF) is thrilled to announce our second round of grantees! In this round of grants, we’ve invested over $4 million in 68 organizations from across 23 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico that focus on the leadership and organizing capacity of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth. Our newest grantee partners were vetted and chosen by Black girls and gender-expansive youth from BGFF’s Grantmaking Council, and these funds will directly nurture the dreams, power, and leadership of Black girls.
We recognize and appreciate the wisdom and contributions of this phenomenal cohort of the BGFF Grantmaking Council, made up of six Black girls and gender-expansive youth ages 14 to 22, who reviewed over 200 applications to arrive at our selected 68 grantee partners. This second cohort of our BGFF Grantmaking Council came together to define what leadership means to them, explore what philanthropy looks like in their communities, and learn about G4GC’s practice as a resource mobilizer.
In the process, they helped co-create our vetting process for awarding funding, and shared their leadership and wisdom to better serve Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth. “We’re not even asked what kind of investment we need for ourselves and our communities. But who better to ask than us?” said Jamison Ford, a 14-year-old who sits on the BGFF Grantmaking Council.
We are anchored in our belief that “an investment in Black girls and their leadership is an investment in our future,” says Dr. Monique W. Morris, President and CEO of G4GC, and cofounder of the #1Billion4BlackGirls** campaign.
Learn more about the 68 incredible organizations that are our 2022 BGFF grantee partners on our website, and about how their work positively impacts our communities and the lives of Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. In the coming months, we will also be updating our website to reflect the over 100 organizations that have been awarded grants through the Black Girl Freedom Fund to date.
We are grateful to each of our donors for answering the call to co-invest with the Black Girl Freedom Fund. This summer, we will prepare to launch our third round of participatory grantmaking, and invite you to stay connected with us via our Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and website to get updates or email us at [email protected] if you have questions.
Take good care,
Cidra M. Sebastien
Manager, Black Girl Freedom Fund
“My dream for all Black girls is not only to think outside the box, but to throw the box away.” ~ Anyia Williams (BGFW speaker, student, model, and visionary)
We are still celebrating the phenomenal events from this year’s Black Girl Freedom Week 2022(BGFW) organized by G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign. We were moved and spiritually enriched by the conversations between young people and our guest facilitators, which included inspirational leaders like Marley Dias, Eva Reign, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sanaa Lathan, and Rashida Jones.
In addition to elevating Black girls’ leadership, creativity, and joy, BGFW focused on the accountability of philanthropy and the beauty and fashion industries’ impact on Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. The week-long celebration also included a day of interaction specifically for young people. We invite you to watch any session you may have missed, or rewatch, and share!
You can still watch and share the videos (available with American Sign Language interpretation, English and Spanish captions) on our Instagram page and website. And mark your calendars for next year’s Black Girl Freedom week in February 2023!
OUR IMPACT REPORT!
What did BGFF do in 2021? Read our impact report!
What did BGFF do in 2021? Read our impact report!
We are deeply grateful to everyone who has collaborated, supported and celebrated our Black Girl Freedom Fund. During 2021 many of you shared insights and wisdom, spread the word, and contributed to the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign.
In our first year, BGFF invested over $500,000 in organizations that focus on the wellness and safety of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth. Our inaugural grantee partners were vetted and chosen by Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth from BGFF’s first Grantmaking Council.
The creation of BGFF at the same time as the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign placed us on a path to call for the investment of $1 Billion for Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. We are proud of what we were able to achieve in 2021, and are inspired to continue the work moving forward. We invite you to explore the 2021 BGFF Impact Report on our website where you will find:
- How G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign began,
- Highlights from our first Black Girl Freedom Week,
- Our exciting partnership with ABC and Shondaland,
- Our first round of BGFF grantee partners, and more!
*When G4GC refers to “Black girls” we include any cis, trans, gender-expansive, non-binary and/or any girl- or femme-identified person age 25 and younger who identifies as Black.
**The #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign and G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund were launched in September 2020 to resource abundantly in the braintrust, innovation, health, safety, education, artistic visions, research, and joy of Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth, and their families.