G4GC End of Year Giving campaign

As the end of 2023 approaches, we’re calling on you to be a part of something incredible. Your donation to G4GC will help us advance the power, well-being, and brilliance of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color. Let’s create a more just future together! Learn more and donate today, or share the link with someone looking for an end-of-year home where their donation will make a significant difference! 

2023 New Songs Rising Fellows

We’re honored to have these 10 incredible Indigenous girls and gender-expansive young people supporting the New Songs Rising Initiative. The fellows will meet virtually, across an 18 month period, to build community and sense of self, celebrate Indigenous identity and belonging, expand their leadership skills, support a participatory grantmaking model, and influence the visioning of NSRI. Learn more about these amazing young people, here.

Transformations Liberation Camp

This year our Holding a Sister Initiative (HASI) hosted Liberation Camp, a leadership development retreat for Trans communities of color in the Ozarks, Arkansas, in collaboration with Transformations (@kctransformations).

Led by G4GC’s Nahr Suha and Transformations’ Merrique Jenson, the camp hosted a brilliant group of emerging trans leaders— including six young people in HASI’s first cohort. Their wisdom guides our developing strategy to robustly resource queer and trans communities. Learn more about the camp here, and watch our camp highlight reel here.  

A Future of Justice and Democracy: Black Girl Freedom Week 2024

A Future of Justice and Democracy: Black Girl Freedom Week 2024  

Our annual Black Girl Freedom Week is just around the corner! We want to encourage you to register (we’ll have raffle giveaways for some early registrants and participants!) and to join us February 12-18, 2024 for a week of virtual events around our “A Future of Justice and Democracy” theme, and centered on the creativity, brilliance, joy and leadership of Black girls and gender-expansive youth. You can register at 1billion4blackgirls.org.

#1Billion4BlackGirls Has A New Site!

We’ve put a lot of care and planning into creating a new home for the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign. You can watch past Black Girl Freedom Week videos, learn more about our co-founders, and find ways to get involved with and support the campaign to raise $1 billion for Black girls and gender-expansive youth by 2030. Check out the revamped website at www.1billion4blackgirls.org. 

Change Philanthropy’s Unity Summit

What a joy it was to connect with other philanthropic colleagues in Los Angeles for Change Philanthropy’s Unity Summit. Members of our team led panels at the conference on “How Philanthropy Can Build a Culture of Safety with Community” and “Economic and Reproductive Justice for All.” Stay tuned for videos from those panels on our YouTube page.

Warner Music Group/Blavatnik Family Social Justice Fund Grantee Cypher

G4GC President and CEO Dr. Monique Couvson passed the mic with leaders in the social justice, philanthropic, and entertainment sectors at Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund’s 2nd Annual Grantee Convening. On her panel, Dr. Couvson (third from left) shared how G4GC embeds the wisdom of our ancestors in philanthropy.

Justice For Black Girls National Conference

We’re proud sponsors of the Justice For Black Girls National Conference at Spelman College in Atlanta, on November 12th. 

The Conference highlighted Black girls as theorists of their own experiences, freedom fighters, resistors, creatives and innovators, and created the liberated spaces that Black girls have always deserved. 

Check out some highlights from the conference here

Ms. Foundation’s ‘Living with Pocket Change’ Report

Ms. Foundation for Women (@msfoundation) has released the next installment of their groundbreaking report, “Living with Pocket Change: What It Means to Do More With Less.” This report examines the impact of chronic philanthropic underinvestment in the leadership of women and nonbinary people of color.

As a foundational piece of research informing G4GC’s work and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, we congratulate Ms. Foundation President and CEO (and G4GC Advisory Board member) Teresa C. Younger and the Ms. Foundation team on this critical research for the field!

Share your org’s work with G4GC

Are you interested in having your organization’s latest work featured on the G4GC blog and our socials? Does your organization have a funding opportunity, upcoming conference, or other celebration centering girls of Color you want to share with the G4GC community? Share it with us! We would love to amplify your mission and efforts that center the wisdom and leadership of girls, femmes and youth of Color. You can fill out this simple Google form at least 3-4 weeks in advance for events and any deadlines, and email any photos or video to share to ashley@g4gc.org.

Dr. Couvson’s op-ed on “Cultivating the transformative power of girls”

“To fully elevate and amplify girls’ leadership, we must invest in their wellbeing. This means we must recognize how girls and gender-expansive youth show up in leadership — this requires adults to both cede power and seed power.” ~Dr. Monique Couvson, CEO/President, G4GC

Check out the #DayoftheGirl op-ed article from Dr. Monique Couvson here!

Celebrating Indigenous Joy

G4GC’s New Songs Rising Initiative (NSRI) hosted a Celebration of Indigenous Joy in July with panels and videos from Indigenous girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth, as well as representatives from NSRI grantee partner organizations who support the brilliance and leadership of Indigenous youth.

We presented a conversation with our NSRI partners, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, a panel with grantee partners on Centering Indigenous Representation in Data as well as a conversation with Indigenous youth. We also debuted a video by NSRI grantee partner Allie Redhorse Young of Protect The Sacred with appearances and testimonials from New Songs Rising Initiative grantee partner organizations and Native and Globally-Indigenous young people. Watch the full celebration here.

Black Girl Freedom Fund 2023 Grantees

We’re thrilled to announce our 2023 Black Girl Freedom (BGFF) grantee partners, and highlight their incredible work!

For this year’s BGFF grantmaking cycle, the Black Girl Freedom Fund Youth Grantmaking Council selected 18 youth-led projects, as well as 17 nonprofit organizations that center Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth.

The BGFF Youth Projects focused on the artistic vision, activism, and innovation of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth ages 15-25, and were granted $10,000 grants each. The 17 organizations that join BGFF as grantee partners facilitate programming that focuses on the artistic vision, activism, and innovation of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth, ages 12-25. For more about these grantee partners and youth projects, click here.

BGFW2024, Save the Date!

We want you to join our phenomenal Black Girl Freedom Week, save the date: February 12-18, 2024. We’re thrilled to share that our theme is “A Future of Justice and Democracy.”

Catch up on exciting speaker panels, performances and more from 2023 and past year’s Black Girl Freedom Weeks on our YouTube channel.

Ethical Storytelling: A guide to better conversations

Ensuring that narratives are accurately attributed and ethically shared is essential and just, and we’re excited to be contributors to “The Guide To Better Conversations About Ethical Storytelling.” For the last year Josefina Casati, G4GC Senior Director of Communications, has been collaborating with the team creating this communications guide, where she co-authored Chapter 4 “How should we measure success?.” Additionally, G4GC’s Raquel Thomas shared her insights and experiences in this video. Over 100 contributors collaborated in hopes of changing the way we gather and share narratives, centering and honoring those in our communities whose stories we want to share. This guide was created for communicators who care deeply about ethical storytelling in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors and has something for those who want to work toward having #BetterConversations. Check it out here!

BGFW2024, Save the Date!

Add Charisma’s Turn to your fall reading list! The graphic novel by our very own G4GC President and CEO, Dr. Monique Couvson was released in May. We loved seeing all the amazing pictures of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color in our grantee communities enjoying and reading the book! G4GC invites you to share your thoughts and pictures with us at ashley@g4gc.org.

Announcing G4GC’s Grantee Partner Survey

Our Research and Data Departments are spearing the launch of G4GC’s grantee partner survey, with the support of the brilliant research consultant Dr. Vanessa Patiño Lydia.

 Grantees are invited to share more information about the incredible work they are doing. This survey will help us build a living archive of the diverse and impactful movements centering girls and gender-expansive youth of Color. We hope that the information we get from this survey will be inspiring, transformational, and further allow you to see how you are helping the larger movement for girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color. Look out for an email with the survey link and information sessions. Questions? research@grantmakersforgirlsofcolor.org

G4GC leadership @ Women’s Funding Network’s #FeministFunded Conference

Dr. Monique Couvson, our President & CEO, Maheen Kaleem, VP of Programs and Operations, and Tara Quarrie, VP of Development, joined the 2023 Feminist Funded conference in D.C. in September. Monique and Maheen presented alongside organizational and philanthropic partners about the need for feminist movements to ensure that girls and gender-expansive youth are centered in our efforts to achieve justice and to end gendered violence.

“Thank you to Women’s Funding Network and #feministfunded23 for gathering so many of my sisters and siblings and teachers in this work, and for giving me the space to name my own survivorship. I’m clear we are winning and we will get to justice and freedom as long as we follow your lead.” ~Maheen Kaleem

[Pictured: Tarana Burke, ‘me Too,’ movement; Eesha Bhave, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation; Maheen Kaleem, G4GC VP of Programs and Operations; Aleyamma Matthew, Collective Future Fund]

Celebrating #1Billion4BlackGirls at Martha’s Vineyard

We’re still buzzing with the energy and joy that we collectively experienced at our two events hosted at Martha’s Vineyard in celebration of our Black Girl Freedom Fund and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign:

• A screening of G4GC’s thought-provoking short documentary film “In Conversation with Nikki Giovanni: The Power of Imagination” on August 16, and
• Our “Let’s Play: a Black Girl Play Experience” event on August 17, curated by The Black Girl’s Playground.

You can continue to show support for BGFF and #1Billion4BlackGirls by visiting 1billion4blackgirls.org/donate.

In September, the G4GC Executive Leadership team went to DC to meet with the Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women and the White House Gender Policy Council. We were grateful to strategize together about how to advance public and private investment in girls gender-expansive youth of Color.

[Pictured: Dr. Monique Couvson with Ms. Rosie Hidalgo,  Director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.]  

Tran and Latosha at ComNet23 in Atlanta

In September, our Digital Communications Strategist, Tran Tonnu, attended ComNet23. One of Tran’s highlights was hearing LaTosha Brown’s keynote (co-founder of #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign), where she reminded attendees of the value of organizing community through relationships and deep listening as the path to deliver change.

Calling all emerging visionaries

Prudential Emerging Visionaries, a collaboration between Prudential and Ashoka, is looking for young changemakers between the ages of 14 and 18 in the US and Puerto Rico who are taking steps to tackle financial and societal challenges and have bold visions for a better future. Winners may qualify to receive up to $15,000, coaching, skills development, and more. Apply here through Nov. 2, 2023.

Join a Proposal Writing Boot Camp

Sharpen your proposal writing skills in preparation for a big 2024 fundraising year. Candid is an online resource that supports nonprofits with information, resources, training, and data to find funding opportunities and become more visible to donors. Their limited proposal writing boot camp is back this November, and currently accepting registrations. The workshop is four weeks with two-hour weekly sessions. Learn more, including cost details, HERE.

Financial workshops from A Bookkeeping Cooperative

Registration is open for multiple online education offerings from A Bookkeeping Cooperative for the rest of 2023. The organization works to build collective skills and confidence around resource management for the public. Link here for details and to reserve your spots.

Grant & fundraising opportunities

• Urgent Action Fund (UAF): Offering grants to support women and trans human rights defenders/activists or organizations led by women or trans activists when an unexpected situation arises that requires an immediate and time-urgent response to uphold human rights. Apply here; applications are open for consideration year-round.
• Saxena Family Foundation: STEM education grants for girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth – applications are accepted throughout the year. Apply here; applications are accepted year-round.
• Bush Foundation: Offering grants to support organizations solving community challenges, and efforts that help people lead in strong, equitable and connected ways – for projects located in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota or the 23 Indigenous/Native nations that share the same geography. Apply here; applications are accepted year-round.

The Stories of Girls’ Resistance

The Stories of Girls’ Resistance book documents the everyday ways in which girls are making the world better in their homes and communities, and the expansive ways girls are contributing to the world’s most powerful movements for change. The book was created by our partners at Our Collective Practice.

It weaves together the 150 stories in the collection to deepen our understanding of why girls resist, what sparks and sustains their resistance, the strategies and tactics they bring to their resistance, and the expansive ways girls are contributing to the world’s most powerful movements for change.

Click here to access the digital version and pre-order the book.

Share your org’s work with G4GC

Does your organization have a project, funding opportunity, upcoming conference, or other celebration centering girls of Color that you want to share with the G4GC community? We would love to amplify your mission and efforts that center the wisdom and leadership of girls, femmes and youth of Color. You can fill out this simple Google form at least 3-4 weeks in advance for events and any deadlines, and email any photos or video to ashley@g4gc.org.

Welcome Tran and Tara to the G4GC team!

We’d like to welcome Tran Tonnu (they/them) as our Digital Communications Strategist who joined our team on June 16th. Tran is a multidisciplinary storyteller and community organizer who strives to elevate community-led initiatives that center healing and celebration. Learn more about Tran and their work here.

We’re excited that Tara Quarrie (she/her) joined our team as Vice President of Development on July 10th. Tara is a seasoned development and fundraising professional with a commitment to empowering marginalized communities. Learn more about her and her work here.

You can learn more about the rest of our wonderful team here.

BGFW ‘23 Recap & Save the Date!

We’re still feeling inspired by the valuable conversations and connections we facilitated in February during our third annual #BlackGirlFreedomWeek. Check out some highlights from this year’s exciting sessions in our recap video! And save the date for the next Black Girl Freedom Week: February 12-18, 2024. Catch ALL the enriching videos from this, and past year’s Black Girl Freedom Weeks on our YouTube channel.

Celebrating Indigenous Joy

Join our New Songs Rising Initiative (NSRI) as we host a “Celebration of Indigenous Joy” on July 20th with panels and videos from Indigenous girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth, as well as representatives from NSRI grantee partner organizations who support the brilliance and leadership of Indigenous youth. 

We’ll be presenting a conversation with our NSRI partners Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, a panel with grantee partners on Centering Indigenous Representation in Data as well as a conversation with Indigenous youth. 

We’re proud to also be debuting a video by NSRI grantee partner Allie Young (of Protect the Sacred) with appearances and testimonials from New Songs Rising Initiative grantee partner organizations.

Sign up for the webinar HERE.

Happening this summer: HASI Youth Cohort

G4GC’s Holding a Sister Initiative is sponsoring 6 trans and gender non-conforming young people of Color (ages 18-25) to participate in Transformations (@kctransformations) Liberation Camp. The cohort will have the unique opportunity to meet virtually monthly in July to November, and join a retreat in Arkansas this September. Youth can learn more here.

New Songs Rising Fellowship

Grantmakers for Girls of Color is excited to announce our New Songs Rising Fellowship! 

This 18-month fellowship for Native American and Globally-Indigenous girls*, femmes, and gender-expansive youth ages 12-24 will focus on skill-building, community building, deepening fellows’ feelings of identity and self, participatory grantmaking, and mentorship. 

This fellowship is primarily virtual, with one in-person gathering in Summer 2024. Fellows will receive $2,500 upon full completion of the program. Learn more and apply HERE.

*:This includes Indigenous identities with a global lens, including communities such as Palestinian, Garifuna, Hmong, Lendu, Māori, Nahuatl, etc. Learn more HERE and apply here.

Pass the Mic Project Update

G4GC’s Pass the Mic Project (PTMP) is currently in its post-production editing phase! This summer, we’ll be excited to share dates for an official documentary film release, how you can watch, and how to share and amplify this powerful, narrative-shifting project. 

About the project: PTMP is a creative filmmaking project to amplify compelling participatory research and stories by girls, femmes, and youth of Color from around the U.S. To date, G4GC has hosted nine filmmaking workshops, interviewed and filmed across five major cities, with participation from six grantee partners. [Pictured: Youth from The Beautiful Project in Durham, NC. Photo credit: Zahrah Farmer and Doward Hicks III]

PTMP participating orgs include:

• HEART, D.C. | Focus: Reproductive justice and research on sexual health for muslim women, youth, and girls
• National Crittenton, National | Focus: Impacts of COVID-18 on cis and trans girls and gender-expansive young people
• The Beautiful Project, North Carolina | Focus: Black women’s experience of COVID-19 in NC
• Beyond Identity at CUNY, NYC | Focus: Identity-driven research by women of Color from immigrant and U.S.-based minority communities
• IGNITE National, Oakland, CA/National | Focus: Gen Z political participation, behaviors and mindset
• African American Policy Forum Young Scholars Program, NY/D.C.| Focus: Racial equity, gender-justice, and Black girl lived experiences across spaces

7th Generation Fund visit G4GC in NYC!

It’s always memorable to be in community with our New Songs Rising Initiative (NSRI) partners, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples. Last month we joined Seventh Gen Fund at the premiere of their documentary, “Time Of Prophecy: Walking in the Prayers of Our Ancestors,” an impactful story on the causes and effects of climate change told by Indigenous leaders. We got the chance to bond with our G4GC board member, and Seventh Generation Fund CEO, Tia Oros Peters (Shiwi), and Seventh Generation Fund Board Chairperson, Dr. Henrietta Mann (Tsetsehestaestse), who was recently honored by President Joe Biden with the National Humanities Medal for her decades-long work in academia and activism. Learn more about Dr. Mann’s honor here.

Coming this July: kahani magazine ‘Freedom’ issue!

G4GC partnered with youth-led magazine kahani magazine on a special edition for July 2023 focused on the experiences of girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color in the U.S. and territories. The theme for the July issue is “Our Freedom,” and youth from our community of grantee partners contributed creative writing and art centered around this theme. In July, you’ll be able to check it out here! 

It’s Here: Charisma’s Turn, a graphic novel by our Dr. Monique Couvson!

Charisma’s Turn, a graphic novel by our very own G4GC President and CEO, Dr. Monique Couvson was released this May! G4GC successfully distributed more than 3,000 books to girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color, shared the book at a Brooklyn Children’s Theatre event (see below ), and we have other exciting events in the works. If you or your youth have read the book, we invite you to share your thoughts and pictures with us—just email ashley@g4gc.org. And, we think this graphic novel is a perfect opportunity to launch a youth reading club this summer! If you know a youth who would love to host one, please reach out to Josefina@g4gc.org.

Virtual Coworking Fun

We spent some time coworking and using the fun platform Gatherround to connect with one another in Q2!

Brooklyn Children’s Theater Gala

“That is your voice within….and it tells you exactly who you are and exactly what you can become.” – Viola Davis 

We were thrilled to attend Brooklyn Children’s Theatre gala, where we’re proud to sponsor scholarships for the Brooklyn Children’s Theatre Viola Davis Summer Program, to celebrate their amazing work and talented young people! Learn more here.

(Photo: Dr. Monique Couvson and Viola Davis at the event, photo credit: @drmoniquecouvson via Dr. Couvson’s Instagram)

Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards

Our team was ecstatic to support the Ms.Foundation’s 2023 Women of Vision Awards, honoring half a century of  investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural and economic change in the lives of women. It was incredibly meaningful to be in celebration with philanthropic leaders and organizers who center girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color in their work.

1st pic: G4GC staff members with #1Billion4BlackGirls co-founders Ms.Foundation President & CEO Teresa C. Younger and Co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund& the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium, LaTosha Brown, and Ms.Foundation founding mother Gloria Steinem.

2nd pic: G4GC staff members with Abigail Richards and Julia Arroyo, co-Executive Directors of grantee partner Young Women’s Freedom Center, and young people from the organization.

Young musicians take center stage at Dreamer Arts Festival

Black Violin Foundation (a G4GC grantee partner that empowers youth through access to quality music programs and encourages creativity and innovation) hosted their “Dreamer Arts Festival” in May in south Florida. G4GC was a proud sponsor of the event, which featured exciting youth musical performances. Learn more about Black Violin Foundation.

Open call for Black Girl Freedom Fund Applications!

During BGFW 2023, we launched a new funding cycle that will focus on organizations and projects that center the artistic vision, activism and innovationof Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. This funding is available to organizations and projects that are not currently funded by G4GC, and the deadline to apply is March 31st. 

• Watch our webinar answering questions HERE
• Watch the BGFF 2023 grants announcement HERE
• Apply for organizational funding HERE
• Apply for youth-led projects HERE
• Answers to ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ HERE

Elevating #1Billion4BlackGirls on MSNBC

President & CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color Dr. Monique Couvson, and founding President and CEO for Girls for Gender Equity Joanne N. Smith MSW, co-founders of the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, joined American Voices guest host Michael Steele to discuss Black Girl Freedom Week 2023 and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign. Tune in here!

Cidra’s op-ed on The Grio

“I still remember the day I met Tina Turner at Tower Records as a 5-year-old Black girl…It was exhilarating to see her, a Black woman artist owning the entire store. I was in awe of the presence of this powerful example of a Black woman artist…” Read the full article written by Cidra M. Sebastien, BGFF Fund Manager, at The Grio here.‍

Investing in Black girls needs to be more than just words. Explore how to support and engage Black girls and understand how to move investments in a meaningful way. Read the full article from Essence here.

Maheen joins ‘Werk Stories’ Podcast

Maheen Kaleem, our Vice President of Operations and Programs, joined the Werk Stories podcast to talk about her experience as an attorney working in human rights, with a focus on women, girls, and non-binary folks of Color. Tune in to this powerful conversation on how we can be better advocates for the causes we care about. Tune in through Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Women’s Philanthropy Institute Symposium in Chicago

In April, members of our team attended the Women’s Philanthropy Institute ‘All In, All Rise’ Symposium in Chicago, where they met up with some of our amazing Chicago-based grantee partners and a few of our philanthropic friends and colleagues. We’re always grateful for the chance to be in community with our grantee partners and folks committed to resourcing girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color!

Members of our data and tech team, Sam Lee and Dominique Couvson, went to the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Denver, where they sharpened their tech skills and also connected with New Songs Rising Initiative fund manager Rana LaPine.  

Rockwood’s Art of Leadership

Our Senior Director of Communications, Josefina Casati, joined a cohort of phenomenal movement changemakers for a week of slowing down, creating community and honing in on best practices at “The Art of Leadership for Philanthropic Leaders” in Santa Cruz, CA. Learn more about Rockwood Leadership Institute. 

Women’s Philanthropy Institute Symposium in Chicago

In April, members of our team attended the Women’s Philanthropy Institute ‘All In, All Rise’ Symposium in Chicago, where they met up with some of our amazing Chicago-based grantee partners and a few of our philanthropic friends and colleagues. We’re always grateful for the chance to be in community with our grantee partners and folks committed to resourcing girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color!

New Songs Rising Fellowship!

Grantmakers for Girls of Color is excited to announce our New Songs Rising Fellowship! 

This 18-month fellowship for Native American and Globally-Indigenous girls*, femmes, and gender-expansive youth, ages 12-24, will focus on skill-building, community building, deepening fellows’ feelings of identity and self, participatory grantmaking, and mentorship. 

This fellowship is primarily virtual, with one in-person gathering in Summer 2024. Fellows will receive $2,500 upon full completion of the program. Learn more and apply here.

*:This includes Indigenous identities with a global lens, including communities such as Palestinian, Garifuna, Hmong, Lendu, Māori, Nahuatl, etc. Learn more here and apply here.

Capacity Building, Storytelling & Community with Resilia

The G4GC and Resilia partnership supports nonprofit effectiveness, creativity, and workflow in grassroots changemakers and community builders. With 24/7 on-demand technical assistance, the partnership aims to build organizational capacity, while granting opportunities to capture and communicate program outcomes and narratives in real-time. Learn more about the program and sign up here.

Coming Soon: Grantee Partner Survey

G4GC is excited to soon launch our first Grantee Partner Survey! Grantees will be invited to share the incredible work you are doing that will help build an archive of the diverse and impactful movements supporting our community. The brilliant research consultant Dr. Vanessa Patiño Lydia will be helping us launch the survey. We hope that the information we get from this survey will be inspiring, transformational, and further allow you to see how you are helping the larger movement for girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color. Look out for an email with the survey link and information sessions this August. Questions? research@g4gc.org

The Grantseekers’ Guide to the Galaxy Workshops

Join Yeojeong Consulting and Coaching for the Grantseekers’ Guide to the Galaxy: a virtual foundation fundraising workshop series for grassroots and nonprofit collectives, groups, and organizations! Sliding scale registration starts at $10 for June or $35 for July-Sept! You can sign up HERE.

Application Open for Thriving Futures Program

Muslims for Just Futures ‘Thriving Futures: A Guaranteed Income Pilot Program’ application is now open! Thriving Futures is the first guaranteed income program focused on Muslim women and will provide a $500 monthly cash assistance, alongside workforce development, career services support, financial literacy, and community organizing training. This program will support 5 working-class DMV-based Muslim women who are heads of households for 18 months. Learn and apply here.

Grant & fundraising opportunities

• Third Wave/Mobile Power Fund: Rapid response grants for youth-led groups, nonprofits, and coalitions – supports time-sensitive projects, including community organizing and mobilization, healing justice work, transformative and restorative justice work and more. Deadlines in March, June, and September 2023. Apply here.
• Saxena Family Foundation: STEM education grants for girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth – applications are accepted throughout the year. Apply here.
• Black Fox Philanthropy: Valuable open source materials for nonprofit organizations, including best practices for engaging deeply aligned funders, comms tips, and their latest Fundraising Handbook.
• William T. Grant Foundation: ‘Youth Service Capacity-Building’ grants that provide $60,000 over three years for small nonprofits that serve youth ages 5-25. Apply here.
• Echoing Green, Ballmer Group, New Profit: $40M in seed funding for new initiative to address the systemic funding gap for Black-led nonprofit organizations in the U.S. The grant will fund a five-year initiative to build leadership and sustainability of Black-led organizations focused on economic mobility. Learn more here.

The Little Mermaid and Black Girl Joy

Photo credits: Kaia Naadira (The Bronx); Cameron Snell (Baltimore) Tarana Burke with two young people at the theater buyout in Baltimore.

In collaboration with #1Billion4BlackGirls co-founder and founder of @metoomvmt, @taranajaneen, G4GC offered free tickets to a screening of The Little Mermaid film on June 4 in Baltimore, MD and the Bronx, NY.

Our Past & Future Freedom Fighters: The Power of Black Trans Leadership, Joy and Dreaming

“I ask you to think deeply about the impact that Marsha P. Johnson’s brick-throwing at Stonewall has on Black trans communities. For me, the brick represents protection and honors all the girls carrying around a brick to survive. The throwing of that brick didn’t just start a riot; it awakened something in all of us that no longer allows Black trans power to be ignored,” writes Bré Rivera, Director of Black Trans Fund in our funding partner’s newly launched blog.

“LGBTQ communities would not experience their freedom in this world without Black trans people. We live vibrant and joyous lives that exist outside of Pride. Celebrate us, love on us, and resource us every day.” Read Bré’s full story of how she dreamed up Black Trans Fund, and the legacy of Black trans power, joy and liberation here. 

Share your org’s work with G4GC

Are you interested in having your organization’s latest work featured on the G4GC blog and our socials? Does your organization have a funding opportunity, upcoming conference, or other celebration centering girls of Color you want to share with the G4GC community? 

We invite you to share it with us!  We’d love to amplify your mission and efforts that center the wisdom and leadership of girls, femmes and youth of Color. Just fill out this simple Google form. We request information at least 3-4 weeks in advance for events and any deadlines.

Black Girl Freedom Week 2023

This year’s Black Girl Freedom Week (BGFW) was energizing and inspiring! With sessions featuring award-winning writer, director and producer Gina Prince-Bythewood, a film screening by The Beautiful Project, and a special keynote address from 21-year-old Nightcrawling author Leila Mottley, attendees had the unique opportunity to learn about the power of storytelling, investing in the creative power of Black girls and gender-expansive youth, and much more. You can re-watch and share our Black Girl Freedom Week 2023 videos here!

Open call for Black Girl Freedom Fund Applications!

During BGFW 2023, we launched a new funding cycle that will focus on organizations and projects that center the artistic vision, activism and innovationof Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. This funding is available to organizations and projects that are not currently funded by G4GC, and the deadline to apply is March 31st. 

• Watch our webinar answering questions HERE
• Watch the BGFF 2023 grants announcement HERE
• Apply for organizational funding HERE
• Apply for youth-led projects HERE
• Answers to ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ HERE

Elevating #1Billion4BlackGirls on MSNBC

President & CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color Dr. Monique Couvson, and founding President and CEO for Girls for Gender Equity Joanne N. Smith MSW, co-founders of the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, joined American Voices guest host Michael Steele to discuss Black Girl Freedom Week 2023 and the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign. Tune in here!

Cidra’s op-ed on The Grio

“I still remember the day I met Tina Turner at Tower Records as a 5-year-old Black girl…It was exhilarating to see her, a Black woman artist owning the entire store. I was in awe of the presence of this powerful example of a Black woman artist…” Read the full article written by Cidra M. Sebastien, BGFF Fund Manager, at The Grio here.‍

Essence elevates BGFW23!

Investing in Black girls needs to be more than just words. Explore how to support and engage Black girls and understand how to move investments in a meaningful way. Read the full article from Essence here.

Abundantly Investing in Girls, Femmes, and Gender Expansive Youth of Color

The Future Economy Lab, an initiative powered by SecondMuse and G4GC focused on designing economies and financial instruments that center the wellbeing and justice for girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color, launched a compelling Summary of Findings. This report encapsulates the brilliant insights of 39 youth who have been participating in a year-long paid opportunity as advisors and fellows, and the hundreds of peers they surveyed. Learn about the ‘north star’ they envision for the future, and the strategies they deem most important as we build new mechanisms to invest in them. Explore the full report HERE.

G4GC’s Pass the Mic Project is a creative filmmaking project to amplify and share participatory research and stories by girls and young femmes of Color from around the U.S. about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their peers and communities. To-date, G4GC has hosted eight filmmaking workshops, conducted in-person filming across five major cities with participation from six amazing grantee partners! Stay tuned for more exciting updates on this powerful narrative project! 

[Pictured above: Youth and staff from the African American Policy Forum (AAPF). Photo credit: Zahrah Farmer and Doward Hicks III]

Our youth elevate ‘freedom’ in kahani magazine

G4GC is partnering with youth-led magazine kahani on a special edition for 2023 focused on the experiences of girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color in the U.S. and territories. The theme for this issue is “Our Freedom,” and many youth from our community of grantee partners are contributing creative writing and art centered around this theme. Stay tuned for publication this coming summer. Read more about kahani here. Interested youth can submit a story for the 2023 issue via this online form.

Capacity building for changemakers

G4GC is partnering with Resilia to support effectiveness, creativity, and workflow in grassroots changemakers and community builders within our community of grantee partners. With 24/7 on-demand technical assistance, the partnership aims to build organizational capacity, while granting opportunities to capture and communicate program outcomes and narratives in real-time. Learn more here.

Coming soon: Charisma’s Turn, a graphic novel by our Dr. Monique Couvson!

We are so excited about the upcoming graphic novel Charisma’s Turn by our very own G4GC President and CEO, Dr. Monique Couvson! It’s a necessary narrative that we need right now, in the midst of book bans and legislative attacks. The narrative follows a Black high school student who is grappling with pressures from home and school. Published by The New Press, Charisma’s Turn is Illustrated by Amanda Jones and has a foreword by poet, artist, and arts educator Susan Arauz Barnes. “Charisma’s Turn exemplifies how Black girls can be truly empowered to reach their full potential when they have supportive educators and community members in their corner,” says New Press publisher Ellen Adler. “It couldn’t come at a more necessary time.” It’s a perfect opportunity to launch a youth reading club! Do you know a young person who would love to host it? If so, please reach out to Josefina@g4gc.org! 

Our website recently got a fun, vibrant revamp for 2023! Visit us and explore everything you need to know about G4GC’s funds, initiatives, impact, opportunities and more here. 

“Funding the Gender Rights Movement”

Josefina Casati, G4GC Senior Director of Communications, joined a Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) panel on March 8th to support women’s and girls’ rights across the Americas. You can watch the full video here.

Resourcing Resistance

Our friends at Purposeful, an Africa-rooted global hub for girls organizing and activism, hosted a series of panels as a side event of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York City, hosted by UN Women. Our VP of Operations and Programs, Maheen Kaleem, spoke on one of their panels on March 10 about funding girl and young feminist activism.

Photo of grantees, including Young Women’s Freedom Center, The Lighthouse Black Girl Projects, Alliance for Girls, & The National Crittenton Foundation, with young people in our community are helping plan the “In Solidarity We Rise” convening in October. We’re excited to be partnering with these incredible organizations and individuals to help plan the events that will bring so many members of our community together this fall.

We’re hiring: join our team!

Join our dynamic team of passionate individuals and support the brilliance of girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth of Color. You can view all current open positions and apply here. 

Current open opportunities:

• VP of Development
• Research consultant
• Digital Communications Associate

Opportunity for Black girls interested in research & traveling abroad

You can now apply for The Black Girl Research Institute’s 2023 residency – an exciting six-week summer research-intensive program hosted by The Lighthouse | Black Girl Project’s Policy & Research Team. The institute equips aspiring and current researchers with the tools needed to conduct ethical research regarding Black and Brown girls and women. This year’s BGRI residency will be 10 days long in San Basilio de Palenque, best known as Palenque, a village located in Bolivar – Colombia. Learn more and apply here!

S.O.U.L. Sisters toolkits

The amazing team at S.O.U.L. Sisters Leadership Collective has created a beautiful collection of organizational toolkits and resources as a gift to the field. These are invaluable resources, especially for organizations that center and are led by girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color. 

The toolkits include: 

• Youth Leaders Board
• Restorative Justice Diversion and Circle Keeping 
• Creating Safe Spaces 

Go Mujeres!

G4GC is excited to be participate in #GOMujeres 2023, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP)’s campaign to mobilize giving and support for Latine women and girls serving organizations. HIP will be distributing over $60,000 in matching funds and incentives, including $30,000 from G4GC for fundraising projects that involve/ benefit Latine girls or young women under 25 years old. Learn more here.

Elevate your organization’s visibility

Candid is offering a free 1-hour course where participants will learn how earning Seals of Transparency raises their nonprofit’s visibility and enables their organization to get noticed by millions of potential donors. Register here.

MasterClass

Thanks to the generosity of Melinda French Gates, we have 35 year-long subscriptions to MasterClass to share with our grantee partners. If you or someone in your organizations is interested in getting one of these, please reach out to maheen@g4gc.org. Please note that these will be distributed on a first-come basis to G4GC grantee partners. 

Native Youth Grantmakers

Natives In Philanthropy is accepting applications to their youth program designed for Indigenous youth aged 18-24 who are connected to their community (urban, rural, or reservation) and want to grow their leadership skills, advocate for Native youth and youth programs, and learn more about the philanthropic sector. This year-long course is both in-person and virtual and embraces Indigenous values that can help create conditions for all communities to thrive. ⁠The application period closes on April 30, 2023.⁠ Apply here.

Grant opportunities

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Building Local Alignment Grant: The foundation is looking to support community-led organizations and networks focused on health and racial equity to participate in these collaborations as full partners in their design, implementation, and oversight. Applications due April 24th. Apply here.
• Third Wave/Mobile Power Fund: Rapid response grants for youth-led groups, nonprofits, and coalitions – supports time-sensitive projects, including community organizing and mobilization, healing justice work, transformative and restorative justice work and more. Deadlines in March, June, and September 2023. Apply here.
• Saxena Family Foundation: STEM education grants for girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth – applications are accepted throughout the year. Apply here.
• Learning Disabilities Foundation of America: Funds for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes or for the identification, ongoing evaluation, education of, and services for children and adults with learning disabilities. Deadline is April 15, 2023. Apply here.

Supporting trans-led social change

“The work of defending, affirming, and meaningfully funding trans communities has never been more critical. As funders, we have a unique opportunity to help bring about transformational change, starting with investing in trans- and BIPOC-led organizing.” ~ Aldita Gallardo, Fund for Trans Generations at Borealis Philanthropy. 

Read more from Aldita, G4GC philanthropic colleague and friend, in the Stanford Social Innovation Review here. 

Until Someone Listens

Until Someone Listens is a true story about a young girl finding her voice and using it to make change. In this autobiographical narrative told from a girl’s perspective, Estela Juarez’s letters take her from the local news all the way to the national stage, where she discovers the power in her words and pledges to keep using her voice until her family—and others like hers— are together again. To purchase and support, visit the book’s website.

Oh Sweet Fire

Oh Sweet Fire by J.P. Mitchell is a picture book anthem singing permission to let our inner “fire” light up the world.This vibrantly illustrated message speaks to Black girls especially, and every girl expansively, that we both see and free them to walk out the fullness of who they are meant to be. To purchase and support, visit the book’s website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Share your org’s work with G4GC

Are you interested in having your organization’s latest work featured on the G4GC blog and our socials? Does your organization have a funding opportunity, upcoming conference, or other celebration centering girls of Color you want to share with the G4GC community? We invite you to share it with us!  We would love to amplify your mission and efforts that center the wisdom and leadership of girls, femmes and youth of Color. You can fill out this simple Google form to share directly with us. Please share information at least 3-4 weeks in advance for events and any deadlines.