The post The <em>Brief</em> Brief #2 appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

Opportunities for You and Your Organizations

GRANTS

Youth Climate Justice Fund | Deadline March 1

Grants of up to $40,000 to support grassroots youth-led climate and socio-environmental movements, initiatives, and solutions.

Liberation Ventures | Deadline March 3

Request for proposals for narrative change projects focused on reparations. Grants range from $10,000 to $50,000.

Social Justice Fund Northwest | Deadline March 9

One-year grant of $5,000 for new or developing community organizing (three years or less) in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and/or Wyoming.

Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation | Opens April 1

The Youth Initiative funds direct service programs supporting youth ages 14–21 impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), with the average 2025 award totaling $30,000

Creative Capital | Deadline April 2

Seeking proposals from individual artists for new artistic works in the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Film, and Literature. Unrestricted project grants of up to $50,000 to create new work. 

FELLOWSHIPS / SKILL BUILDING

Youth Justice Leadership Institute by National Youth Justice Network | Deadline February 23

A six-month fellowship for organizers, healers, and creatives committed to dismantling harmful systems and building community-based care. Fellows also join a lifelong alumni network that provides ongoing support, resources, and connections.

Youth Mental Health First Aid by KLBRI Institute | Happening March 3

Designed to caring adults how to help an adolescent (age 12-18) who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis. KLBRI specialize in Tribal and Indigenous Communities. The curriculum also shares how to best support systems-impacted and immigrant communities. 

Rooting in Global Solidarity & Transnational Organizing by Thousand Currents’ Center for Transforming Philanthropy | Happening March 3-12

A 4-part virtual series on why building transnational solidarity and grounding in internationalism is essential. Hear from movement and philanthropic leaders around the world on how they have continued to advance their visions under challenging conditions.

The Victory Empowerment Fellowship by LGBTQ+ Victory Institute | Deadline March 4

A six-month fellowship for LGBTQ+ leaders of color and/or transgender leaders to join a strong cohort of movement leaders from across the country while expanding their campaign skills and policy-making power.

Women Organizing for Justice & Opportunity (WOJO) by A New Way of Life Reentry Project | Deadline March 31

A six-month training program for formerly incarcerated women to sharpen their social justice leadership skills. Participants must live in Los Angeles County.

Trans-Inclusive Grantmaking Training: Mobilizing for Trans Futures by Global Philanthropy Project | Happening April 9-10

For grantmakers from philanthropic institutions committed to advancing trans-inclusive funding practices. This training will provide an opportunity for peer education and open dialogue among funders to ask questions, discuss challenges, and receive expert guidance on providing intersectional support to trans communities.

EVENTS

2026 National Convening by G4GC | Happening May 12-15

G4GC believes in the power of coming together. Join our in-person convening as we create intentional space for funders and philanthropic leaders to ground ourselves in what matters most—the leadership, joy, and brilliance of young people.

The post The <em>Brief</em> Brief appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

On September 19, 2024 Dr. Monique Couvson, G4GC President & CEO and author of “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools”, joined Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA-11) and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), as well as Fatima Goss Graves and other advocates at a press conference to unveil a groundbreaking report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the disparate impact of school disciplinary policies and practices on Black and brown girls in K-12 public schools. As shared by the office of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, the GAO report “found that across the United States, Black girls face disproportionately severe discipline compared to other girls and receive harsher punishments than their white peers for similar behaviors. These disparities are further exacerbated for Black girls with disabilities and Black girls that are part of the LGBTQ community.”

Watch the full press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvNPnj0Lg68

Read the GAO report: https://pressley.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GAO-Final-Report.pdf

(Image: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Dr. Monique Couvson, G4GC President & CEO and author of “Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools”)

The post Unveiling of Groundbreaking GAO Report on Pushout of Black Girls in Schools appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

To read the full article on Black Enterprise click here.

The post Black Girl Freedom Week highlights hot-button issues appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

To read the full article on Nonprofit Quarterly click here.

The post Black Girl Freedom Week Seeks to Amplify Underrepresented Voices appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

Shé:kon sewakwé:kon, greetings community, 

May 5th is the National Day of Action for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW, also referred to as Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives (MMIR), Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women Girls and Two Spirit (MMIWG2S).

I am Rana LaPine, and today I invite you to pause and recognize the National Day of Action, and learn about the important awareness projects some of our grantee partners are leading. We recognize that there are many individuals who are often left out of these conversations, including but not limited to: Trans and Gender-Nonconforming people, Afro-Indigenous communities, Indigenous migrants, and more. We see and support all who have not come home.

Since joining Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC) as the Fund Manager for our New Songs Rising Initiative (NSRI) a partnership with Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, we have been focused on deeply engaging with our grantee partners and communities through  facilitated listening circles with young people and their relatives.Together, we have been exploring ways to expand opportunities Indigenous girls and to support multi-generational healing and organizing. 

In recent years, the epidemic of violence against Native American and Indigenous women, girls, and gender-expansive relatives started to become well-known beyond Indian Country. Non-Natives have supported Native-led efforts to create taskforces; they have strengthened Native American and Native Hawaiian-related language and protections within the Violence Against Women Act; and they have created statewide Days of Awareness. 

And yet, the harrowing cycle remains unbroken; Indigenous communities experience a lack of federal, state, and robust non-Native support in the fight against this gendered violence. Communities and families across the country and continent who have missing relatives continue to bring awareness to this underreported reality, to bring their loved ones home, and to name and honor those who have been lost.

“We believe that the national crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit Relatives is a direct consequence of ongoing colonial violence and oppression; including brutality against Mother Earth at the hands of extractive industries and man camps, and the continued institutional racism which prevents families and survivors from seeking justice. May 5th is a day we take action, heal, stand in solidarity with survivors and their families, and honor those who have not returned home.”

-Tia Oros Peters (Zuni)

CEO, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples

Grantmakers for Girls of Color is proud to support the work done in Indian Country, including efforts by urban Native populations, to stop and prevent the continuation of violence against women, girls and gender-nonconforming relatives. For the last two years, our New Songs Rising Initiative has offered general operating support grants to resource community efforts responding to this crisis. This year, we offered 10 grants totaling over $70,000, towards grantee projects with a focus on MMIW. In the spirit of solidarity and trust, we fund work that is already being done in the community, and included projects that were referred to us by existing grantees. Additionally, our continued relationship with the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples has included support of critical work steward by their team, particularly that held within their Thriving Women programming. 

Below we include details about these critical, community-led and community-centered projects, all of whom gave consent to share information. We also support a number of projects that requested their work remain private, because of the security risks associated with doing this work. In the coming months, we’ll share out exciting NSRI updates from our recent learnings, including: updates on a youth-led decision-making process for grants,  more forward-facing celebration of Indigenous girls, femmes, and gender-expansive young people; descriptions of our grantee partners; and information about the strategy of the New Songs Rising Initiative. 

Where appropriate*, I encourage you to say the names of those who have not come home. Attend a march, offer a spirit plate or other sacred offering, and, always, celebrate the love and power of Native and globally-Indigenous girls, women, and gender-diverse peoples.

Ó:nen ki wáh i,

With gratitude,

Rana

* Native nations are diverse, varied communities with infinite differences in their practices. Some communities do not allow naming for those outside of their respective family. Others encourage naming as a way of guiding one’s spirit to its next destination. I encourage you to look into the appropriate course of action for the community of those you name, today and always.

Grantees projects:

G4GC is proud to support and recognize the work being done in Indian Country to shed light on and stop violence against women, girls and relatives. Below are some of these projects (this list does not include those that requested to be kept private).

Gedakina will host a screening of the film Sisters Rising in Indian Township and Sipyiak followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers for their Braiding Sweetgrass group of Native PhD students at UMASS Amherst and the University of Vermont. The coordination of MMWIGR-themed t-shirts, travel and transportation for staff to attend these events is funded by Grantmakers for Girls of Color. 

Indigenous Justice will hold a MMIW/Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) prayer walk in Sacramento, CA. In addition, they will support MMIP families during a California Department of Justice event, in order to center their safety and wellbeing and offer support in sharing their survivor stories

Indigenous Vision will co-host a MMIWG2SP event at the University of Montana, including various speakers, survivors, and families of survivors. They will record a live, on-location podcast, promote their Indigenous Mapping Projects, and register attendees for self-defense kits that include mace, custom knuckles and USB from Umatilla MMA fighter Kola Shippentower’s Wisáwca project.

Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition will organize a two-week art workshop in partnership with the Missing and Murdered African American Women’s Task Force, as well as a march for Missing and Murdered Indigenosu Relatives (MMIR). In the workshop, participants will make two tipis (bringing the total at the related art installation event to ten), red dresses to symbolize MMIR, and additional symbols from the African American community. There will be food, a drum group, and community and cultural speakers. 

Sacred Pipe Resource Center will host an event in recognition of the Day of Action. Leading up to this event, they will gather video testimony from Native women in the area in order to document the extent of this crisis, and will observe locations where women in the community have been exploited. They will continue to provide outreach support in order to meet needs and ensure safety, and will be providing Native women with Care Kits that include personal hygiene products and other goods.

Seven Dancers Coalition will work in partnership with tribes throughout New York State in order to create and disperse a MMIW-focused t-shirt to increase advocacy and visibility of the issue. Additional awareness materials will also be distributed. 

Wiconi Wawokiya will host a walk on the May 5th Day of Action, with a series of workshops leading up to the event. Topics will include a ribbon skirt-making workshop, a culturally-appropriate sex-trafficking training for local law enforcement, and a movie screening, with a panel, discussing how sex-trafficking has impacted their community.

Xinachtli Girls: Xinachtli Comadres National Colectiva is launching their Annual MMIWGR Coalition and Week of Action Campaign in collaboration with KLBRI to have a successful, healing-centered, socially distant awareness, education, and action campaign to bring light to the issue of Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women Girls + Relatives, transnational femicides, and gender-based violence. Their campaign will display publicly their collective voices and expand on the transnational scope of the MMIWGR movement. Twenty-five member organizations will be engaged as weavers, healers, storytellers, and advocates to uplift transnational movement and solidarity actions in the United States with a platform, tools, and resources to assist in awareness-building, education, and advocacy. Healing will be central to this coalition and its impact, including the organization of healing programs and campaigns.

The post We are in solidarity with the movement to end violence against girls, women, and relatives. appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

The post When Black Girls Are Free – Celebrating Two Years of Black Girl Freedom Fund and #1Billion4BlackGirls Campaign appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

NEW YORK —Aug. 1— The Future Economy Lab: Abundantly Investing in Girls, Femmes, and gender-expansive Youth of Color, a joint lab between Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC) and SecondMuse Capital, today announced a $500,000 investment from Goldman Sachs kicking off the start of Black Philanthropy Month.

Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women’s investment will support Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth age 13 to 24, as well as industry experts, in co-creating and co-designing financial tools to advance racial equity and inclusive growth.

“We are thrilled to receive this investment for the Future Economy Lab, which is an opportunity to engage Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth in the economic development and financial literacy efforts from which they have been historically marginalized, while shifting the narrative about the capacity of our young people to be effective leaders in financial spaces,” said Dr. Monique W. Morris, President and CEO of G4GC. “As our first significant financial industry partner in the lab, Goldman Sachs—through their mentorship and guidance to Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth—will also expand the possibility of how philanthropy and the financial sector work together to co-create strategies for the economic wellness of our richly diverse Black communities.”

The Future Economy Lab will target unmet needs and barriers faced by girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color, as well as the assets they hold to help create an equitable economic system.

“Humanity is in desperate need of the minds of girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color to open up the possibilities to imagine new, innovative financial mechanisms that benefit

people and the planet,” said Todd Khozein of SecondMuse Capital. “With the creation of this fellowship, together, we will be able to articulate what abundant economies are, and create meaningful and lasting change not only for them but also for their communities and the country.”

The lab will consist of a fellowship and an advisory group of girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth of Color, ages 13 to 24, who will engage in a year-long series of workshops and design-thinking sessions. They will share their own expertise as young and active participants in the economy, and engage directly with stakeholders, including leaders in the financial sector and social movements, to achieve economic inclusion and equity.

“We are proud to partner with Grantmakers for Girls of Color and SecondMuse Capital to advance our shared goal of driving economic empowerment and inclusive growth,” said Asahi Pompey, President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation. “Giving Black girls the opportunity to shape and contribute to the broader economy is a smart investment that will drive strong returns for generations to come.”

In addition to Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women initiative, the lab has received generous support from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company.

ABOUT GRANTMAKERS FOR GIRLS OF COLOR:

Fiscally-sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Grantmakers for Girls* of Color (G4GC) works to mobilize resources and amplify transformative organizing work to dismantle systems of oppression led by girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth of Color. Grantmakers for Girls of Color openly invites partners and stakeholders to co-create an inclusive space in support of girls, young women, and gender-expansive youth of Color across programmatic issues and geographic areas. Learn more by visiting GrantmakersforGirlsofColor.org.

About SecondMuse Capital:

SecondMuse Capital designs and manages investments to build economies of the future which protect and preserve the planet, benefit people from all cultures and communities, and incentivize innovations that contribute to economic resilience and sustainability. Whether alone or with partners, SecondMuse Capital manages and designs investment funds that are good for people and the planet and that return value to both investors and the communities they’re supporting. We design with and not for the community to fundamentally rethink and challenge the mechanics of financial instruments and investment vehicles. Learn more by visiting: SecondMuse Capital.

ABOUT THE ONE MILLION BLACK WOMEN INITIATIVE:

In partnership with Black-women-led organizations, financial institutions and other partners, Goldman Sachs has committed $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 one million Black women by 2030. Goldman Sachs’ research Black Womenomics has shown that sustained investments in Black women will catalyze economic growth, making for not only a fairer, but also a richer society.

Learn more by visiting One Million Black Women.

ABOUT GOLDMAN SACHS:

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

The post Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women invests $500,000 in the Future Economy Lab: Abundantly Investing in Girls* of Color appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

The post UKG funds G4GC grantee partners through Close the Gap Initiative appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.

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 bgff@g4gc.org if you have questions.

Take good care,

Cidra M. Sebastien

Manager, Black Girl Freedom Fund

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.

The post Announcing our BGFF grantees appeared first on Grantmakers for Girls of Color.