Dear G4GC Community,
As we celebrate International Day of the Girl today and transition into the fall season, we are grateful for the solidarity and grace our community has gifted to us, especially during the series of grantee meetings we held recently to discuss how to navigate retrenchments in funding for racial and gender justice. Despite the multiple challenges facing our communities, we remain steadfast and hopeful for a stronger future.
Amid this important election season and demands for human rights across our world, we continue to witness the current generation of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color take an unrelenting stand for justice. Whether advocating at the frontlines of community advocacy, or on the global stage celebrating their athletic magnificence at the 2024 Olympics, the leadership of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color is more necessary than ever and needs to be abundantly resourced.
Young people are leading us. “Our world has been cracked open at its seams—and still, young people are fighting for a future where we can live together with dignity and justice. It is time for us to follow their lead and put resources behind them. Democracy depends on it,” shared Maheen Kaleem, our VP of Operations and Programs, in a recent Ms. Magazine op-ed.
While this year has brought many challenges to our grantee community and our young people, we continue to grow our community of co-investors who are equally committed to ensuring that girls and gender-expansive youth of Color, and the organizations who support them, have the support they need and deserve.
We graciously welcome your support, contributions, and suggestions for future newsletters.
In community,
Josefina Casati
G4GC Senior Director of Communications
✴ G4GC NEWS ✴
Hello! My name is Amirah Fauzi (they/them) and I am G4GC’s new Director of Grantmaking. As someone who began their career in philanthropy as a fellow in a youth leadership program, I’m so excited to join the G4GC team. In this role, I’ll be taking the resourceful materials our fund managers have already created, and building systems to streamline for growth. I’m eager to get to know all of you in our G4GC community! My door is open and I’d love to chat. If you want to talk all things grants or just say hello, feel free to reach out at [email protected].
Celebrating ‘Give To Women and Girls Day’
Did you know that less than 2% of total charitable giving goes to women’s and girls’ organizations? We are thrilled to celebrate the third annual Give to Women and Girls Day, a national awareness campaign to increase funding for women’s and girls’ organizations, on October 11, 2024.
We welcome you to join us in celebrating Give to Women and Girls Day by donating to support women and girls and rallying your community to do the same. We’ll also be part of an online mobilization and in-person panel on women’s philanthropy in NYC, where our VP of Operations and Programs, Maheen Kaleem, will be a guest speaker! Register here. Discover ways to get involved here and join the convo on socials by following #GiveToWomenAndGirls.
Two #1Billion4BlackGirls co-founders, LaTosha Brown and Tarana Burke, and G4GC partner Latanya Mapp were listed on Forbes 50 over 50 2024 list! We’re happy that Tarana and LaTosha’s tireless efforts are being honored, and are grateful for all they do for girls and for the #1BillionforBlackGirls campaign and the Black Girl Freedom Fund. We are appreciative of Latanya’s leadership at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and for championing girls, women, and gender-expansive feminists around the world, including girls of Color! 👏🏾
The #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign and G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund will be hosting our 5th annual Black Girl Freedom Week in February 2025. Be sure to save the date, and catch up on this year’s events on YouTube.
Dr. Couvson Joins Leaders on Capitol Hill to Unveil Groundbreaking GAO Report on Pushout of Black Girls in Schools
“The safest schools for Black, Latina/e, and Indigenous girls and gender-expansive youth are those that operate with the belief that no child is disposable, and that demonstrate this by building an infrastructure —which includes counselors and restorative approaches— to respond to children appropriately when they experience dysregulation.” Dr. Monique Couvson was part of the unveiling of the groundbreaking GAO Report on Pushout of Black Girls in Schools.
Dr. Monique Couvson honored at SHE Leads Conference
G4GC President & CEO Monique Couvson was honored at the SHE Leads conference on October 1. SHE Leads is the first, if not only, conference for women leaders of girl-serving organizations in the U.S. Dr. Couvson partnered with Shaun Robinson and her foundation Shaun Foundation For Girls, to create an intimate conference for networking, strategizing, and investing in women’s leadership for girls.
Celebrating Black Philanthropy Month
✨Centering Black women and girls’ wellness on Martha’s Vineyard ✨
G4GC was thrilled to partner with Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, Berklee Professor and graduate, Ledisi, and Emmy-award-winning journalist, author, and activist Shaun Robinson for our August 12 fundraising event on Martha’s Vineyard!
The Black Girl Freedom Fund partnered with Vibrant Emotional Health to host a conversation about the importance of investing in the mental health and well-being of Black women and girls. The gathering celebrated the power, wisdom, and leadership of Black women, girls, and gender-expansive youth, and featured G4GC President & CEO, Dr. Monique Couvson and other special guests. Check out the event recap here!
Fundraising with The Wiz on Broadway 🎭
Amanda Seales joined members of our team for a memorable evening of The Wiz on Broadway in NYC on August 1, in support of #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, Black Girl Freedom Fund, and to honor of Black Philanthropy Month. Learn more about the campaign and the BGFF at 1Billion4BlackGirls.org.
Supporting power-building & racial justice 💜
The California Black Freedom Fund and G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund have partnered with the family of Chinedu Valentine Okobi to administer a sabbatical program in his name that supports healing, rest, and joy for leaders of Black power-building and racial justice organizations. We continue to express deep gratitude for the Okobi family and their commitment to transforming immense personal tragedy into an opportunity for healing, repair, and restoration. Learn more here.
✴ TEAM ACCOLADES ✴
Shining a light on G4GC’s work in Nonprofit Quarterly 👏
Dr. Monique Couvson shares important insights in this Nonprofit Quarterly article, while discussing G4GC’s commitment to girls and gender-expansive young people of Color. “What we want is for people to be well. We want our young people to thrive and live liberated futures because of the investments that we have made, not despite what we did or didn’t do.” Learn more about G4GC’s impact in the past four years in the full interview here.
Youth are leading & protecting our democracy
“For centuries, girls and gender-expansive youth around the world have been engaging in democracy in their peer groups, homes, schools and communities. They have developed social contracts, built networks of care to protect one another, organized to improve conditions in their communities and schools and mobilized their families and peers about the importance of civic engagement. And yet, the unique role young people play in protecting, upholding and advancing democracy is consistently undervalued.” Read more from our VP of Operations and Programs, Maheen Kaleem, in Ms. Magazine op-ed in the Feminist Philanthropy is Essential to Democracy series here.
Hispanics In Philanthropy Líderes Fellowship Retreat
Lisann Ramos, G4GC Communications Manager, connected with a cohort of Latine leaders in philanthropic and nonprofit organizations this summer in Colorado Springs to open the HIP leadership fellowship. The group tapped into their leadership skills and explored their relationship to philanthropy, as individuals and within the Latine community, while building up a network of phenomenal Latino leaders in Philanthropy. The fellowship will go on through 2025. Learn more here.
Nneka at the Anderson Foundation Gala in Minnesota
G4GC joined a special night of celebration and support for women and girls at the Anderson Foundation Gala in Minnesota! Nneka Nwaifejokwu, G4GC Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, was honored to be in community with our partners from Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, Ragamala Dance Company, Pillsbury United Communities, Sisterhood Boutique, and Project DIVA International. Learn more about the Anderson Foundation here.
Insights of Girls and Gender-Expansive Youth of Color
On October 2, Alliance for Girls* (AFG) and Girls Inc. of Alameda County co-hosted the virtual event, State of the Bay Area Girl Initiative Plática. This powerful, storytelling-based opportunity uncovered the true “state” of girls and gender-expansive youth as they define it—what matters to them, the systems that shape their lives, and the solutions they envision for their future. G4GC was a proud sponsor of the event – see highlights on Instagram here.
‘At A Crisis Point’: Black women leading nonprofits are leaving, a new group is seeking solutions
“My soul was tired,” she thought that night. “What is it going to take for the sector to wake up and understand that we’re at a crisis point with Black women leaders?” Read more on how Black women leaders in nonprofits are creating the support they need to meet the increasingly challenging landscape in the Washington Business Journal. It features several of our philanthropic partners and our grantee Indira Henard at DC Rape Crisis Center. Full article here.
Honoring Women Leaders in a Fun Way
Nurturing Wāhine Fund, a feminist fund in Hawaiʻi providing Wellness Grants to women and girls across the islands, has created an online solitaire game to honor women who’ve been instrumental in their efforts to spotlight critical issues like childcare, maternal health, and wāhine wellness during this generation-defining election year. G4GC’s VP Maheen Kaleem is featured in the game as the 9 of clubs! Play the game and discover featured women leaders here.
Sister to Sister International Celebrates 30 Years ✨
We’re excited to join Sister to Sister International in celebrating its 30th anniversary. G4GC’s very own Maheen Kaleem was honored at their gala in New Rochelle, NY. In her speech, Maheen celebrated the invaluable impact of the organization, “Sister to Sister is so important because everywhere around the world, Black and Brown women and girls are going to know that we have value. We are going to be reminded of our power when the world extracts it and forgets it, and this community will have you.”
[Pictured: G4GC VP Maheen Kaleem and G4GC Office Manager Mariah Gill]
Learn to DJ with Girls Make Beats
Girls Make Beats has upcoming courses and scholarship opportunities! They are offering several classes coming up on October 21st – 25th taking place in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, and virtually. These courses will cover music production and DJing, and scholarships are available to help girls participate. Learn more here.
IGNITE National is seeking civically-minded young people interested in mobilizing their peers/communities to vote in November. If you want to help mobilize your friends, family, and neighbors to be a part of the change and vote this election year, join the movement to #IGNITEtheVote and become an ambassador. Complete the IGNITE the Vote Ambassador application here.
Community Healing Days
Every 4th Tuesday of the month BreakBox Thought Collective hosts a community healing space to process resilience and address barriers to wellbeing. Join an intergenerational healing circle, expressive arts therapy group, or men’s healing circle and express your emotions with culturally competent, licensed therapists. BreakBox Thought Collective’s goal is to encourage our community to experience these modalities and resources at no cost and connect participants to mental health and support resources. Learn more and register.
Safety and Elections!
We know that many in our grantee community are doing incredible work to advance and protect democracy. If you are an organization that is facing safety risks, or an organization that can offer support to other organizations in managing and addressing those risks, please reach out to Maheen Kaleem, VP of Programs and Operations, at [email protected].
- Documentary Film Funding for Filmmakers of Color: Seed funding and support to develop single nonfiction programs for public media. Apply here (no deadline).
- Microsoft Tech For Social Impact: Program Officer, Grantmaking and Capacity Building.
Microsoft is offering grants and discounts of their products and services to eligible nonprofits around the world, including cloud solutions like Azure, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365. Learn more and apply here. - Action for Transformation Fund: The Transgender Law Center and Emergent Fund are partnering to launch the Action for Transformation Fund, moving $1 million in rapid response funds into the field to support trans-led organizing, healing, and power-building efforts. Learn more here.
- Action for Women’s Health Grants: This $250 million global open call from Pivotal Ventures (Melinda French Gates) will fund organizations working to improve women’s mental and physical health. Apply by December 3 here.
- New Voices: New Voices is a Black and queer org dedicated to a reproductive justice framework built specifically for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive folks. See current part-time and full-time job opportunities in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland here.
- Hazel M. Johnson Fellowship Partner Applications: .
This is an opportunity to train the next generation of climate professionals through hosting a summer intern with support from Black Girl Environmentalist. Application open through November 15. Learn more and apply here. - Native Americans In Philanthropy Job Board: Native Americans in Philanthropy is dedicated to increasing and nurturing Indigenous representation in the philanthropic sector. You can check out opportunities they’ve curated here.
- Marshall’s Accelerator Program: Through this financial empowerment program, women participants can access supportive mentors, connections, and guidance to bridge career gaps. Applications are open until October 31. Apply here.
- EPIP Job Board: You can explore more nonprofit and philanthropy job opportunities on the Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy job board here.
Share your org’s work with G4GC 📣
If your org has a youth story, funding opportunity, event, or celebration centering girls of Color, we invite you to share it with the G4GC community! We would love to amplify your efforts that center the wisdom and leadership of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color. Complete this Google form at least 2-3 weeks in advance for events and any deadlines. Email [email protected] with questions.
G4GC is a funding intermediary working diligently to address the urgent needs of organizations across the U.S. that support and center girls and gender-expansive youth of Color. We welcome your support!