Dear G4GC Community,
Happy Autumnal equinox! Our G4GC team is entering this new season with high energy after a summer of vibrant events and movement building, amid so much happening in our world.
We’re proud of the spaces —both virtually and physically— that we and the organizations we support create to lean deeper into our communities and center the wisdom and joy of girls and gender-expansive youth of Color. By listening closely to our youth’s unique experiences and knowledge, we are tuned into the ways they are leading in their homes and communities and the futures they are dreaming and building.
One of those spaces included our first “Day of Indigenous Joy” virtual gathering, which we hosted in July (read more below). Later in August, our team convened at Martha’s Vineyard and curated an interactive play experience for Black women and girls, and also screened “In Conversation with Nikki Giovanni: The Power of Imagination,” a powerful documentary film directed by Monique N. Matthews that we proudly produced. (Link to details below)
We closed out the summer strongly by announcing the 2023 Black Girl Freedom Fund grantees, and are excited to tell you about our inaugural BGFF youth-led projects! In addition to resourcing 17 organizations centering Black girls and gender-expansive youth, these 18 projects led by Black girls and gender-expansive youth ages 15-25 focus on their artistic vision, activism, and innovation, and each will be awarded a $10,000 grant. (Link to details below)
Our commitment to our communities is unwavering, and our strength is multiplied by each of you who are supporting, uplifting, and recognizing the leadership, wisdom, and potential of our youth. Thank you.
In Community,
The G4GC team
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!
Fall Reading: Charisma’s Turn!
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 [email protected].
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? [email protected]
G4GC embraces a model of engagement that reflects our commitment to supporting and uplifting our grantee partners, colleagues and organizations in philanthropy, and others working at the forefront of social impact spaces, focused on building a just and equitable world. Below are just a few conferences and spaces where our G4GC team has been to over the past few months:
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.
G4GC in DC! 🎶
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 [email protected].