Boston, MA – May 20, 2024 – The Women’s Foundation of Boston, a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates economic empowerment, leadership, and mentoring programs for women and girls in Massachusetts, is proud to announce that it has awarded a total of $2,173,000 to 10 nonprofits as part of its 2024 grant cycle. This marks the Foundation’s seventh year of grantmaking in support of nonprofits that help women and girls across the Commonwealth become financially independent and successful leaders. Since its inception in 2017, the Foundation has committed a total of $8,300,000 to 38 nonprofits and 101 programs serving women and girls in Massachusetts.
This year’s grant cycle, the largest in the Foundation’s history, underscores the organization’s expanded mission to economically empower women and girls beyond Greater Boston and reach the entire Commonwealth. Of this grant cycle, 55 percent of the total funds will be distributed to new grantee partners, and 27 percent will be distributed to organizations exclusively serving Western Massachusetts.
Communities in Western Massachusetts have historically experienced a shortage of public and private resources, particularly towards programs serving women and girls. As a result, women and girls across the region have faced educational, professional, and economic barriers that affect their earning potential and academic performance. Understanding the lasting impact of these disparities, the Foundation’s 2024 grant cycle supports essential community-based programs that will foster long-term positive outcomes for women and girls in the region.
“As the need for financial empowerment programming continues to grow, these funds will ensure that resources are available to women and girls living in the communities that need it most, such as our state’s Gateway Cities and Western Massachusetts,” said Christina Gordon, Co-Founder and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston. “We are proud to continue working alongside fantastic organizations dedicated to serving and empowering women and girls through this grant cycle, setting them up for success now and in the future.”
The 2024 grantees include:
Dress for Success Western MA (DFSWM) empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support, professional attire, and development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. This three-year $133,000 grant will allow DFSWM to expand its workforce development services, including establishing a Women’s Career Center, which will offer workshops and assistance with resume writing, job search strategies, interview preparation, financial literacy, and computer skills. DFSWM is a new grantee partner for the Foundation.
Dream Big!helps girls and young women from low-income situations achieve their dreams by providing them with the sports equipment, sports attire, athletic footwear, program fees, and college showcase scholarships needed to enable them to participate in sports and physical activities. This three-year $225,000 grant will allow Dream Big! to hire a Program Director to serve more girls and young women. This is the Foundation’s third grant with Dream Big!.
Asian Women for Health (AWFH) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of Asian Women and people from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds through community engagement, education, and representation. This three-year $300,000 grant will fund the launch of their new fast-track community healthcare worker training program. AWFH is a new grantee partner for the Foundation.
Girls Inc. of Boston and Lynnworks to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through direct service and advocacy. This three-year $150,000 grant will help fund their Project Accelerate program, which supports young women through the critical transitions from high school, to college, to career. Programming includes mentoring, assistance in securing post-secondary education, school year and summer opportunities, workshops, college readiness, and paid internships. GIL is a new grantee partner for the Foundation.
Girls Inc. of the Valley works to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold by providing them with the opportunity to develop and achieve their full potential. This three-year $300,000 grant will be used to expand their STEM and college/career readiness activities, which will be available to Hampden County elementary and teen girls through a MakerSpace and Library/Learning Center at their new facility in downtown Holyoke. GIV is a new grantee partner for the Foundation.
Girls on the Run Western MA inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. This three-year $150,000 grant will be used to expand their reach to more girls from underserved communities in Western MA, including Chicopee, Westfield, Holyoke, Pittsfield, and Springfield. GOTRWM is a new grantee partner for the Foundation.
Girls on the Run Greater Boston inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a research-based curriculum that creatively integrates running. This three-year $165,000 grant will be used to increase the number of girls served in low-income communities in Lawrence, Brockton, Boston, Revere, Salem, and Haverhill. This is GOTRGB’s eighth grant with the Foundation.
Science Club for Girls fosters excitement, confidence, and literacy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for girls and gender-expansive youth from underrepresented communities by providing free, experiential programs and by maximizing meaningful interactions with women-in-STEM mentors. This three-year $300,000 grant will help SCFG’s expansion in Greater Boston and the Gateway Cities. This is SCFG’s seventh grant with the Foundation.
Women’s Money Matters empowers women and girls to improve their financial health to create a more secure future for themselves, their families and their communities. This three-year $300,000 grant will fund WMM’s Life Launch program, helping girls and young women to build financial skills, economic security, and confidence through an impactful group-based program of workshops, peer support, and personal one-to-one coaching. This is WMM’s seventh grant with the Foundation.
YWCA Central Massfocuses on building better futures for girls and women through programs and services that create opportunities for independence and self-sufficiency. This three-year $150,000 grant funds their Girl’s CHOICE Money Smart program where Worcester area middle school girls will learn the basics of financial literacy, including opening bank accounts, balancing checkbooks, creating budgets, and using technology. Programming will include career shadowing and exploration, guest speaker series, and panels. YWCACM is a new grantee for the Foundation.
