News Release: Global Fund for Women joins the With and For Girls Collective to give more girls grants in the global fight to achieve gender equality

Global Fund for Women has joined the With and For Girls Collective as the 11th member in a collaborative effort to advance gender equality globally using an unprecedented participatory grantmaking approach with adolescent girls. The Collective are united in the belief that girls are best placed to make decisions on issues which affect them.

Global Fund for Women is one of the world’s leading foundations for gender equality, standing up for the human rights of women and girls. Global Fund for Women’s vision is that every woman and girl is strong, safe, powerful, and heard. No exceptions. They fund and partner with feminist groups who are courageously fighting for justice in their own communities. This rights-based approach gets to the root of gender inequality and is the most effective way to create permanent social change.

“We are delighted to join the With and For Girls Collective and to expand our direct support to grassroots girl-led groups,” said Global Fund for Women President and CEO Latanya Mapp Frett. “Global Fund for Women believes in the power of girls to change their own lives, to write their own stories, and to create their own futures. As leaders and decision-makers, girls are key to achieving systemic transformation that will build a world grounded in justice, fairness, and equity. That’s why we are committed to embedding the needs, solutions, and leadership of girls into our work.”

Global Fund for Women joins EMpower, FRIDA, Mama Cash, NoVo Foundation, Plan International UK, Comic Relief, Stars Foundation, The Global Fund for Children, Nike Foundation and Purposeful – the Collective’s convening partner – in the global awards initiative that finds and funds locally-led and girl-centered organizations working with and for girls.

“Global Fund for Women is a leading voice for the power of girls and women to define and lead positive change in their lives. As one of the first women’s funds, Global Fund for Women is an inspiration for those of us in the sector who support community-led change. As gender inequity is a cross-cutting concern that affects the distribution of resources, discrimination, and injustice that many of us seek to challenge, Global Fund for Women’s voice as a powerful champion for girl and women-led social change will be a critical addition to the With and for Girls Collective.” – Corey Oser, Vice President of Programs, Global Fund for Children

With and For Girls came together in 2014 in response to the significant lack of international aid directed toward adolescent girls. Through their yearly Awards process, they have since awarded close to $3 million of flexible funds to 60 girl-led and girl-centered organizations in 41 countries, alongside capacity development support and profile raising opportunities. Collaborative philanthropic efforts to support women and girls are gaining increasing popularity – such as the recently-launched $300M Equality Fund which aims to deliver new momentum for women’s movements.

Collective members such as Mama Cash, an organization which supports women’s, girl’s and trans groups and EMpower excitedly welcome their new collaborative partner, Global Fund for Women, looking forward to a future of advancing the rights’ of girls:

“We know girls experience particular injustices at the intersection of their gender and age. We also know girls are often the last to be seen and invested in within the community and within philanthropy. This needs to change – girls are smart, have opinions and should make decisions on matters that affect them. We see so many of our peer philanthropists and funders in the sector agree and back the principle of girls being decision makers but a hesitancy to make it happen, for fear of doing it wrong. We believe funders can and must include girls in decision making. We are extremely excited to welcome Global Fund for Women as a strategic partner of the With and For Girls Collective, bringing their outspoken approach, deep knowledge, commitment and expertise on reimagining a world in which girls rights are realized, girls voices amplified and girls are leading us all. ” – Swatee Deepak, Director, With and For Girls

 “As a longtime peer we are thrilled to have our sister fund Global Fund for Women join the With and For Girls Collective and have another women’s fund on board. In the past years in our involvement with the collective we have seen it grow and thrive to successfully bring girls to the forefront of the philanthropic agendas as well as other key funding spaces. While we recognize there are other initiatives that are about ‘girls’, few bring to them the care and rights-based approach that the collective has been able to achieve thus far. From the staff, to the collective members, and most importantly the awardees themselves, girls are being recognized as true agents of change, fully empowered to own their voices, bodies, and choices. The transformation that girl-led groups are working toward to, and have already achieved, is changing the status quo globally. As a women-led, women-centered foundation, grounded in the feminist community, we are certain that having Global Fund for Women on board will contribute to the continued growth and success of the collective. Welcome aboard sisters!” – Sandra Macías del Villar, Senior Programme Officer for Women’s Funds, Mama Cash

“Global Fund for Women is a pioneer for women’s rights, providing critical support for innumerable women’s groups around the globe and giving a megaphone to activists who too often are silenced or unheard. The strategic partners of With and For Girls are thrilled that Global Fund for Women is joining us in a common cause. We are ardent believers in girls’ rights and ability to make decisions about what matters to them. And we are intent to make that happen – through investing in girl-centered work globally and by catalyzing change in philanthropy. The world will be a better place when more girls have more say.” – Cynthia Steele, President and CEO, EMpower