Young Women’s Initiative Awards $25,000 in Grants
The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts is pleased to announce that our Young Women’s Initiative awarded $25,000 in grants to Springfield-serving organizations for 2023-2024. A cornerstone of the Young Women’s Initiative program is for participants to learn about the power of philanthropy as a tool for social change by becoming benefactors and philanthropists.
Funding awarded during this grant cycle can be used towards an organization’s general operating expenses or to cover specific programmatic costs. Organizations selected to receive funding during this cycle have programs that work with young women and gender-expansive folks of color ages 16-24, serving Greater Springfield, and address issues specifically in education, leadership, visibility, safety, or anti-violence. These organizations we selected by this year’s grantmaking committee:
- Parent Villages for their work with BIPOC youth and families.
- Take the Mic for their work with BIPOC young women and girls.
- The Center for Labor Education and Research’s Massachusetts Jobs with Justice for their work with BIPOC communities.
This year’s grantmaking committee was comprised of YWI alumnae with representation across the five YWI cohorts. Committee members nominate organizations to apply, review applicants, and select recipients while learning about philanthropy and nonprofit management.
Congratulations to this year’s grant recipients. We are excited to support their work over the coming year.
