Nonprofit Partner - Social Justice Grant
Collaborate
What
The research is out there: nonprofit and corporate boards benefit greatly from recruiting and engaging diverse members. A board that is reflective of the community it represents is far more in touch with key issues, successes, challenges, and opportunities and thus better placed to act strategically and nimbly from a place of true understanding. Different voices offer unique perspectives, challenge assumptions, and provide valuable insights into a path forward of benefit to all, not just some.
And yet:
This excerpt is taken from a brilliant commentary published in Maryland Matters called “Opinion: Leveraging Philanthropy to Help Cultivate a Pipeline of Women Leaders of Color”.
Which is exactly what the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County did.
In November of 2021, the WGC announced a Social Justice funding partnership with The 3rd and The Highland Project focused on developing and implementing a Leadership Development Program for Women of Color in Howard County.
The numbers don’t lie: something about the status quo must change. And that something, as far as this partnership is concerned, is providing the resources necessary to lift up a whole new cohort of talented, skilled, knowledgeable, and dedicated leaders who are beyond ready to take a seat at the board table.
The 3rd’s mission is to build a space that fosters dreams, creates community, and provides mentorship, which enables Women of Color to turn their ideas into economic power and freedom. The Highland Project is an organization focused on building and sustaining a pipeline of Black women leading communities, institutions, and systems, resulting in the creation of multi-generational wealth in their communities.
Together, these organizations are perfectly positioned to shape a new generation of leaders, bringing profound, necessary, and long overdue changes to our community and beyond.
So What
The multi-year grant provided by the WGC to The 3rd is intended for the growth of the organization as a whole. Of the many services they plan to offer Women of Color, one will be the Leadership Development Program, which will provide information, training, resources, and connections in order to finally achieve broader representation among local committees, task forces, commissions, boards of directors, and other leadership bodies throughout Howard County.
Now What
We’ve noted time and time again that funding support for issues related to women and girls is far less than that for other comparable social issues. And the funding support for issues related to women and girls of color is even less. And so we join together in a way that raises us all up: by investing our collective dollars and our belief in a partnership that develops the leaders we need to help address existing barriers to gender and race equity, for the good of us all.
And wouldn’t that be a remarkable outcome? A local giving circle’s investment in a local nonprofit becoming a model for empowering Women of Color as leaders in communities across the country? Knowing the dedication, commitment, and willpower of the nonprofit partners leading this charge, this hope is well on its way to becoming reality.
For 20 years, the WGC has dedicated itself to leveraging our collective dollars, to amplifying the power of collective giving, to building a community of philanthropists and creating a permanent legacy to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County.
Will you join us?
Be a part of our story.
#WGC20Years
#WGC20Years20Stories
The research is out there: nonprofit and corporate boards benefit greatly from recruiting and engaging diverse members. A board that is reflective of the community it represents is far more in touch with key issues, successes, challenges, and opportunities and thus better placed to act strategically and nimbly from a place of true understanding. Different voices offer unique perspectives, challenge assumptions, and provide valuable insights into a path forward of benefit to all, not just some.
And yet:
- “In the U.S., underrepresented ethnic groups make up 40% of the population but only 12.5% of board directors. Black directors make up just 4% and Black women make up just 1.5% of the 20,000+ directors. And according to a 2021 Fortune magazine article on women CEOs, in 2021 the number of women running businesses on the Fortune 500 hit an all-time record: 41. However, of the 41, only six are women of color and two identify as Black women.” - Candace Dodson-Reed and Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz
This excerpt is taken from a brilliant commentary published in Maryland Matters called “Opinion: Leveraging Philanthropy to Help Cultivate a Pipeline of Women Leaders of Color”.
Which is exactly what the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County did.
In November of 2021, the WGC announced a Social Justice funding partnership with The 3rd and The Highland Project focused on developing and implementing a Leadership Development Program for Women of Color in Howard County.
- “Social Justice is the assertion of the ideal that all humans should have the same rights and opportunities; it is woven into the WGC’s mission, vision, goals and statement of unity, including our diversity, equity and inclusion focus and our efforts to raise awareness of gender disparities.” - Barb Van Winkle, WGC Advisory Board Chair
The numbers don’t lie: something about the status quo must change. And that something, as far as this partnership is concerned, is providing the resources necessary to lift up a whole new cohort of talented, skilled, knowledgeable, and dedicated leaders who are beyond ready to take a seat at the board table.
- “The WGC is proud to partner nationally with The Highland Project and to invest locally in The 3rd. We are excited to provide support to a local organization that is focusing on gender and race equality, and now specifically on leadership opportunities for Women of Color.” - Candace Dodson-Reed and Alison Canning, WGC Grants Committee Co-Chairs
The 3rd’s mission is to build a space that fosters dreams, creates community, and provides mentorship, which enables Women of Color to turn their ideas into economic power and freedom. The Highland Project is an organization focused on building and sustaining a pipeline of Black women leading communities, institutions, and systems, resulting in the creation of multi-generational wealth in their communities.
Together, these organizations are perfectly positioned to shape a new generation of leaders, bringing profound, necessary, and long overdue changes to our community and beyond.
So What
- “This is what this new funding partnership brings to The 3rd and to Women of Color throughout our community. Our growth will be exponential with the local support from the Women’s Giving Circle and the national support from The Highland Project, and we are thrilled that both organizations understand and support the unique challenges we face, and the unique gifts we bring to the table.” - Laura Bacon, Founder of The 3rd
The multi-year grant provided by the WGC to The 3rd is intended for the growth of the organization as a whole. Of the many services they plan to offer Women of Color, one will be the Leadership Development Program, which will provide information, training, resources, and connections in order to finally achieve broader representation among local committees, task forces, commissions, boards of directors, and other leadership bodies throughout Howard County.
Now What
- “We know that gender and race equality are closely linked and we are honored to have the WGC invest in both to support leadership development for Women of Color through this important funding partnership.” - Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, WGC Executive Director
We’ve noted time and time again that funding support for issues related to women and girls is far less than that for other comparable social issues. And the funding support for issues related to women and girls of color is even less. And so we join together in a way that raises us all up: by investing our collective dollars and our belief in a partnership that develops the leaders we need to help address existing barriers to gender and race equity, for the good of us all.
- “We are very excited to support the leadership of The 3rd and women of color path blazers in Howard County. We believe our partnership can serve as a national model for working with local giving circles and nonprofits to support leadership development for Women of Color around the country.” - Gabrielle Wyatt, Founder of The Highland Project
And wouldn’t that be a remarkable outcome? A local giving circle’s investment in a local nonprofit becoming a model for empowering Women of Color as leaders in communities across the country? Knowing the dedication, commitment, and willpower of the nonprofit partners leading this charge, this hope is well on its way to becoming reality.
For 20 years, the WGC has dedicated itself to leveraging our collective dollars, to amplifying the power of collective giving, to building a community of philanthropists and creating a permanent legacy to address the needs of women and girls in Howard County.
Will you join us?
Be a part of our story.
#WGC20Years
#WGC20Years20Stories
