Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women announces Black Women Impact Grants
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Black Women Impact Grants are being launched by One Million Black Women to support Black women-led nonprofit organizations. The grants program is now accepting applications; selected non-profits will receive general operating funding ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 over two years. The development and launch of the program are a direct result of feedback from Black women leaders gathered.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) today announced the Black Women Impact Grants program, which will fund an open-access grants program for Black women-led and Black women-serving nonprofits as part of its One Million Black Women initiative. The Goldman Sachs Foundation will select 50 Black women-led nonprofits to receive general operating funding ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 over a two-year period.
The $10 million open-access grants program is a direct response to feedback from Black women nonprofit leaders across the country gathered during more than 50 One Million Black Women listening sessions attended by nearly 20,000 Black women and girls across the country.
"Our research has shown that investing in Black women is one of the best ways to advance economic growth,"
said David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs.
"We believe we can make a real difference by providing much-needed capital to community leaders."
"We are excited to launch this application process for Black women-led community-based nonprofits. We learned about so many inspiring leaders who are developing impactful programs with limited resources through our listening sessions,"
said Asahi Pompey, president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation.
"We cannot ignore the importance of access to capital for the social sector, and we must employ both commercial and philanthropic strategies to help close the racial wealth gap."
To be eligible for funding, organizations must be 501(c)3 organizations based in the United States with a focus on serving Black women and girls. Qualifying organizations must also have Black women in organizational and/or programmatic leadership positions, as well as alignment with at least one of One Million Black Women's seven impact areas: healthcare, education, housing, digital connectivity, financial health, access to capital, and job creation & workforce advancement. Furthermore, applications are restricted to charitable nonprofits with annual operating budgets ranging from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
The application process begins today, and all eligible applicants are encouraged to apply by March 11, 2022, via the One Million Black Women website at www.gs.com/BlackWomenImpact. In a callback stage, selected eligible applicants will be invited to submit additional information. Decisions on awards will be made in June 2022.
"Across the country, we're seeing that the women who are most affected by systemic inequities are the ones leading movements to bring about positive change in our communities. These leaders have been under-resourced and underfunded for far too long. It's time to change that,"
said Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation and a member of Goldman Sachs' One Million Black Women Advisory Council.
"This new program will provide multi-year funding and resources to Black women-led non-profits working for long-term change, as well as help to close opportunity gaps for Black women across the country."
Black Women Impact Grants expand on the recently announced series of investments, partnerships, and grants directed at 17 leading organizations and projects across the country by One Million Black Women. On January 12, the One Million Black Women Advisory Council, comprised of 17 Black business and community leaders, announced a new slate of investments, partnerships, and grants.
Source: GoldmanSachs news