Amplify Her® Foundation Announces Inaugural Grantee Partners

New York City Organizations to Receive Combined Total $1M to Advance Leadership of Women and Girls

NEW YORK, Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amplify Her® Foundation today announced that it will grant a combined total of $1 million to New York City nonprofits working to advance the leadership of women and girls across the boroughs. Amplify Her^® Foundation is a new private grantmaking foundation with the mission of supporting women and girls from underserved communities to become transformative changemakers.

The announcement comes less than two months after the release of "If She Can Make it Here", their comprehensive research report on women's and girls' leadership in New York City. Conducted in partnership with IDEO.org and The New York Women's Foundation, the report helped guide the Foundation's grantmaking strategy by identifying the greatest barriers women face and interventions that support them in overcoming those obstacles.

The grantee partners were chosen out of a pool of almost 150 requests for support. Their work addresses a wide array of challenges facing women and girls in the city and fall into one or more of the following categories: girls' leadership development; women's leadership development; equitable representation; women's entrepreneurship; and advocacy.

Applicants participated in an in-depth review process, including site visits from Foundation staff and the all-volunteer Amplify Her^® Leadership Network, in keeping with the Foundation's commitment to participatory processes. The board reviewed all applications and recommendations from staff and Leadership Network members.

The majority of the grantees are women-led, with diverse leadership reflective of the communities they serve. They have unique, gender-specific programming, a strong local presence, deep engagement within the community and clear alignment with Amplify Her^® Foundation's mission. In keeping with the Foundation's trust-based practices, over half of all funding is unrestricted and can be directed wherever it is needed most.

Many organizations specifically serve women of color, immigrants and other communities that face additional systemic barriers. A number of grantees are new, smaller organizations that have identified gaps in current programs and resources for women and girls and the grants will allow them to start or significantly expand new programs.

"Our inaugural grantees are doing powerful and courageous work to advance women's leadership in New York City," said Marti Speranza Wong, Amplify Her^® Foundation founder, executive director and board chair. "With 'If She Can Make it Here' as our guide, we identified organizations with clear and compelling interventions that make a significant positive impact on the lives of many. We are honored to partner with them. In their vision and dedication we see a future where we have full gender equity."

"All inaugural grantees share a deep connection to their local community, take a collaborative approach to their work and honor the wisdom of the women and girls they serve. In their applications and at our site visits, the impact of their work and the ripple effects it has on the city as a whole were clear and inspiring. We know that because of the work of these organizations, many women's and girls' lives have and will be changed for the better," said Laura Risimini, director of grants, Amplify Her^® Foundation.

The grantees in this round of funding include: Ascendus; Bella Abzug Leadership Institute; Bottomless Closet; Coalition Against Trafficking in Women; Custom Collaborative; Felicia's Promise; Full STEAM Forward; Girls Who Invest; Hot Bread Kitchen; Latinas On the Verge of Excellence; Legally BLK Fund; New Women New Yorkers; PowHer New York; Sadie Nash Leadership Project; Seeds of Fortune; South Asian Youth Action; Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation; Student Leadership Network; Welcome to Chinatown; and The 92nd Street Y, New York.

"This investment from the Amplify Her Foundation fortifies our Training Institute, Business Incubator, and Worker-Owned Cooperative Development, expanding our capability to assist a broader spectrum of women in various capacities. These invaluable funds will drive our growth, allowing us to expand our support network for an increasingly diverse community of no/low-income and immigrant women," said Ngozi Okaro, founder and executive director of Custom Collaborative.

"We are extremely grateful to the Amplify Her Foundation for recognizing the untapped potential of girls of color and supporting our work. As a new, grassroots nonprofit, this grant will allow us to significantly expand our programming to assist girls of color from underrepresented communities by helping them develop marketable skills, attain higher education, learn about career opportunities and become financially self-reliant. Together, we are going to lift up even more girls and set them on a path to success," said Felicia Fonrose, founder and executive director of Felicia's Promise.

"At Girls Who Invest, we are honored to be a recipient of Amplify Her Foundation's inaugural grant to advance women and girls from underserved communities in NYC. With this generous support, we are partnering to close the access to opportunity gap, and to create pathways for upward mobility and the long-term retention and advancement of women in investment management," said Katherine Jollon Colsher, president and CEO of Girls Who Invest.

"With the generous support from the Amplify Her Foundation, New Women New Yorkers is poised to expand our specialized career pathways in burgeoning fields like clean energy and finance, thereby empowering immigrant women to secure not just jobs, but meaningful careers. It will also bolster our efforts to enhance mental health support, which plays a vital role in professional success. We're eager to see the transformative impact this grant will have on the lives of the women we serve and on our mission to champion their success in New York City's workforce," said Arielle Kandel, founder and CEO of New Women New Yorkers.

"South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) is honored to be a member of the Amplify Her Foundation's first cohort of grantees. This support will allow SAYA to enhance and expand our well-established Young Women's Leadership Program - extending our reach to provide targeted, holistic, and much-needed programming to even more female-identifying high school youth from AAPI and other minority and immigrant communities throughout Queens. We thank the Foundation for recognizing the alignment of our missions and believing in our approach to empowering young women. We look forward to an exciting and fruitful partnership," said Sonia B. Sisodia, executive director of South Asian Youth Action.

Amplify Her^® Foundation will open its next grant cycle in February 2024. For more information, please visit www.amplifyherfoundation.org.

About Amplify Her^® Foundation
Amplify Her^® Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that supports women and girls from underserved communities in New York City to become transformative changemakers. They envision a world where all women have the voice, power and agency to drive systemic change. Using trust-based, participatory grantmaking, the foundation infused $1,000,000 into the non-profit, women's leadership ecosystem in New York City in its 2023 inaugural grant cycle. To learn more, visit www.amplifyherfoundation.org. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Megan Douglas, [email protected], 347-580-2772

SOURCE Amplify Her Foundation