COVID-19 Impact

When the coronavirus pandemic emerged in March 2020, we made significant changes to our grant-making process for the year:

• We suspended our standard evaluation and grant-making process, which normally would have included site visits to the 16 semi-finalists and culminated with the June Voting Meeting. Instead, we decided to award equal grants to all 16 organizations (see below), all of which support women and teen girls in the Greater Boston area. The dollar amounts were far less than what we normally award to each year's four or five winners, but this crisis warranted immediate action and funding for as many organizations as possible. 

• We relaxed the restrictions on how the funds could be used. Typically, Womenade's grants are approved for funding specific programs, projects, and/or full- or part-time positions. We were keenly aware of the financial challenges most nonprofit organizations were about to face. Therefore, we made our funding available to defray operating expenses and to allow an organization to continue offering an important community service, pay an employee, pay the rent, keep the lights on, and more.

• Based on our 2020 membership funding and other donations, including corporate matching funds, we were able to reach our $80,000 goal for 2020. Each of the 16 organizations received a $5,000 grant in May. 

2020 Grant Recipients  

Artists for Humanity / Bellisini Academy / Budget Buddies / Cambridge Women’s Center / Dress for Success / Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell / Girls’ LEAP / Girls Rock Campaign Boston / Hands to Heart Yoga / Interseminarian - Project Place / RESPOND / Sportmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center / St. Francis House / Strong Women, Strong Girls / Voices Against Violence / Women’s Bar Foundation.

Banner image courtesy of grantee Girls LEAP.