Who we support
There’s no denying the power of story and the role it can play in shifting…
TED is one of our favorite creative communities, full of rising stars who are bringing…
We think it’s smart to take a good hard look at yourself when you’ve been…
WHAT ATTRACTS INVESTMENT FROM US?
We invest in individuals and organizations working for a fairer world. We look for ways to create opportunities and advancement for women, girls, and other people who have been excluded by systems that weren’t designed for their success.
We invest not only our financial resources – we have decades of experience as donor partners we’re willing to share with our grantees.
The strengths and weaknesses of each of our partners is vastly different. While some filmmakers prefer a crash course in financing, there are TED Fellows who need assistance developing business plans. While some organizations lack communications and marketing knowhow, others require leadership training. The tools and leadership support required to bolster brilliant ideas are unique and relative, which is why our approach to investing is about so much more than money. Our tailor-made grants allow our partners to identify the solutions specific to them, then create the path to move toward their goals.
Being seen. Being heard. This is a through-line in all of our work. Storytelling is one of the post powerful vehicles for change, which is why we invest in both individual stories and systemic shifts aimed at creating a more equitable landscape. We consider ourselves “Creative Producers” (a term we borrowed from our friends at Sundance), and prefer to work alongside mediamakers in order to identify how we can best support the full lifespan of a piece of media. This means not only finding the right audience, but presenting that audience with the tools they need to act.
Bringing together bright minds is one of our favorite things to do. And at each and every convening we try to incorporate awareness, education and action, as well as to create a diverse and solution-oriented experience. (We think we’ve done a pretty good job so far!)
To create change on individual, localized, and systemic levels, collaboration is key. Collaborative philanthropy such as giving circles are effective ways to bring interested parties together in order to map out funding strategies for change. We’re also supporting events and hosting gatherings that cultivate a compassionate and inclusive community committed to advancing a more fair and inclusive world
A SELECTION OF OUR GRANTEES
- All
- 1. Leadership
- 2. Storytelling
- 3. Convenings
How do girls of color become leaders? Studies show that they’re hungry to lead. But…
How do we change the culture to be more inclusive at every level? Chaz Ebert…
Yes, Congress is dysfunctional. Some members (OK, former members) are willing to admit it and…
If Hollywood seems like a private club (mostly for white men), there’s a reason for…
This documentary focusing on Black women running for a variety of elected offices is still…
How come if most kitchens are presided over by women that so few professional kitchens…
When we met this female filmmaking team at a Sundance film financing event, we were…
Does the name Molly Ivins ring a bell? If yes, we don’t need to explain…
RHI believes that social change to overcome systemic inequities begins with empowered youth. In partnership…
Maybe you remember seeing the talented Brown family on Oprah or 60Minutes. The 5 Browns…
When a documentary filmmaker catches a moment in history, the result is an irreplaceable behind-the-scenes…
This nostalgic bio of the beloved Mr. Rogers was one of the top-performing documentaries in…
Here’s an unusual film (in progress): teenage refugees hatch a crazy plot to reunite 60s…
Even if you’re among the millions of people who suffer from crippling migraine headaches, you…
A whistle-blowing blogger uncovers disturbing social media evidence documenting the gang rape of a teenage…
We think it’s smart to take a good hard look at yourself when you’ve been…
You can’t fix a problem you won’t admit exists. Dr. Stacy L. Smith leads The…
Let’s be frank: It’s going to take bold leadership for women and people of color…
We’ve had the privilege of a front-row seat as Sloane Davidson went from hosting a…
In the decades since our founding, we’ve learned that it’s best to give money to…
In 2013, when “giving days” were a new way to raise major philanthropic dollars in…
We favor grantees that serve overlapping areas of investment for us. Philanthropy Women hits targets…
AAFSC empowers new immigrants in downtown Brooklyn with the tools they need to successfully acclimate…
The idea started out simply: support girls who are the first in their family to…
Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education is the first and oldest Latino charity in…
Global Kids is an educational organization with over 25 years of experience in New York…
For more than 17 years, Girls For A Change has been supporting Black girls and…
Since 1996, South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) has been serving young people from diverse ethnic…
Perhaps it’s not so hard to believe that abortion was once entirely illegal in the…
Here’s what happens when women are targeted on the internet and their lives are upended…
How would you feel if you – and your neighbors – noticed strange vehicles parked…
Another TED Fellow, another Kickstarter campaign. Jen Brea’s life was disrupted by a diagnosis of…
Two teenage girls are sexually assaulted while unconscious by boys who they thought were their…
Love the Sinner is a personal documentary essay exploring the connection between fundamentalist Christianity and…
It’s impossible to be free if one’s personal medical decisions are made by the government,…
Oh, sure, NOW you know all about podcasts and you probably have your own. But…
If you’ve ever seen the GA Tally on social media, it’s because Gina Glantz and…
What began as a response to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” quip during the…
The untold story of Alice Guy-Blaché, who at 23 was the first female director in…
There’s nothing we love more than a grant that puts itself out of business. We…
How will we ever achieve gender parity in elected office if women won’t run? Vote…
When we met the courageous founders– Sofie Karasek, Andrea Pino, and Annie Clark– of End…
This is today’s tech take on the idea of a suicide hotline. Instead of making…
In 2011, long before #MeToo, the epidemic of sexual assault in the military was exposed…
When the documentaries Sexy Baby and Hot Girls Wanted exposed the insidious ways underage girls…
The Oakland-based Radical Monarchs started out as the Radical Brownies until the Girl Scouts put…
At least half of American women will experience an unintended pregnancy by the age of…
Told by the activists and leaders who live and breathe this movement for justice, WHOSE…
College Behind Bars: The Bard Prison Initiative tells the untold story of incarcerated men and…
1 in 5 women is sexually assaulted while in college, according to the Campus Sexual…
She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry resurrects the buried history of the outrageous, often brilliant women…
Directors Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus, known for their documentary Sexy Baby, release this shocking…
Filmmaker Ruth Cowan’s documentary follows seven female judges working to transform South Africa from apartheid…
There’s no denying the power of story and the role it can play in shifting…
As traditional media revenue sources evaporated and legacy media scrambled for survival, KSU professor Leonard…
TED is one of our favorite creative communities, full of rising stars who are bringing…
The Acumen Global Fellows program is a leadership development experience that is not for the…
This inspiring documentary by director Julia Bacha and a female-led American/Israeli/Palestinian filmmaking team was strongly…
Led by Producer-Writer-Director Katrina Browne, a largely female filmmaking team spent almost a decade documenting…
The statistics were so dismal that Katie Orenstein had to do something – the opinionators…
Tom Rielly, who created the TED Fellows program, began documenting the story of William Kamkwamba,…
When theHF began its pioneering work in the field of coaching, the profession was so…
If it weren’t for Baruch College, you wouldn’t be reading this. The Harnisch Foundation’s co-founder…
A member of the Women Donors Network told us about this documentary exploration of what…
Talk about bang for the buck – the results CEO Donna Hall and her team…
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee established The Women’s Fund in 1994 to support programs…
Women Moving Millions is a growing community of individuals who have each made pledges of…
Jane Gray was a young first-time filmmaker when she asked her friends and colleagues to…
When our Founder Ruth Ann Harnisch was a journalist, her work brought her in constant…
It seemed like the most strategic investment possible: help the wealthiest people learn to put…
Many cities boast a leadership program that connects the area’s most powerful people representing diverse…
It seems like ancient history now, those days when there were so many places with…
Multiple bang for the buck! With a single grant we support internet she-ro Anita Sarkeesian, …
Reproductive rights activist Dr. Rebecca Gomperts uses an offshore vessel as a clinic to serve…
Did you know that tribal courts can keep people out of state courts? Ruth Cowan’s…
We contributed to the campaign of The Women’s Film Preservation Fund to restore this 1986…
Our investments in female-centric stories occasionally earn that rare industry plaudit, like “The Eagle Huntress,”…