Let’s close out Women’s History Month with “a powerful community of women and allies dedicated to achieving global gender equality”, Together Women Rise.
Founded in Greenville, South Carolina in 2003, the vision of Together Women Rise is “a world where every person has the same opportunities to thrive regardless of their gender or where they live.” They work towards this goal through three core action areas: learning, giving and community building.The actions take place in hundreds of Together Women Rise chapters across the U.S. As explained on the website, in local chapter meetings “members learn about and advocate for gender equality issues, give grants to organizations that empower women and girls in low-income countries, and build community to forge meaningful connections that increase our strength and collective impact.”
Together Women Rise identifies and funds a monthly Featured Grantee organization, who has been carefully vetted. All grantees are locally-led, measuring impact and working in collaboration with the women they serve. Chapter members are provided with a wide range of learning materials on the featured country, issue, and project. This also includes recipe, book, film, and music recommendations from the grantees.
Examples of organizations that have received $50,000 grants in 2023 include: The Pangea Network, providing life and business skills training to women in poverty in Kenya, in addition to small business funds; and Maya Midwifery International, preparing and sustaining midwives in Guatemala to improve maternal child health outcomes. Upcoming grants will fund projects supporting women and girls in Ethiopia, Honduras, India and many more countries.
As you can see from the examples above, Featured Grants focus on delivering direct services to women and girls. Together Women Rise also funds Transformation Partnerships, organizations whose work creates broader, systemic change in order to achieve global gender equality and Impact Partnerships, programs run by larger organizations such as Unicef and the Peace Corps.
If you’d like to become a part the global community of women and allies working towards the goal of gender equality for women and girls everywhere, there are many ways to get involved. Attend one of the Together Women Rise 20th anniversary events, join a chapter, or if there’s not one near you, start a chapter. Members can join trips to visit grantee organizations and everyone is welcome to join the book club.
There are also more traditional ways to show your support such as volunteering, making a donation and amplifying their message on social media. Follow Together Women Rise on Facebook, on Twitter @TogetherWmnRise and on Instagram @togetherwomenriseorg.