Women’s Power & Influence
Activating $25 million in matching grant funds in partnership with Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates
Please Note: The submission process is closed at this time! Due to overwhelming response, we have reached our total funding allocation much faster than we expected. We look forward to sharing a community-wide update on the impact of this project soon. Thank you to everyone who help contribute to advancing gender equality in the United States.
All grants must meet three eligibility criteria including a focus on key impact indicators, commitment to equitable outcomes, and activation of new giving.
All grants that meet the program eligibility will be matched 50%. Some select grants that meet additional criteria may be matched 100%.
Grants can be submitted on a rolling basis, but they will be reviewed and approved in cycles to ensure the fair distribution and availability of funds.
Introducing the Champion Fund
A Pooled Giving Fund to Activate 100% Matching Grants
Many grassroots organizations working on the frontlines of gender equity face systemic barriers that limit their ability to access traditional philanthropic resources — despite the outsized impact of their work. At the same time, our members have told us they want to participate in the matching grant program to double the impact of their grantmaking but they don’t know where to give.
To help bridge this gap, Forward Global is introducing the Champion Fund. Led by Forward Global members Kristin Hayden and Sparks, the Fund is designed to identify and support under-resourced organizations contributing to the six key indicators for Women’s Power & Influence.
All contributions from Forward Global members to the Champion Fund and will be matched 100% and funds will be distributed to grassroots organizations often overlooked by traditional philanthropy.
To participate, make a donation to Forward Global with the designation “Champion Fund.” Our goal is to raise $2 million matched by an additional $2 million to maximize our Community’s collective impact and strengthen the gender equity movement. Any members interested in taking a leadership role on the Fund and participating in the nomination or selection of recipient organizations can contact us at match@forward-global.org.
This program’s intent is to unlock resources for Women’s Power & Influence. It is also an opportunity for our community to collaborate, take action, and model effective giving. We have incorporated lessons learned from the first phase of the program and we continue to welcome your feedback. FAQs are below, and you can contact us at match@forward-global.org.
GRANT ELIGIBILITY
Eligible grants made by current and active Forward global members will meet the three following criteria:
1. Grant recipients must directly support efforts to by advancing one or more of the identified key indicators:
2. Grants cannot have been previously pledged, planned, or committed by the donor or fulfill an existing board commitment or recurring grant. The intent of this matching program is to catalyze increased funding to expand women’s power and influence.
3. Grants and grant recipients must be committed to supporting and advancing equitable outcomes. This could be through organizational leadership, population served, type of intervention, or other key indicators.
Please note at this time we can only match grants to projects based in the United States. The recipient organization must be a 501(c)3 nonprofit or a fiscally sponsored equivalent and the program activities must take place in the United States.
MATCH CRITERIA
Grants that meet the core eligibility requirements will be matched at 50% (i.e. $1 for every $2 granted). Select grants that meet at least one of the additional program goals below may be matched 100% (i.e. $1 for every $1 granted). The 100% match advances two key goals:
1. Engaging new donors and increasing funding into the space(i.e. “This is the first time I have ever made a grant to this organization.”)
2. Supporting long-term, sustained partnerships (i.e. “I am making a new multi-year grant commitment to this organization.”)
Grants will be eligible for a 100% if they meet at least one of the criteria above. Grants qualifying under the multi-year commitment criteria may receive match funds for up to three annual cycles (completed no later than 31 December 2027). Multi-year grants will be approved during the current submission cycle and matching funds will be disbursed following the donor’s payment schedule. The first payment of a multi-year commitment will be eligible for a 100% match and subsequent payments will receive at 50% match. To qualify for the multi-year commitment criteria, donors can be repeat funders of the organization but the grant must be a new commitment by the donor to the organization.
Please note that matching funds will be limited to $1 million to any one organization or matched from any one donor.
PROGRAM TIMELINE
Grant submissions are closed at this time! Due to the overwhelming response, we have reached our funding allocation much faster than we expected. The submission process is closed as of July 15th. We look forward to sharing community-wide update on our progress and the impact of this program as soon as possible. Thank you to all Forward Global members who participated!
FAQ
The Forward Global Community is made possible by the support, commitment, and engagement of our members. We invite individuals to join us as active and contributing members of our community. This means exchanging ideas, sharing expertise, collaborating with peers, and learning in partnership. It also means supporting Forward Global’s ability to build community and administer impact-driven partnerships like this matching grant program by being a financial contributor to our organization.
If you are new to Forward Global, we invite you to learn more about membership and apply here to join our Community.
Yes, members and organizations who received matching grants in the first phase of the program can still participate again this time. Please note that similar to the first phase there is a $1 million aggregate limit for matching funds to any one recipient organization or matched by any one donor.
Yes, you can still submit a grant proposal. Being a board member or founder at the organization does not automatically disqualify the grant. However, the spirit of the matching grant program is to incentivize donations above and beyond existing or obligatory giving. On the submission form, we will ask you to disclose any close relationships to the organization and describe how the current grant differs from your regular giving. Please note that Forward Global reserves the right to adjust matching levels based on the availability of funds to ensure a fair distribution across eligible projects and we will prioritize grants that best meet the spirit and intention of the program.
Grants cannot have been previously pledged, planned, or committed by the donor or fulfill an existing board commitment or recurring grant. The intent of this matching program is to catalyze increased funding to expand women’s power and influence. On the submission form, we will ask you to describe in your own words how the current grant meets the spirit of the program to incentivize new funding.
At this time, we can only match grants to projects in the United States. Recipient organizations must be 501(c)3 nonprofits or a fiscally-sponsored equivalent. We are exploring opportunities to expand the program outside the United States and are actively seeking partners who may be interested in working on this with us. Contact us at match@forward-global.org if you’re interested in further discussion.
In most cases, multi-year grants will be 2- or 3-year grant commitments with equal payments each year. For commitments where the payments are not evenly distributed (i.e. $30,000 in the first year and $15,000 in each of the two subsequent years), we will average the full amount across the grant term for the purpose of calculating the match amount.
For instance, in the example above, we would consider the grant as three equal payments of $20,000 eligible for a full matching amount of $40,000 (i.e. $20,000 for the 100% match in the first year and $10,000 for the 50% match in the following years).
Yes, in order to ensure broad engagement across our community and the fair distribution of limited funds, there is a limit of $1 million in match funds to any one organization or matched from any one donor. A total of $25 million is available for matching grants and we will continue to provide updates on the availability of funds as the project progresses.
Yes, there are a few other restrictions that should be considered when submitting a grant proposal:
- Naming Rights – We are unable to match grants associated with the naming of buildings or scholarships.
- Organizational Health – We can only match grants to organizations that have demonstrated strong financial health and organizational capacity.
- Reproductive Rights – While we cannot match grants to projects solely focused on access to reproductive health services, we can match grants associated with reproductive rights if they directly target one of the six key indicators (e.g. research on the correlation between contraceptive access and financial attainment for women, a health clinic offering birth control access as well as other services to enhance a women’s career and wage opportunities, or a teen health program providing contraceptive access as well as mentorship and college prep).
Grants will be reviewed and approved according to the timeline outlined above. Once a grant submission is approved, the donor will need to fulfill the grant payment and provide us with documentation of the completed grant, after which we will release the matching funds. Payments on multi-year commitments will be matched according to the donor’s payment schedule following documentation provided for each subsequent payment.