Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls awards $25 million

November 9, 2021

Google.org has announced grants totaling $25 million in support of nonprofits and social enterprises around the world working to help women and girls reach their full economic potential and strengthen the well-being of communities recovering from COVID-19.

Launched in March, the Impact Challenge for Women and Girls received more than seventy-eight hundred applicants — the most ever for a Google.org impact challenge. Through the program, thirty-four organizations will receive grants of up to $1 million and participate in a four-month accelerator program led by Google's Accelerator and Women Techmakers communities, in partnership with Vital Voices. In addition, the organizations will receive a Google.org Fellowship and dedicated Ad Grants to promote their mission.

Recipients include SwaTaleem Foundation (India), which will work to build an app that doesn't require an Internet connection and provides skills in math, science, and financial awareness; Asociación Colnodo (Colombia), which will connect rural women entrepreneurs to the internet and each other through cohort programing and mentorship; Girls Inc of New York City (U.S.), which aims to build a financial budgeting app for girls of color from low-income households; Project Akilah (Rwanda), which will build a pipeline of formal economic career opportunities for rural women; Action Foundation (Kenya), which will provide after-school STEM bootcamps and mentorship for girls with disabilities; and Start Small, Think Big (United States), which provides free, individualized, legal, financial, and marketing and technical assistance via a nationwide network of skill-based volunteers.

"Globally, women have been nearly twice as likely to lose their jobs during COVID-19 as men. It's vital that we elevate and support work that empowers women and girls to reach their full economic potential, especially in marginalized communities," said Google.org president Jacquelline Fuller. "The pandemic recovery must be an inclusive one, and we know that when we invest in women and girls, we all benefit."

(Photo credit: Start Small, Think Big)
Source: PND

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