girlsBEST RFP to Invest in the Economic Success of Girls
WFMN invites Minnesota organizations and groups with girl-driven programs that enhance economic opportunity for girls to apply to join the sixth cohort of girlsBEST partners who receive multi-year grants. See the 2020 girlsBEST Request for Proposals and apply by April 15th.
The girlsBEST program engages low-income girls (ages 12 to 18) with an emphasis on girls of color, American Indian girls, and girls in Greater/Rural Minnesota, LGBTQ+ youth, and girls with disabilities. Our definition of girls includes any young person that identifies as a girl; all WFMN programs are inclusive of transgender, gender nonconforming, and gender nonbinary people who experience gender-based structural harm. Grants will be awarded for up to three years of funding, renewable each year based on evidence of satisfactory progress toward goals and outcomes.
Investing in the economic success of girls is a proven strategy to advance gender and racial equity in Minnesota. Why? Because when girls thrive, families and communities thrive. In 2002, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota (WFMN) launched the girlsBEST (girls Building Economic Success Together) fund to support programs that work to ensure the future economic opportunity of girls across Minnesota. Economic opportunity is the underpinning for girls’ equity; it increases their safety, improves their health outcomes; and impacts their access to leadership opportunities.
Since launching the girlsBEST program, the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota has convened, elevated, and invested in five cohorts of statewide grantee-partners through multi-year funding. Since 2002, girlsBEST has impacted the economic success and leadership development of 44,000 low-income girls across the state. girlsBEST has proven to be an effective model for impact: 94 percent of girlsBEST participants graduate from high school, 90 percent enroll in post-secondary education, and the teen pregnancy rate is four per 1,000 girls in Minnesota. Learn more about girlsBEST and past grant recipients.
Multi-Year Grant Information & Timeline
Grants range from $10,000 to $20,000 per year. The average award is $15,000.
Grant Period:
Year 1: June 15, 2020 through June 14, 2021
Year 2: June 15, 2021 through June 14, 2022
Year 3: June 15, 2022 through June 14, 2023
Our girlsBEST participatory grantmaking process engages girls, community volunteers, board, and staff as members of the girlsBEST Fund Committee. The Committee reviews the grant proposals and recommends awards for groups who are determined to best represent the mission, goals, and values of the Women’s Foundation and the girlsBEST program.
Organizations with questions may contact Jasmine Sánchez, Program Officer & Grants Manager, at jasmine@wfmn.org.
Deadlines & Information Session
- Grant Information webinar: March 10th Recording
- Proposals due: April 15th, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.
- Please note that you must submit your application online. To do so, please register to access the web portal. Your registration will prompt an authentication by WFMN, which should take no more than one business day to complete.
