Jill Preyer, WFW Grants Committee Vice Chair, Monica Antonazzo, Horizons at Carolina Day, Development Director, and Jenny Tracy, Horizons at Carolina Day Executive Director; photo by Michael Oppenheim
(May 2022) – Women for Women recently awarded six grants totaling $294,513. With these awards and in its 17th year of grantmaking, the Giving Circle has invested more than $4.7 million to support programs serving WNC women and girls.
Women for Women’s mission is to improve the lives of women and girls through collective giving. The Giving Circle always welcomes new members; membership information is at www.cfwnc.org.
“In this year’s grant cycle, Women for Women expanded how we recognize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our grantmaking process,” said Pam Winker, Grants Committee Chair. “We expanded our outreach to ensure we reached nonprofits serving and headed by more diverse populations, and we saw a difference; over half of our letters of intent were from nonprofits that had not previously submitted requests. Our members make these grants possible, and their gifts help nonprofits provide assistance and hope to women and girls throughout Western North Carolina. Women for Women is proud to support these skilled nonprofit partners as our 2022 grantees.”
The grants are:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC – $20,000 to transition the current Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion (JEDI) specialist from part-time to full-time employment so they can expand services to BIPOC girls in the 18-county Western NC region. The JEDI program will train both ‘Bigs’ (mentors) and ‘Littles’ (mentees) to recognize and deal with challenges facing girls, particularly those of color including Native American, Latinx and African American.
Bountiful Cities Project – $40,000 over two years to launch and support The Collaborative Urban Agriculture Apprenticeship Program to support apprentices of color and those with low generational wealth. The program offers participants educational workshops, onsite job experience, cohort learning, and mentee support while earning a living wage. It culminates in a certification that will recognize comprehensive preparation for employment in urban agriculture, food security organizing, nonprofit management, and other areas within the local food system. The program is based in Buncombe County.
Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital – $100,000 over two years to launch and support the “Ladies Day In” Saturday Women’s Clinic in partnership with the Cherokee County Health Department. Low-income and/or under-insured women will be able to access comprehensive medical evaluation including bloodwork, mammogram and full physical exam in 90 minutes at one location. The clinic will also serve breakfast and schedule follow-up appointments. The clinic will serve women in Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties.
Horizons Summer Program at Carolina Day School – $50,000 over two years to support the participation of economically disadvantaged girls, predominately from African American and Latinx communities, in the Horizons Summer program. The Horizons Summer program at Carolina Day is a six-week summer academic program that provides all-day STEM-centered curriculum that improves literacy and math proficiency and works to advance educational equity by building long-term partnerships with students, families, communities, and schools to create experiences outside of school that inspire the joy of learning. The program serves students in Buncombe County.
OpenDoors of Asheville – $50,000 over two years to support the salaries of two women of color employed as Transportation Associates at a living wage with benefits. The Transportation Associates drive an agency-owned van and coordinate transportation for women and girls engaged in OpenDoors programming to attend school and employment and access enrichment and community resources, helping uplift and empower Black and brown women and girls in Buncombe County.
WNC Superheroes – $34,513 to create, in collaboration with partner agencies, a Fund for Survivors who face emergency needs. Funds will provide one-time, flexible small grants to survivors of sexual or domestic violence to support housing or transportation needs, employment or legal assistance. Grants are available to women in Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, Transylvania and Madison counties.
Women for Women is an initiative of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC). The Women’s Fund, a CFWNC endowment addressing the unmet needs of women and girls, contributed $66,140 to the grants.