Transformation Partnerships Coming Up!
By Scott Osborne and Sue Malick, Co-Chairs of the Transformation Partnerships Committee
You have probably heard about Transformation Partnerships at your local chapter meeting, at one of our national webinars, or here in The Dish. (See below for links to previous blogs.) Transformation Partnerships are our newest grants, dedicated to funding the root causes of gender inequality.
With these partnerships, we want to change systems, not just individuals. These grants are designed to help change the people and institutions that create or perpetuate gender inequality, not just help women and girls personally affected. In the long run, this is how true gender equality will come about.
Early this year our work began: we created a committee to develop and refine our selection criteria and begin researching and talking with prospective partners. Predictably, we’ve learned a lot and honed our thinking along the way.
What should you expect from these Transformation Partnership grants? Perhaps funding for organizations that are trying to change a woman’s ability to own land, or groups helping women inherit and keep their property when their husband dies. Certainly funding for organizations that are carefully researching their interventions, which is a critical step to show what is changing and what still needs work. Possibly you’ll even see funding for groups who work to change men and boys, because we’ll never see true gender equality without helping men see the world differently too.
Look for our first partner grantees later this fall; we can’t wait for you to hear about them and learn their stories.