UTAH WOMEN’S GROUP INVESTS MORE THAN $150,000 INTO WOMEN & GIRLS FOLLOWING EIGHTH YEAR OF AWARDING GRANTS
Salt Lake City, Utah –– The Utah Women’s Giving Circle, a grassroots group formed in 2011 to award grants to nonprofits in Utah whose programs benefit women and girls in Utah, awarded its eighth round of grants on Thursday, January 24th. In the past eight years the Utah Women’s Giving Circle has awarded more than $150,000 in grants with a total of 41 high impact projects.
Eight local nonprofits made it to the final ballot and made in-person presentations for $17,000 in funds with projects targeting the group’s 2018 focus on sexual harassment, mirroring the prominent cultural movement taking place across the country. Members voted to award their collective pool of $17,000 across five initiatives:
$5,000 Grant: Utah Rape Recovery Center
Financing the production of targeted public service announcements tackling the subject of sexual harassment from the lens of enthusiastic consent, encouraging Utahn’s to consider the many ways that a consent culture can be created here in our state.
$4,000 Grant: Utah Women’s Coalition
Funding to support policy change in the 2019 legislative session to protect Utah workers employed at companies with 14 or fewer employees, who currently have no legal protection from sexual harassment or discrimination based on gender, religion, age, disability, race, national origin, or sexual orientation.
$3,000 Grant: Utah Public Radio
Funding the 2019 Access Utah original series “Stopping Sexual Harassment” paired with a community outreach event to raise awareness, share experiences and expertise, and collectively seek solutions to solve the problem of sexual harrassment.
$3,000 Grant: International Rescue Committee
Supporting the expansion of the Bridge to Safety program, which responds to domestic violence and sexual assault among refugee women, to include sexual harassment education for resettled refuge women and girls in Salt Lake City.
$2,000 Grant: Boys & Girls Clubs of Salt Lake
Supporting the delivery of the Safe Dates program at seven Boys & Girls Clubs locations in 2019, an evidence-based program for middle and high school students designed to stop or prevent the initiation of dating violence, victimization, and perpetration.
“The collective action and genuine community present in the Giving Circle makes membership very rewarding, all with a very accessible membership donation amount,” shared Pearl Wright, a longstanding member of more than five years who voted in person at the event.
Stephanie Pitcher, a member of Utah’s House of Representatives and founder of the Utah Women’s Coalition, which received it’s very first grant from the Utah Women’s Giving Circle in 2016 and another award this year reflected, said “The one thing that’s always been really meaningful to us is the opportunity to be funded by women from our local community, which really speaks to the values in our state.”
Another two-time grantee, Tom Williams from Utah Public Radio noted, “The Utah Women’s Giving Circle amplifies and enables the great work being done by many organizations in our state. Utah Public Radio is grateful for the support which enables us to fulfill important parts of our mission and share this work with our entire community.”
Membership is inclusive for women of all ages and incomes through a $250 annual donation or a $50 annual donation for girls under 18. Women can become Lifetime Members through a one-time gift of $1,000. Public and corporate donations and sponsorship are also welcome. For more information, visit www.utahwomensgivingcircle.com or email wgc@utahcf.org.
The Utah Women’s Giving Circle is fiscally sponsored by the Community Foundation of Utah, a catalyst for philanthropy that is visionary, diverse, and inclusive. More information can be found at www.utahcf.org.