Women's Foundation of Boston 2020 Annual Report

Investing in the Power of Women & Girls 15 greater boston Statistics show that girls’ confidence and physical activity levels decline starting at age 9 or 10. Girls on the Run participants experience the transformative effect of learning powerful skills, being part of a team, and training with caring role models who guide them through the curriculum, encouraging them to believe in themselves. $6,200 Sponsorship: WFBoston sponsored Girls on the Run main fundraiser. $7,393 COVID Funding: Funding covered the production and mailing of “Girl Kits” for high-need girls and provided a stipend to the dedicated teachers who coached the teams online. $120,000 for 3 years for Girls on the Run in the City: WFBoston’s grant covers the fees and coaching stipends as well as overhead for Girls on the Run in the City, a new initiative to bring the GOTR program to underserved communities such as Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. A local council of the national Girl Scouts organization, Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts aims to build courage, confidence, and character in girls who want to make the world a better place. $90,000 for 3 years for “It’s a Girl’s World” program, a staff-led after-school program in Worcester. The free programs in STEM, financial literacy, and healthy living are for girls living in low income situations without access to traditional Girl Scout troop activities. WFBoston’s grant addresses two key challenges to the program’s participation fees and geographic accessibility for underserved girls’ participation. $133,000 Sector: Leadership & Mentoring Target Population: Girls Invest in Girls works with schools, community organizations, corporations, and foundations to provide financial literacy programming to girls and to increase the number of women working in finance. $75,000 for 3 years: WFBoston is funding a project to develop in-depth follow-up programs for high school girls who have shown interest and capability in finance. Funding will jumpstart innovative pilot programs and summer camps to encourage girls to consider pursuing financial careers. $90,000 Sector: Leadership and Mentoring Target Population: Girls $75,000 Sector: Finance Education Target Population: Girls Our Sisters’ School is a private, tuition-free middle school for girls of all faiths, races, and cultures from low income families in New Bedford, Massachusetts. $15,000 COVID Funding for GreenHouse: WFBoston funded Our Sisters’ School’s wish for a greenhouse to enhance their Outdoor Classroom and increase hands-on opportunities for their students during the pandemic. $6,000 COVID Funding for Summer Programming: WFBoston granted $6,000 toward the summer program budget at Our Sisters’ School so that 63 students could participate in an eight-week program with 14 activities. $21,000 COVID Funding for Tech Upgrade: The WFBoston grant provided a complete technology upgrade including the purchase of 28 Chromebooks, two new servers, and a WiFi extender for the greenhouse, ensuring that all students have reliable resources whether learning in-person at school or remotely. The overall ratio of Chromebooks is now one to one. $42,000 Sector: Education Target Population: Girls