February 25, 2020
Dallas Area Funders Award $320,000 to 38 Organizations in Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote
To mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in 2020, community philanthropic partners came together to create the 19th Amendment Centennial Fund, which has provided $320,000 in grants to create a yearlong series of events to recognize the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. This funding supports effective, inspirational and authentic ways to create conversation, drive positive change and build strategies to advance gender equity. Funded projects include programs and events that provide a publicly accessible component of the project’s work, such that it can be explored and enjoyed by individuals from diverse cultures, ages and economic means.
The collaborative funders include: AT&T, The Boone Family Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, The Dallas Foundation, the Embrey Family Foundation, The Hoglund Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the McCune Losinger Family Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Texas Women’s Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and the George and Fay Young Foundation.
A steering committee of the philanthropic partners advised on the grants of up to $10,000 for programs and events by nonprofit organizations and up to $1,000 for public schools.
The 38 projects that were chosen to receive funding incorporate the following concepts:
- Celebrate: Remember, honor and applaud those who have moved women from suffrage to seats at many tables and continue to work to improve the position of women in society.
- Educate: Tell the story behind the creation and significance of the 19th amendment, including who was involved, what sacrifices were made for it to happen and the women of color who were marginalized to advance the movement.
- Activate: Make the call for people to participate in democracy and provide data, information and solutions for ways to increase Texas’ ranking as 49th among the states when it comes to women’s political participation.
The 19th Amendment Centennial Funding categories include:
Arts & Culture: ($112,000)
Civic Engagement: ($58,800)
Education: ($144,000)
Other: ($5,000)
To read details about the individual grantees, award amounts and project/program descriptions for each organization, click the button below.
centennial grantees
A number of the grantees will be working with University of Texas at Dallas students on social media strategies to promote their projects.
“Each of these organizations' thoughtful initiatives has allowed the opportunity to find effective, inspirational, and authentic ways to create conversations, drive positive change, and build strategies to advance gender equity,” said Sarah Cotton Nelson, Chief Philanthropy Officer at Communities Foundation of Texas. “We’re so grateful to each of the collaborative funders who partnered to make this possible.”
“The 19th Amendment Centennial Fund celebrates the leaders who have, and continue to, champion equity for women, while acknowledging that there is still much to be done,” said Dallas Foundation Senior Vice President & Chief Impact Officer Helen Holman. “We are particularly excited that the grant recipients each have an aspect of their funded project that engages individuals and families from across Dallas, continuing the conversation about the importance of including women’s voices in all areas of society.”
“For the George and Fay Young Foundation, the 19th Amendment Centennial Fund represents an opportunity to celebrate progress around gender equity, and remind us there is much work to be done. We are grateful to the many partners who continue to move this conversation forward,” said Executive Director Christopher Shaw.
“An important aspect of the grants was to be intentionally inclusive of the whole history of suffrage and how women of color were involved and were able to vote only in the last 55 years,” said Cynthia Yung, President of the Boone Family Foundation. “The Girls Scouts of Northeast Texas created a Women Vote! patch with a curriculum that reflects that history and over 6,000 girls have learned about suffrage and voting rights over last six months!”
A few examples of upcoming projects include:
To keep up with additional upcoming events celebrating the 19th amendment from the grantees, visit our events page.
view upcoming events