Featured Grants Program

Together Women Rise administers the Featured Grants Program to support organizations that empower and improve the lives of women and girls living in low-income and marginalized communities throughout the Global South. The organization promotes gender equality through grantmaking, educational programming, and awareness-building among its nationwide chapter network and supporters. The Featured Grants Program selects approximately 12 organizations each calendar year to be highlighted monthly through educational materials, newsletters, social media promotion, and chapter engagement activities. The program emphasizes projects and organizations that create measurable and lasting improvements for women and girls while centering the perspectives and priorities of the communities being served. Together Women Rise expects funded organizations to demonstrate sustainability, multiple funding sources, and strong monitoring and evaluation practices. The Featured Grants Program supports two major funding categories: capacity building initiatives and special programs or projects. Capacity building grants are intended to strengthen organizational systems and operational effectiveness through investments such as technology improvements, monitoring and evaluation systems, strategic planning, staff training, and related operational infrastructure. Only organizations with annual operating budgets between $100,000 and $1 million are eligible for capacity building support. The special programs and projects category supports either the launch of new programming or the expansion of existing programming that advances gender equality and improves outcomes for women and girls. Grants range from $35,000 to $50,000 and are distributed over a 24-month performance period. Organizations may not receive more than one Featured Grant within a four-year period. The program includes several important funding restrictions and exclusions. Together Women Rise will not support debt reduction, grants to individuals, endowments, lobbying or political activities, election campaigns, government entities, or building funds and capital campaigns. The organization also does not fund organizations that engage in exclusionary practices based on religion or political affiliation or organizations that attempt to convert beneficiaries to a specific religious faith, belief system, or political ideology. Applicants must demonstrate fiscally responsible and sustainable practices, provide measurable impact data regarding the programs supported by the grant, and maintain leadership structures in which women comprise at least 50 percent of board and staff leadership positions. Organizations are also expected to provide evidence of direct impact and appropriate systems for monitoring and evaluating outcomes. Eligibility requirements are extensive and require applicants to satisfy all criteria in order to be considered. Applicants must either be a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or work through a fiscal sponsor that is a United States 501(c)(3) organization. Organizations without their own 501(c)(3) designation may apply using a fiscal sponsor only if they have maintained a verifiable relationship with that sponsor for at least the previous 12 months. Together Women Rise does not facilitate fiscal sponsor matchmaking. Applicants must demonstrate at least three years of operational experience serving low-income communities in the Global South. Organizations must have annual operating expenses of at least $100,000 for the most recent fiscal year unless they are using a fiscal sponsor. Applicants must also maintain an English-language website unless operating under a fiscal sponsorship arrangement. Previous Together Women Rise grantees must have fully satisfied all reporting requirements associated with prior awards before becoming eligible again. The application process is managed through an online grant portal. Applications and all supporting documentation must be submitted through the portal prior to the deadline, and email submissions are not accepted. The 2026 grant cycle opened on May 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time and closes on June 5, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time for grants that will be awarded in 2027. The organization also offers informational webinars, presentation materials, and office hours sessions intended for applicants who have already begun preparing their submissions and require technical or application-specific support. The office hours sessions are not intended to address questions already covered in the eligibility requirements or frequently asked questions. Applicants are encouraged to save responses offline before submitting, and submission confirmation emails are automatically generated after successful submission. Together Women Rise notes that word limits within the online portal override any information uploaded through PDF attachments. Together Women Rise places significant emphasis on logic models, measurable outcomes, and sustainability planning within applications. Applicants are expected to define the problem their project addresses, explain the importance of the issue using data and community insights, and demonstrate why their organization is well-positioned to respond. The organization encourages applicants to clearly distinguish between direct and indirect beneficiaries, measure outputs and outcomes carefully, and provide realistic estimates of impact. The review process is conducted by the Featured Grants Committee, which consists of approximately 15 volunteers and board members supported by staff. This committee is responsible for reviewing applications, conducting due diligence, deliberating on proposals, and presenting a slate of recommended grantees to the Board of Directors for final approval. According to the published timeline, Board approval occurs in October 2026, approved grantees are notified in November 2026, and unsuccessful applicants are notified in December 2026. Applicants are encouraged to provide clear information regarding organizational leadership, gender equity practices, sustainability planning, budget transparency, and evaluation methodologies. Together Women Rise highlights common application challenges including insufficient explanation of outcomes, lack of sustainability planning, weak evaluation strategies, and unclear budget narratives. Applicants should articulate how grant and non-grant funds will be used, describe contingency plans for funding gaps, and explain how programs will continue after the grant period ends. Questions regarding the Featured Grants Program may be directed to the Program and Grantmaking Manager through the official grants@togetherwomenrise.org email address. Additional guidance and program resources are available through Together Women Rise's grants webpage and information session presentation materials.

Clearly distinguish direct and indirect beneficiaries using measurable outcomes. Demonstrate sustainability beyond the grant period. Provide transparent budget explanations including contingency planning. Explain internal gender equity practices and women leadership representation. Support the community problem definition with data and local insights.