Former First Lady Michelle Obama is putting money where her mouth is! Mrs. Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance announced a new $2.5 million push to support 54 grassroots organizations in helping adolescent girls get and stay in school. The announcement came on the International Day of the Girl, October 11th, and intends to fund groups working in some of the world’s most economically disadvantaged places.
The Alliance is an extension of an Obama White House Initiative launched in 2018, focusing on helping girls aged 10-19 graduate.
In a video announcement, Mrs. Obama said, “These groups are changing the way girls see themselves in their own communities and in our world, helping create the leaders we need for the brighter future we all deserve. Because when our girls succeed, we all do.” The funds will be used on school-related costs, challenge patriarchal practices such as child marriage, counsel survivors of sexual abuse, and provide other direct support.
Grants through the Alliance will be awarded for specific projects designated by the applicant and applicants can request up to $50,000. Recipients will also have access to monthly online training sessions and in-person gatherings, where they share strategies and learn from larger nongovernmental organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children. The Alliance also uses its platform to help grantee programs raise additional funds via promoted GoFundMe campaigns.
Jackie Bomboma, founder of Young Strong Mothers Foundation in Tanzania and a recent grant recipient, said the Alliance’s backing has brought both resources and credibility. Bomboma said, “We call ourselves ‘watoto wa Michelle Obama,’ which means ‘the children of Michelle Obama.’ So, everyone feels so proud to have such a mother who is very strong, who is very powerful and who is very loving.”
This powerful pledge comes after UNICEF warned that cuts in global education funding could push millions of girls out of school by the end of next year. Not on Mrs. Obama’s watch!