article by Breanna Edwards via theroot.com
The NoVo Foundation, which supports initiatives that focus on girls and women, announced Wednesday that it will be making a seven-year, $90 million commitment in order to combat the systemic and institutional inequalities that young women and girls of color face in the United States.
The foundation, which was created by Warren Buffett‘s son Peter Buffett and daughter-in-law Jennifer Buffett, signaled that the funds will support grassroots programming and advocacy, “as well as national-level policy and culture change efforts, that are girl-led, girl-driven and designed to address the systemic and institutional challenges faced by girls and young women of color across the country,” a press release notes.
“Inherently, girls and young women of color already hold incredible power and potential. This work is about dismantling the barriers that prevent them from realizing that potential and leading us toward a truly transformative movement for change,” Jennifer Buffett said, according to the release.
“Our goal is to create the conditions for change by advancing the work of the real experts in this movement: girls and young women of color and the advocates working with them,” Peter Buffett added.
The foundation intends to launch a series of regional learning sessions across the country in order to hear directly from girls and young women of color themselves, as well as from their advocates.
“This announcement is made possible because of decadeslong leadership and activism by women of color,” NoVo Executive Director Pamela Shifman told Forbes. “This is a breakthrough moment, and we want to make sure it translates into lasting and meaningful change.”
Read more at the NoVo Foundation and Forbes.
