The Texas Women’s Foundation has invested more than $9 million in organizations and state programs founded on supporting women and girls as young as those in 10th grade.
The economic needs the foundation strives to meet were worsened by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas Weekly reported.
Data from the foundation’s study “Economic Issues for Women in Texas 2022” clarified the negative impact the pandemic had on the financial security of women in Texas, the website shares.
The president and CEO of the Texas Women’s Foundation, Miki Woodard, broke down the impact into four pillars related to financial security: housing, child care, health insurance, and education.
Woodward shared that the organization works to find solutions to the issues revealed in the data.
Woodard said, “It’s about convening, right?” She said many people are “doing good work for women, but how are we going to bring them all together?”
The data from the study found that more than one in five women in Texas are essential workers, and one in five working Texas women are uninsured. From July 2021 to October 2021, 13% of women living in owner-occupied housing had fallen behind on payments.
Almost $9.2 million was distributed by the foundation during the July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, fiscal year. A little over $7 million in grants was donated to 223 Texas nonprofits, and $2.1 million was put toward programs.
Nonprofits that received grants included the Hope Clinic of McKinney, Kitchen Dog Theater Company, Museum of Modern Art, North Texas Food Bank, North Texas Alliance to Reduce Teen Pregnancy, and YWCA Houston.
“Thanks to our supporters, donors, and the community, we are able to invest in the lives of women and girls through these grants,” Woodward told Dallas Weekly. “The lingering impact of the pandemic on disadvantaged populations has been difficult as they are faced with increased evictions, lack of health care, and child care.”
Other Texas nonprofits that benefited from a Texas Women’s Foundation grant include Women’s Walk with Christ, The Dallas Foundation, Tarrant County Academy of Medicine, and the Quality of Life Foundation for Metropolitan Dallas.
