Melinda French Gates’s Pivotal Organization Announces $250 Million Fund for Women’s Health

Action for Women’s Health is a part of a US$1 billion philanthropy commitment that Melinda French Gates announced in May.

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Melinda French Gates’s organization Pivotal announced on Wednesday a new initiative, Action for Women’s Health, that will provide US$250 million of funding to women’s health organizations worldwide.

Action for Women’s Health, which will aid organizations focused on both women’s mental and physical health, is an open call initiative that’s a part of a US$1 billion philanthropy commitment to advancing women’s rights and power globally, which French Gates announced in May.

“To fully exercise power over their lives, women need to be mentally and physically healthy. And yet, women’s health is being neglected everywhere,” French Gates said in a statement on Wednesday. “More than one billion women and girls suffer from malnutrition. Reproductive healthcare is being denied in the U.S. and other countries. And globally, a woman dies in childbirth every two minutes. This is unacceptable, but there is reason for hope.”

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Action for Women’s Health is being managed by Lever for Change—a nonprofit affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation—which helps connect funders to organizations in need and will oversee the application and selection process.

“We work with [Pivotal] to help them identify what are the critical criteria that are going to guide their decision,” says Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “And then after the grants are made, we work with organizations…to help them to continue to strengthen their case for funding and to attract additional funding from other funders.”

An open call initiative—which invites organizations to apply for funding—can be beneficial to a philanthropist for many reasons, Conrad says. It allows for transparency about the selection process criteria and can introduce the donor to new ideas and organizations that may be under the radar.

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“You are creating a system that’s more equitable than traditional philanthropic funding is,” she says. “It helps to assure that you’re going to find some of the highest impact uses for your dollars.”

The grants from Action for Women’s Health will be between US$1 million and US$5 million, which Conrad says are much larger than the typical philanthropic gift for organizations.

“This has the potential for a huge impact on strengthening an ecosystem of organizations that are dedicated to improving access and equity,” she says. “It will allow them to really focus on the good work that they’re doing and expand it with the flexibility and the security of knowing that they have the financial support to carry them through.”

The organizations awarded grants through Action for Women’s Health will be announced by the end of next year.

A representative for Pivotal did not respond to a request for comment.