Posted on March 20, 2024 View all news
On March 19th, 2024, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Sarah’s Circle as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Sarah’s Circle received $2 million.
Sarah’s Circle provides a full continuum of services for women experiencing homelessness, including a drop-in Daytime Support Center, a 50-bed Interim Housing Program, and 113 apartments in a growing Permanent Supportive Housing program. In 2023, Sarah’s Circle served 694 women and helped 140 women find more stable and secure housing.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.
“Sarah’s Circle is thrilled with this $2 million award and the belief Yield Giving and Lever for Change have in Sarah’s Circle and the commitment to the women we serve,” said Kathy Ragnar, Sarah’s Circle’s Executive Director. “Our organization will use this money to permanently end homelessness for women, and the Board is already making plans to utilize these funds as quickly as possible to develop more affordable housing for women.”
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
