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Population Media Center Partnership Among Top 100 Proposals for MacArthur $100 Million Grant

Feb 21, 2020

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation this week announced Population Media Center (PMC) in partnership with Global Fund for Women, Marie Stopes International, and One Acre Fund was one of the highest-scoring proposals, designated as the Top 100, in its 100&Change competition for a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world’s most critical social challenges.

The proposal seeks to use collaboration between the four partners to amplify the power, strength, and skills of rural women in Kenya, Malawi, and Nigeria—countries with large agrarian populations—to build more food-secure, climate-resilient communities.

“We are excited to work with One Acre Fund, Global Fund for Women, and Marie Stopes International on what we see as one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change.  Unlike other partnerships, we will, if successful in raising funds for this program, invest in women and girls who are often not invited to the conversations around solutions, but who hold the power to invoke needed change,” says Sarah Henshaw, PMC’s Interim Director of Program & Partnership Development.

The Top 100 represent the top 21% of competition submissions. The proposals were rigorously vetted, undergoing MacArthur’s initial administrative review, a Peer-to-Peer review, an evaluation by an external panel of judges, and a technical review by specialists whose expertise was matched to the project. MacArthur’s Board of Directors will select up to 10 finalists from these high-scoring proposals this spring.

“Making it to the top 100 in MacArthur’s 100&Change competition is extremely exciting for PMC, as it offers an opportunity to increase awareness of our unique education-entertainment approach to behavior change,” says Henshaw.

Since the inaugural competition, other funders and philanthropists have committed an additional $419 million to date to support bold solutions by 100&Change applicants. Building on the success of 100&Change, MacArthur created Lever for Change to unlock significant philanthropic capital by helping donors find and fund vetted, high-impact opportunities through the design and management of customized competitions. In addition to 100&Change, Lever for Change is managing the Chicago Prize, the Economic Opportunity Challenge, and the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award.

Bold Solutions Network Launches

The Bold Solutions Network launched today, featuring the proposal PMC partnered on as one of the Top 100 from 100&Change. The searchable online collection of submissions contains a project overview, 90-second video, and two-page factsheet for each proposal. Visitors can sort by subject, location, Sustainable Development Goal, or beneficiary population to view proposals based on area of interest.

The Bold Solutions Network will showcase the highest-rated proposals that emerge from the competitions Lever for Change manages. Proposals in the Bold Solutions Network undergo extensive evaluation and due diligence to ensure each solution promises real and measurable progress to accelerate social change.

The Bold Solutions Network was designed to provide an innovative approach to identifying the most effective, enduring solutions aligned with donors’ philanthropic goals and to help top applicants gain visibility and funding from a wide array of funders. Organizations that are part of the network will have continued access to a variety of technical support and learning opportunities focused on strengthening their proposals and increasing the impact of their work.

Media contact: Kyle Bodge, kbodge@populationmedia.org, (802) 985-8156