Transformational gift will allow non-profit to provide girls throughout Greater Los Angeles a pathway to become empowered and compassionate leaders
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA) announced today that philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $4.9 million to the organization. The gift will provide girls throughout Los Angeles a pathway to become empowered and compassionate leaders, bolstered by mentorship and Girl Scouts’ research-backed programming, regardless of barriers including socioeconomic status. The gift is part of an $84.5 million donation awarded to Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) and 29 of GSUSA’s 111 local councils selected by MacKenzie Scott, making this unprecedented investment the largest donation from a single individual in both GSGLA and GSUSA’s history.
“We are deeply grateful to MacKenzie Scott for this extraordinary gift, which will help us reach thousands more girls,” said Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles CEO Theresa Edy Kiene. “To receive this investment in girls in our 100th anniversary year is particularly meaningful; as we set the course for our future, we are squarely focused on making sure all girls in Greater Los Angeles have access to our programming. We are empowering the next generation of leaders.”
Donations to women’s and girls’ organizations make up less than 2% of all charitable giving. MacKenzie Scott’s gift will enable Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles to:
- Create more equitable membership opportunities in communities previously underserved by Girl Scouts. This includes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access and Racial Justice initiatives, continuing to break down accessibility barriers by partnering with community organizations including after-school programs at Title 1 schools, providing troop start-up funds and free memberships, and partnering with families and communities.
- Fostering meaningful program innovation informed by girls’ current interests and needs, preparing them for leadership, including an expanded focus on career readiness, mental wellness and civic and social engagement. A priority is expanding girls’ access to STEAM exploration, building upon exciting programs such as hands-on coding, robotics, and sustainability.
- Bolstering the foundations of the council in critical areas such as volunteer and staff training.
- Provide opportunities for more girls to get outside and connect with nature and each other while building confidence at our high adventure camps.
Today’s challenges are complex, interconnected and, more than ever, global. Solving them will demand collaborative leadership and innovative perspectives. Girls represent humanity’s greatest untapped talent pool and investing in them will produce the greatest return in economic development, social progress, and public health, improving not only individual lives, but the fabric of society overall.
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, serves more than 33,000 girls in partnership with more than 17,000 adult members and volunteers throughout the communities of Los Angeles County, and parts of Kern and San Bernardino counties. GSGLA is the largest girl-serving nonprofit agency in Los Angeles, with programs in entrepreneurship, life skills, outdoor, and STE(A)M, building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. We provide safe spaces, where everyone is welcome, where all girls and families belong, with girls’ well-being at the center. To learn more, join, volunteer or support, visit girlscoutsla.org.
Contact: Rebecca Hutchinson
rhutchinson@girlscoutsla.org
office: (626) 677-2339
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SOURCE Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
