Girls Inc. Pinellas part of $10 million award for equality

The Girls Inc. organization — a group which aims to inspire girls through service and advocacy — was awarded $10 million from the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge.

The Equality Can’t Wait Challenge is hosted by Pivotal Ventures, MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett, and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. The Girls Inc. website said the challenge calls for “bold ideas that would expand women’s power and influence in the U.S. by 2030.”

The Girls Inc. organization has 78 affiliates, including one in Pinellas County.

The money will go toward Project Accelerate, a program within Girls Inc. that, “will prepare thousands of young women leaders not merely to succeed in workplace environments, but also to affect cultural change from within,” said Veronica Vela, the director of marketing and communication for the organization.

Vela said Girls Inc. expects the program will lead to outcomes including an increased number of young women graduating on time, an increased network for girls from historically marginalized groups and job placement in high-paying positions of leadership.

“We are honored to have been selected as a winner of this prestigious award and to be in the company of our follow awardees,” Vela said.