The ManKind Project USA learned recently that we did not make the top eight list of finalists for the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change Grant. 100&Change is a MacArthur Foundation competition for a $100 million grant to fund a single proposal that will make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem.
The ManKind Project USA congratulates the 8 finalists in this rigorous competition.
- Catholic Relief Services – Changing how society cares for children in orphanages
- Harvest Plus – Eliminating hidden hunger in Africa by fortifying staple crops
- Himalayan Cataract Project – Eliminating needless blindness in Nepal, Ethiopia, and Ghana
- Human Diagnosis Project – Providing virtual access to specialist medical care for underserved U.S. patients
- Internet Archive – Providing libraries and learners free digital access to four million books
- Rice University – Improving newborn survival in Africa
- Sesame Workshop and IRC – Educating children displaced by conflict and persecution
- The Carter Center – Eliminating river blindness in Nigeria
And while the Grants Team was sad to get the news, we are celebrating this endeavor as a bold step for the ManKind Project USA, and the beginning of a critical evolution.
Our scores in the final round of analysis placed us in the top 40% of over 1900 proposals. We were among an incredible field of ngo’s and nonprofits spanning the globe and spanning every area of human and environmental support.
This was a monumental accomplishment for MKP USA, an organization that has never competed at this level for grant funding and has never been a recipient of a major grant. With refinement, evaluation, and clear direction, MKP USA has a real chance of future success.
Here’s a quote from one of the evaluators on our presentation, “The project touches a very fundamental global crisis of gender equality and equity in a creative and innovative way of empowering men, not women, to change the paradigm shift and power struggles that have escalated over the past 50 years.”
A few lessons learned by the team about who we are and what we do as we engaged the process:
- Transforming masculinity is core to healing the shared wounds of humanity.
- Measuring the real impacts of what we do is difficult and necessary.
- The ManKind Project can be ever more bold in its commitment to service.
- Our vision of a world of brotherhood, connection, and mission inspires others.
What we have that we didn’t have before:
- A track record for completing multi-stage complex grant applications.
- A Grants Team within MKP USA comprised of brilliant and passionate men and women.
- A completed proposal that we can share with the world.
- A 90 second video highlighting what MKP USA is doing.
My deep heartfelt thanks to the men and women of the Grants Team who made this possible. I am excited about what is possible for the ManKind Project USA in the coming years.
To our purpose!
Boysen
ManKind Project USA
Communications & Marketing