Help Me Help A Sister Out
June 29, 2011 11:30 AM   Subscribe

I'm looking for a charitable organization that I can make a donation to that helps women get an education.

As part of the application process for my new employer I was asked -- seemingly as a hypothetical -- what I would do if I had $250 to donate to a worthy charity. I said that I would donate it to an education-related charity because of the impact education has had on my life. In particular, I said I would donate it to needy women because there are more barriers to education for women.

Except it wasn't a hypothetical at all. Now that I've been hired, they're giving me $250 to donate to the charity of my choosing. So what's a great charity that helps women go to school on a need basis and could use $250? I'm thinking about something along the lines of a scholarship fund, but I would be open to other ideas. Thanks!
posted by chrchr to Work & Money (11 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Camfed is rated 4 stars on charity navigator. You can also browse Charity Navigator's list of education charities.
posted by amarynth at 12:08 PM on June 29, 2011


Many Community Colleges are filled with women upgrading their degrees in order to keep their jobs, and be prepared for a better job. They always need money; they might have a scholarship that you could support.
posted by Cranberry at 12:28 PM on June 29, 2011


Best answer: Jeannette Rankin Scholarship Foundation.

They are a very excellent organization that awards scholarships to low-income women over 35 who are pursuing a first bachelor's degree. Most are the first in their family to go to college, and many are pursuing a degree that will benefit their community in some way (health care, community advocacy, etc).

One great thing about the Rankin Foundation is that they also have an emergency fund for their scholars, so if a woman's car breaks down or some other unexpected expense comes up, she does not have to drop out of school.

They are an amazing, amazing group of scholars, and a great organization to donate to.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 12:39 PM on June 29, 2011


Association for Women in Science funds, well, women pursuing careers in science.
posted by halogen at 12:40 PM on June 29, 2011


Send the support to a Women's college! I had a women's college education, mostly funded through scholarships, and it was one of the most important aspects of my educational development. Search Google about the value of attending a Women's college and you'll find a plethora of supporting information. Here's a link to my alma mater, or you can peruse this list of US women's colleges. Unfortunately, it seems there aren't any currently open in Oregon.
posted by litnerd at 12:51 PM on June 29, 2011


Skateistan. Educating girls is downright dangerous in Kabul, but they're doing it anyway, making both intellectual and physical freedom possible.
posted by headnsouth at 1:10 PM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]


The Girl Store: Buy a Girl Her Life Back, a project of the Nanhi Kali organization, helps young girls in India to stay in school with academic and material support.
posted by shoesfullofdust at 2:57 PM on June 29, 2011 [1 favorite]


ScholarMatch.org lets you choose the student you want to donate to.
posted by easy_being_green at 3:33 PM on June 29, 2011


Your local branch of AAUW may give scholarships to needy and worthy women. Mine does.
posted by wandering_not_lost at 6:12 PM on June 29, 2011




Response by poster: These are all great ideas. I'm going to go with the Jeannette Rankin Scholarship Foundation. I'll look at some of of the other suggestions next time I have an opportunity to make a donation. Thank you all for your help!
posted by chrchr at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2011


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