Melinda French Gates makes $250 million available for groups supporting women's health

Melinda French Gates has launched a $250 million global open call to support organizations whose focus is improving women’s mental and physical health, her agency, Pivotal Ventures, announced Wednesday.

The program, Action for Women’s Health, is part of the promise Gates and Pivotal Ventures made in May to take $1 billion and use it over the next two years to promote women’s power globally. 

Chosen organizations will be announced by the end of 2025, and those selected will receive between $1 million and $5 million in funding, according to the application website.

Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation will fund the grants while the program will be managed by Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with those looking to solve community-wide issues.

Far too often, women's health is an "afterthought," Gates said in a video about the program. "It's impacting the health of our families, our communities, our economies."

Gates said the Action for Women’s Health open call will fund grassroots organizations supporting women’s health. 

Data, Pivotal Ventures said, shows that “women are being neglected,” and according to the organization, women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men. In many cases, it’s difficult for women to get the treatment they need and globally, nearly 800 women die each day due to preventable pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. 

“More than 1 billion women and girls suffer from malnutrition, and more women than men are living with depression and anxiety,” the agency wrote on its website.

"We hope that this open call will be a catalyst for future change, leading to more funding, more partnerships, more innovation, and more models to scale,” said Haven Ley, Chief Strategy Officer at Pivotal Ventures, in the announcement.

Who can apply for these grants?

Pivotal Ventures said in order to be considered, organizations must:

1. Register to apply before 4 p.m. U.S. central time on Dec. 3, 2024
2. Complete the online application by 4 p.m. central time on Jan. 10, 2025

Organizations around the world can apply as long as they serve women and have a proven history of improving women’s mental or physical health, the agency said.

The agency said that in March 2025, four fellow applicants will review each valid application during a participatory review. Organizations with high scores will move on to the evaluation panel review, where four additional reviewers will score their applications. 

“Scores will be adjusted to ensure fairness,” Pivotal Ventures wrote on its application website. “Action for Women’s Health will select awardees from among top-rated organizations, giving each awardee flexible funding between $1 million and $5 million.”

Read more:Melinda French Gates to resign from Gates Foundation: 'Not a decision I came to lightly'

Gates previously served as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with ex-husband and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. She announced plans to step down from the organization in May and said her last day working with the global health nonprofit would be June 7.

"After careful thought and reflection I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair," Gates said at the time. "This is not a decision I came to lightly … I am immensely proud of the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world.”

Regarding Gates’ latest venture and open call, her organization asks that people get online, tag groups that may benefit from the program and use the hashtag #ActionForWomensHealth.

Interested organizations can find out more at womenshealth.leverforchange.org/submit.

Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.