History of Give
Girls A Chance
Educate a girl. Change the world.
The concept of Give Girls A Chance (GGAC), a fund to help educate disadvantaged girls in Canada and developing countries was conceived by Dianne Rinehart in November 2001 while she was editor-in-chief of Homemaker's magazine. Dianne and the publisher Carol Shea with the help of Transcontinental Media started work on the project immediately and it was launched in the May issue of Homemaker's which was on the shelf in April 2002.
In 2001, the World Bank identified education of girls as the key to effective development, saying countries that promote women’s rights and increase their access to schooling have lower poverty rates, faster economic growth, healthier populations and less government corruption than countries that don’t.
Give Girls a Chance was founded because we believe that if you educate girls, you really can change the world.
Our motto is: Educate a girl. Change the world.
To achieve its goals, the founders of GGAC, in consultation with experts, committed to donors that:
- 50 per cent of monies raised go to girls in Canada, and 50 per cent helps girls in developing countries.
- Tides Canada confirms that all grants are made to registered Canadian NGO's in good standing, working in Canada or abroad.
- The recipient NGO's must spend the money on programs aimed at educating girls.
GGAC spends as little money as possible on administration. Tides Canada Foundation, oversees and administers the grants process, administration fees, receipting, grant-making, fund management, and provides consultation to the GGAC Advisory Board. Less than 10 per cent of monies raised is used for administration. This is incredibly low compared to other organizations. All programs that GGAC undertakes are looked at with a critical eye to the bottom line.
Give Girls A Chance has received incredible support from several organizations. Among them:
- John Stanton, president and founder of Running Room and Walking Room stores, was a consultant in the establishment of Give Girls a Chance and has continued to support GGAC by organizing runs, printing editorial stories in the Running Room magazine, and the Running Room staff have handed out fundraising information about GGAC at many other runs across the country. Runs included Toronto - supported by media teams from the National Post, Globe and Mail and CBC Radio - and Edmonton in 2002, raised more than $16,000 in registrations and more in pledges. Then in August, 2005, Running Room launched the first annual Give Girls A Chance 'Run for the Future.' John Stanton continues to devote his personal time and his stores’ resources to helping educate girls around the world and in Canada through GGAC.
- In the first fundraising year (2002), a hundred women belonging to a running group in Toronto ran a marathon and raised more than $100,000 for GGAC. Readers of Homemakers' magazine also contributed that year. The first funds distribution meeting was held in December 2002.
- 2003 was a transitional year for Give Girls A Chance as Transcontinental requested that GGAC be run by an Advisory Board and not associated with the magazine. Very little could be done until the separation was complete.
- Canada Running Series (CRS), in conjunction with Power Bar, selected Give Girls A Chance as the featured charity for their July 16th, 2004 Rock 'n Roll 5k fun run at the docks. Nissan took over the sponsorship of this race in 2005 and maintained GGAC as the charity recipient through July 2006 after which the race was cancelled. CRS also selected Give Girls A Chance for its Charity Challenge (starting in 2004) Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Give Girls A Chance is grateful to Alan Brooks and his staff at Canada Running Series for these wonderful opportunities.
- GGAC is also supported by the arts: CanStage Theatre hosted fundraising productions for GGAC, including Much Ado About Nothing in Toronto's High Park. The music groups Fusion & Butterman hosted a GGAC fundraising night at the Gladstone Hotel. And, singer Maria Antonakos held a concert and donated a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her CDs to GGAC.
- Other supporters have included The Dundurn Group and Journeywomen online newsletter who donated a portion of their sales of luggage tags.
In its first fundraising year (2002), GGAC distributed money to the following Canadian NGOs:
- Stephen Lewis Foundation for the Umoyo Training Centre for Girls – Zambia $20,000.
- Rights and Democracy – Canadian Women for Women Afghanistan $20,000.
- Oxfam Canada (for girls’ education in Ethiopia) $10,000.
- National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation – Canada $20,000.
- Jessie’s Centre for Teenagers – Toronto $10,000.
- Literature for Life – Toronto $10,000.
- Victoria Society for Educational Alternatives – Victoria, BC $10,000.
July 16th, 2004 Grant Distribution $40,000.
- Rights and Democracy - Canadian Women for Women Afghanistan $10,000.
- Stephen Lewis Foundation for the Umoyo Training Centre for Girls - Zambia $10,000.
- Jessie's Centre for Teenagers - Toronto, Ont.$5,000.
- Literature for Life - Toronto, Ont. $5,000.
- National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation - $5,000.
- Victoria Society for Educational Alternatives - Victoria, B.C. $5,000.
December 2004 Grant Distribution
- Shenpen Foundation (Tibet)
- Stephen Lewis Foundation (Zambia)
- Canadian Women for Women Afghanistan (Afghanistan)
- Literacy for Life (Toronto)
- Children of the Earth (Winnipeg)
December, 2005 Grant Distribution
- Shenpen Foundation (Tibet)
- Stephen Lewis Foundation (Zambia)
- Canadian Women for Women Afghanistan (Afghanistan)
- Dil Canada Developments in Literacy (Pakistan)
- Foundations of Education (Guatemala)
- Literacy for Life (Toronto)
- Victoria School for Educational Alternatives (Victoria)
- Children of the Earth High School (Winnipeg)
GGAC now has an online donation system capable of:
- The ability to accept donations 'in honour of' and in memoriam tributes
- Handling monthly donations
- One-time donations
- Issuing e-tax receipts for amounts greater than $25.
GGAC managed all of this while still maintaining one of the lowest administrative fees of any fund or charity.
You too can support GGAC 'Donate Now'