The Maternal & Infant Health Award will support innovative solutions that are improving maternal and infant health outcomes across the globe, with a special focus on locally led, community-based programs and projects.
Chicago, Illinois, May 11, 2023 – Today, The Patchwork Collective, ICONIQ Impact—ICONIQ Capital’s platform for collaborative philanthropy—and Lever for Change announced five finalists for the $10 million Maternal & Infant Health Award. The grant competition will support innovative, community-led projects that focus on saving mothers and newborns from complications in childbirth.
Every year, 4.5 million pregnant women and newborn children die; that’s one death every seven seconds. The majority of these deaths stem from complications that are not only detectable but also preventable with proper attention and medical care.
The Maternal & Infant Health Award was created to help community leaders—particularly those in low-resource communities—provide women with access to safe, equitable, and quality maternal healthcare.
"Mothers are caregivers and nurturers,” said Marie Dageville, co-founder of The Patchwork Collective. “They are breadwinners and providers. They are a source of love, knowledge, and social cohesion. And though we regard them with admiration and importance, we don’t treat their health with the same respect. We’re allowing mothers, and their newborn children, to die at alarming rates, making a time that should be filled with joy and promise one that’s met with anxiety and fear. The Patchwork Collective launched this award to help fund programs and projects that are treating this issue with the attention and urgency it demands and saving the lives of the world’s most at-risk mothers and children.”
The Award received 220 applications from 49 countries, with each entry subject to peer-to-peer reviews and multiple rigorous evaluations by experts from multiple disciplines across the world. The finalists were selected based on four key criteria: whether they were community-led, impactful, feasible, and durable in their proposed approaches.
Each of the five finalist teams will receive a one-time $200,000 planning grant, which includes nine months of capacity-building support to further develop their project and strengthen their application. In late 2023, one finalist will then be awarded the remaining $9 million.
“We invite other donors to join us in this effort, so that each of these impactful programs can receive funding,” said Marie Dageville.
The five finalists' projects are listed below in alphabetical order:
“At ICONIQ Impact, we believe that complex, global challenges need co-created solutions,” said Matti Navellou, head of ICONIQ Impact. “Resources should be pooled, expertise should be leveraged, and power should be given to those with lived experience. Collaborative funding models, like the Maternal & Infant Health Award, allow for this type of leverage by bringing together coalitions of individuals and organizations under a common goal, strengthening both the systems and relationships necessary to generate sustainable solutions."
The Maternal & Infant Health Award is the third in a series of grant competitions managed by Lever for Change in collaboration with ICONIQ Impact. The Award follows the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award, a grant competition launched in 2020 to help secure a brighter, more durable future for refugees worldwide; and the Stronger Democracy Award, a grant competition launched in 2021 to help strengthen democratic institutions, improve political representation, and increase participation in the United States’ democratic process.
Launched in 2019, ICONIQ Impact is ICONIQ Capital’s global platform for collaborative philanthropy. ICONIQ Impact’s partnership with Lever for Change helps donors like The Patchwork Collective identify philanthropic opportunities through open, transparent, and rigorously evaluated competitions, enabling them to fund solutions to some of the most challenging social issues of our time.
The Maternal & Infant Health Award is being managed by Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change.
"This award was created to uncover impactful, locally led organizations on the frontlines–organizations whose programs are directly rooted in the communities they serve, but are often overlooked by traditional philanthropy,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “We are thrilled to support The Patchwork Collective and ICONIQ Impact on this award and to assist these finalist teams in advancing their work."
More information about the Maternal & Infant Health Award and the finalists can be found at the challenge website.
The Patchwork Collective invites other donors to join this effort, so that all five of the finalists can be funded. Donors interested in providing additional funding for this challenge should contact Dana Rice, Vice President of Philanthropy at Lever for Change.
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The Patchwork Collective
The Patchwork Collective is a family philanthropic effort supporting locally-led solutions to global challenges. We fund diverse, bold, community-driven organizations and leaders across social equity, global health, and climate justice. Our mission is to empower the most vulnerable and marginalized communities, wherever they may be. We view each solution as one unique patch of a quilt. When brought together, they create a stronger, more vibrant, and more equitable future for all. By placing local leaders and communities at the center of our work, we preserve community agency, address inequity, and stitch together a brighter future for all…one patch at a time.
ICONIQ Impact
ICONIQ Impact is ICONIQ Capital’s global platform for collaborative philanthropy. They convene ICONIQ’s extraordinary community of families, founders, and organizations to catalyze collaborative philanthropy for giving at scale. Together, we tackle the world’s most urgent challenges, with the goal of creating a more just and equitable world.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities to advance as many solutions as possible and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.25 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.
CONTACT:
Lever for Change
Francisco Martinez, Communications Manager
ICONIQ Impact
Amy Enright, President & Founder, Newton Street