Gainbridge®, Parity, and the Women’s Sports Foundation® award grants to 21 organizations and athletes as part of second annual Parity Week
Zionsville, Ind. (Sept. 4, 2024) – Gainbridge®, Parity, and the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF®) announce the recipients of grants for “Parity Week by Gainbridge®: Investing in the Future of Women’s Sports.” This year, $150,000 in grants is being awarded to 21 deserving organizations and athletes that support girls and women through sports and/or education.
Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, and its sister company Parity, a brand sponsorship platform committed to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports, formed a committee to review each grant application. More than 150 grant applications were submitted during this first year of grant giving as part of Parity Week.
This year’s Parity Week grant recipients include organizations and athletes from 13 states and Washington, D.C., representing the far-reaching impact these grants will make.
The grant recipients are:
- Beyond the Field Youth Camp with Parity athlete Cierra Jordan (Naples, FL)
- Black Girl Hockey Club (Rutherford, NJ)
- Boys & Girls Club of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN)
- Full Send Aerial Academy with Parity athlete Cheta Emba (Glen Allen, VA)
- Generation W (Jacksonville/Orlando, FL)
- Girls Golf of America (Greensboro, NC)
- Girls on the Run New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
- Got Her Back Charity with Parity athlete Odessa Jenkins (Rowlett, TX)
- ICEF Public Schools (Los Angeles, CA)
- Leveling the Playing Field (Washington, DC)
- Native Youth Foundation (Valley Center, CA)
- New Heights Youth, Inc. (Brooklyn, NY)
- PISTE Academy with Parity athlete Nzingha Prescod (Brooklyn, NY)
- Serve the Future with Parity athlete Leslie Banks (Phoenix, AZ)
- That Harper Kid Foundation with Parity athlete Linnae Harper (Chicago, IL)
- The Ellis Effect with Parity athlete Kendall Ellis (Pembroke Pines, FL)
- The Shift Up Now Foundation with Parity athlete Pippa Mann (Indianapolis, IN)
- Venture Outdoors (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Women and Kids Empowerment (WAKE) with Parity athlete Batouly Camara (West Haven, CT)
- Your Foot, My Foot Foundation with Parity athlete Maya Neal (Naperville, IL)
Each grant recipient will receive $5,000 in honor of Gainbridge® ambassador, sports icon, and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King, who started WSF® 50 years ago with a $5,000 check. WSF® is one of the first organizations to recognize the powerful connection between sport access, equity, and society.
In honor of King’s passion for tennis and commitment to furthering women’s sports, Gainbridge® and WSF® are also awarding one special $50,000 grant to the Junior Tennis Foundation (the charitable arm of USTA Eastern) to help resurface tennis courts and establish community tennis programming at the Eisenhower Park in Long Island, New York. Eisenhower Park is meaningful to King and WSF® as it was a longtime headquarters of WSF® from 1986-2017 before the Foundation’s offices relocated to New York City.
This November, grant recipients will execute their projects, and other Parity Week and Gainbridge® sponsored events will take place: The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge® at Pelican, which runs November 13-17 in Belleair, FL, and the Billie Jean King Cup® by Gainbridge®, known as the World Cup of Women’s Tennis, which runs November 13-20 in Malaga, Spain. These flagship events amplify Parity Week’s aim of supporting girls and women in sports and education.
“By championing organizations and athletes that support women and girls in sports and education, we are supporting causes that prioritize inclusivity and community – both on and off the playing field,” said Group 1001 President and CEO Dan Towriss. “Aligning with Gainbridge® ambassador and equality champion Billie Jean King and the Women’s Sports Foundation® is a way to make a positive and long-term impact on women and girls in sports and education.”
“Our organization exists to elevate and support women competing in all sports,” says Parity CEO Leela Srinivasan. “This remarkable, diverse group of grant recipients came to the table with bold initiatives that will help the next generation of girls and women pursue their athletic dreams in fencing, track and field, motorsports, football, and so much more. We are honored to partner with Gainbridge® for the second annual Parity Week, and we can’t wait to see our grant recipients’ visions become reality in November.”
For more information on Parity Week by Gainbridge® and the grant recipients’ projects, visit https://paritynow.co/parityweek.
About Gainbridge®
Founded in 2018, Gainbridge® is an insurtech subsidiary of Group 1001 that empowers consumers to take control of their financial future with solutions that are accessible to everyone, no matter their budget or financial knowledge. Its platform provides access to financial products that are simple, intuitive, and backed by smart technology with no complexity or hidden fees. Gainbridge® is headquartered in Zionsville, Indiana. For more information, visit www.gainbridge.io or follow and connect with us on X and LinkedIn.
About Group 1001
Group 1001 is a collective that empowers companies to create positive growth. Our insurance and annuities are easy to understand and accessible to all. Our online investing platform gives individuals control over their savings. Our technology and innovation help companies succeed. And our strategic partnerships bring people together through education and sports.
As of March 31, 2024, Group 1001 had more than 1,400 employees and combined assets under management of $65.4 billion, serving more than 950,000 customers. It comprises the following brands: Delaware Life, Gainbridge®, Clear Spring Health, Clear Spring Property and Casualty Group, Clear Spring Life and Annuity Company, and RVI Group, among others.
About Parity
Minority-founded in 2020, Parity is a sports marketing and sponsorship platform dedicated to closing the gender income and opportunity gap in professional sports. By developing high-impact collaborations between brands, professional women athletes and their fans, Parity has proudly put millions in the pockets of women athletes, attracting dozens of brands – from Microsoft® to Morgan Stanley® – to the movement in the process. The platform offers connections to more than 1,000 women athletes from 80+ sports, including over 250 Olympians and Paralympians. For more information on how to tap into the rapidly rising influence and popularity of women athletes, visit https://paritynow.co or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.
About the Women’s Sports Foundation®
The Women’s Sports Foundation® exists to enable girls and women to reach their potential in sport and life. We are an ally, an advocate, and a catalyst. Founded by Billie Jean King in 1974, we are one of the first organizations to recognize the powerful connection between sport access, equity, and society. WSF® has been changing the game for 50 years through its research, advocacy, and community programming,
investing over $100 million to help girls and women play, compete, and lead – in sports and beyond – without barriers. A leader and champion of the entire women’s sports ecosystem, WSF® amplifies the vital societal and cultural impact that is made when girls and women play sports. All girls. All women. All sports® To learn more about the Women’s Sports Foundation®, please visit www.WomensSportsFoundation.org.
