What Melinda French Gates' $250M Women's Health Care Fund Could Mean for Emerging Changemakers
Written by Alyssa Chassman
UNITE 2030 Founder & Executive Director
ICYMI: Melinda French Gates recently announced a $250M fund dedicated to improving women’s mental and physical health. This new initiative, named "Action for Women’s Health," aims to address the underfunding and misunderstanding of women's health globally. Through her organization, Pivotal Ventures, Melinda French Gates is opening up pathways for nonprofits to secure much-needed funding to tackle these critical issues head-on. But what does this mean for young innovators and social entrepreneurs who are trying to change the world?
I’ve seen firsthand how young people are constantly pushing the boundaries of innovation in ways that can truly reshape the future. From mental health support to reproductive rights, they have the ideas, the passion, and the solutions. Yet one of the most significant barriers they face is a lack of access to early-stage funding. Too often, these incredible innovations remain just ideas because the financial backing needed to test, scale, and implement them simply isn’t there.
Breaking Down Barriers for Early-Stage Innovators
Funding is, without a doubt, one of the greatest obstacles for young people trying to launch social ventures, especially when it comes to women’s health. Youth entrepreneurs often face significant challenges in accessing finance due to being perceived as riskier by financial institutions. This is largely because they tend to lack business experience, established credit histories, savings, or collateral. Additionally, young entrepreneurs often struggle with gaining access to valuable business networks, which further restricts their ability to secure traditional funding.
As a result, many young changemakers are left to rely on family savings or informal lenders, which often yield limited funds or come with exploitative terms. These financial constraints not only delay progress but also stifle the potential of truly innovative solutions. Many young social entrepreneurs cite funding as their top barrier to scaling their solutions. For those focused on women’s health—an area historically underfunded—the journey is even tougher.
That’s why Melinda French Gates’ $250M "Action for Women’s Health" fund is a game-changer. Not only does it shine a spotlight on the health inequities women face globally, but it also provides the financial resources to young innovators and nonprofits who have been waiting for this kind of breakthrough. The fund will offer unrestricted funding to at least 100 nonprofits, with amounts ranging from $1 million to $5 million—funding that could mean the difference between survival and growth for many of these organizations.
The Importance of Unrestricted Funding
This fund isn’t just any fund—it’s unrestricted funding. For those of us working in the nonprofit sector, we know how rare this is. Unrestricted funding allows organizations to not only pursue their mission but also cover operational costs—something that is often stigmatized. Many philanthropists prefer to fund programs or “specific outcomes,” leaving nonprofits struggling to keep their lights on.
But operational costs are essential. Nonprofits can’t survive on passion alone. Unrestricted funding allows them to invest in their teams, infrastructure, and long-term sustainability. The stigma around operational funding is outdated and harmful. Without strong operational support, many organizations—especially those working on complex social issues like women’s health—won’t survive long enough to see their solutions reach the people who need them the most.
The Action for Women’s Health fund changes that. By prioritizing organizations for whom $1 million to $5 million will make a big impact, it’s clear that this fund is about more than just scaling solutions. It’s about ensuring that those on the front lines of women’s health, those who may not have access to traditional funding streams, have the resources to not just survive but thrive.
A More Humane and Equitable Process
Unlike most traditional philanthropic models, which often operate behind closed doors, the Action for Women’s Health fund sets a new standard for transparency and inclusivity. Historically, access to philanthropic funding has been determined through invitation-only processes, where a select few decision-makers choose which organizations receive funding. This approach has long limited opportunities for smaller, less-established organizations and has perpetuated inequality in the sector. For early-stage social entrepreneurs, this exclusivity can feel like an impenetrable barrier, making it incredibly difficult to gain the necessary resources to grow their ideas.
What’s different about this fund is its open call approach, a process designed to broaden access to philanthropic opportunities. Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change, explained that this fund is not just about distributing resources, but also about doing so in a way that is both humane and equitable. By welcoming applications from a diverse range of organizations, the fund removes the elite gatekeeping that typically governs large-scale philanthropy, creating a level playing field for nonprofits of all sizes and stages of development.
The beauty of this open call process lies in its ability to foster collaboration over competition. One of the most groundbreaking elements of this model is its peer review component. Rather than solely relying on external panels of experts to vet applications, the fund invites applicants to evaluate one another's proposals. This creates a space for organizations to learn from each other’s work, offering insights and feedback that can strengthen their own strategies. It also builds a sense of community among applicants, transforming what is often a competitive process into one that encourages shared learning and growth.
This shift is crucial in the philanthropic world, where too often nonprofits are forced to compete against each other for limited resources, despite working toward similar goals. The Action for Women’s Health fund acknowledges that collective impact is more powerful than isolated efforts, and by creating a more transparent and inclusive selection process, it sets a new precedent for how philanthropy can be done.
For young social entrepreneurs—especially those without the deep networks that more established organizations often have—this approach means more access, more learning opportunities, and a fairer chance to secure the funding they need. It signals a move toward a more equitable future in philanthropy, where small, innovative voices can be amplified and given the chance to create lasting change.
What This Means for Young Changemakers
So, what does this fund mean for the next generation of changemakers? Quite simply, it means hope. Hope for those who have been relentlessly working to create solutions for women’s health but have hit the same barriers time and time again: lack of funding, limited access to networks, and the uphill battle of scaling their innovations. For many young social entrepreneurs, the passion and drive to create change is abundant, but the resources to actualize that vision are scarce.
This $250 million fund could be the spark that ignites a movement. It’s more than just financial support—it’s an opportunity to get projects off the ground, to move beyond the idea stage and into real-world implementation. It’s also a chance for those who already have established initiatives to scale their solutions to reach even more women, addressing the complex health challenges that have been overlooked for far too long.
The significance of this fund goes beyond dollars and cents; it represents validation. For so many young changemakers, especially those working in underfunded areas like women’s health, getting recognition is often as important as securing financial support. The Action for Women’s Health fund shines a spotlight on the crucial work being done by youth-led organizations, affirming that their ideas are not only valid but vital to the future of healthcare. This recognition can open doors to other opportunities, partnerships, and further investment.
It also means that young social entrepreneurs now have a clear and actionable path to pursue their visions of a healthier, more equitable world for women. Whether you're focused on mental health, reproductive rights, or technology-driven solutions to close the healthcare gap, this fund is your opportunity to bring those ideas into the spotlight. It’s a call to all those who are working tirelessly, sometimes in isolation, to keep pushing forward, knowing that the resources to help them succeed are finally within reach.
At UNITE 2030, we’ve always believed in the power of young people to drive meaningful change. We’ve seen it firsthand: the determination, the creativity, the resilience of young social entrepreneurs. They are not waiting for permission to change the world—they are already doing it. What they need is support and investment. With the Action for Women’s Health fund, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to see these ideas take flight on a much larger scale.
For the thousands of young changemakers out there who are passionate about transforming women’s health, this fund could be the catalyst for turning your vision into action. It’s your moment to disrupt, innovate, and create the change you’ve been fighting for. The time is now to rise, apply, and make your mark on the future of women’s health.
How to Apply for Action for Women’s Health
If your organization is working to improve women’s mental or physical health and you’re ready to take your impact to the next level, the Action for Women’s Health fund is a significant opportunity. This open call will provide unrestricted funding between $1 million and $5 million to support nonprofits that center equity in their approach and have a proven track record of improving women’s health.
To apply, follow these steps:
Learn More & Assess Eligibility: Visit womenshealth.leverforchange.org to learn more about the application process and take the Organizational Readiness Tool to confirm your eligibility.
Register to Apply: You must register your organization by 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 to be eligible to submit an application.
Submit Your Application: Once registered, complete and submit your online application by 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time on Friday, January 10, 2025.
Applications will undergo peer and external expert reviews, with top-rated organizations advancing through each stage. Awardees will be selected by the end of 2025 and will receive flexible funding to scale their work in strengthening women’s health worldwide.
