GIR Academy Fund
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Girls I Rate is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 by Grammy award-winning songwriter, Carla Marie Williams (Credits: Beyonce, Sean Paul, Britney Spears) pushing for gender equality, diversity, female representation, recognition and opportunities in the music and creative industries by providing social, educational and employment opportunities. We host a wide array of opportunities for our #GIRArmy, a community of over 5000 female creatives.
Over the years we have worked with a range of ambassadors, advocates and brands including Lily Allen, Beenie Man, Nao, Alicaì Harley, Ms Banks, PRS, PRS Foundation, Spotify Equal, Mixcloud, Musicians Union and PPL. However, this support and funding is not guaranteed every year and limits our capacity to build a sustainable staffing team and further our educational opportunities for women.
We want to increase the number of pathways into developing and supporting the future development of women. We need your help to crowdfund £300,000 and support our #GIRAcademy. This funding will help to facilitate opportunities and the creative efforts and development of women aged 16-30 in the music and creative industries from the UK and Caribbean. This will be spread across three main areas:
- Increasing opportunities for our #GIRAcademy
- Sustain the GIR Radio as a platform for women’s music
- Project management and core staffing costs
With your support, we can take this further. Support the movement and donate to our #GIRAcademyFund GoFundMe now!
#SupportTheMovement #GIRAcademyFund
WHAT WE’VE DONE SO FAR
Since our launch in 2016, we have provided a platform and pushed for opportunities for our community of women through many different events, partnerships, and activations.
Our achievements include:
- A community of over 5000 female creatives in our #GIRArmy
- Songwriting weekenders and masterclasses
- #GETHEARD Future Hitmaker A&R listening competition for female songwriters and producers to get their music heard by professionals in partnership with PRS and PRS Foundation.
- Co-founded the Future Hitmaker Bursary with PRS Foundation and Spotify of up to £3000 for winners of our #GETHEARD competition
- Founded GIR BLK, a dedicated community within GIR for black women
- Provided creative and sustainability fund to 10 GIR BLK members supported by PRS Foundation and Spotify
- Curating all-female playlists on GIR TV/YouTube promoting women’s music video
- Monthly online educational workshops attended by over 700 young mentees, led by the 50 professional women signed up to our #MentorMe board
- Our bi-weekly radio show in alliance with AudioTechnica on The Beat London 103.6FM, a dedicated show to support and showcase women’s music
- Partnered with Strawberries & Creem to curate a full gender-balanced and diverse festival line-up as part of our GIR 50:50 pledge
- Music Week x GIR #MentorMe exclusive monthly publication where we hand-pick professional women we rate to share their top 5 creative and entertainment industry tips
SUPPORT #GIRACADEMY FUND
We founded #GIRAcademy in 2016, an exclusive programme dedicated to female creatives aged 16-30. Below lists the activations and programs we will facilitate with the funds raised.
SUPPORT #MENTORME
We founded #MentorMe in 2020, an exclusive monthly educational programme dedicated to female creatives in our GIR ARMY. Our sessions focus on educating in all areas across the creative and music industries. It is important to us that sessions are run by professional women to mentor who are experts in their specific fields. To date, we have worked with professional women from companies such as PPL, Musicians Union, Spotify, Atlantic Records, YouTube, Downtown, TikTok and more. We’ve interacted with over 700 young mentees and over 50 mentors from our #MentorMe board.
We want to continue to provide #MentorMe opportunities and the funds raised will directly support the following:
- Online educational development workshops and masterclasses
- Physical educational development workshops and masterclasses
- Watchable online events and recording distribution of educational content
- Staffing costs to facilitate running our monthly #MentorMe academy
SUPPORT GIR RADIO
In 2020 we launched our GIR Radio show on The Beat London 103.6FM showcasing some of the freshest female talent from the UK & across the world. Featuring an all-female line-up of DJ’s, presenters and guests each week, we provide a platform on the radio for women and their music. In the past 6 months, we’ve been able to provide bi-weekly radio shows featuring interviews from artists such as Alicaì Harley, Ray BLK, Naomi Cowan, Miss Lafamilia and much more. We’ve also provided live booking opportunities for our GIR DJs including Strawberries and Creem, Shabba Party, Noo Limit Festival and Wray and Nephew x Beenie Man’s Wray Residency.
Support our GIR Radio show and help us achieve the following:
- GIR safe space learning facilities such as studios, creative spaces and rehearsal rooms
- Continue our DJ and Presenter Development programs aimed at Under 30’s
- Sustain a platform that gives visibility to women’s music
SUPPORT GIR’S STAFF COSTS
GIR is a small non-profit organisation, and we cannot guarantee funding every year to further our mission by providing incredible opportunities to young creatives. The funds raised will allow us to form a full-time team to be able to facilitate the core departments, provide valuable employment opportunities for women and keep the business sustainable.
The funds raised will directly support the following:
- General Manager to oversee various projects
- Social Media Manager so that our opportunities reach women online globally
- Brands and Funding Manager to ensure sustainable income for the company
- Events Manager to create new opportunities both physically and online
SUPPORT THE #GIRACADEMY FUND NOW
Want to support the development of women in the creative industries? Donate now and provide opportunities for the future female creative!
Big love,
Team GIR
#SupportTheMovement #GIRAcademyFund
Organizer
Girls I Rate
Organizer
England