Holly Rustick (00:01.58)
Hello and welcome to the grant writing and funding podcast I'm Holly rustic the host of the grant writing and funding podcast and I'm super excited to be talking to Claire Bresnahan English and she is the senior director of the workplace innovation now challenge So the win challenge and this is awesome because this is 60 million dollars that the wind challenge is giving out to nonprofits us-based to expand

the workplace for women. Like there's so many, so much going on. We're to be talking about that today. But first I just want to say, I want to break down Claire's bio real quick because it's so, good. So you know who she is. Claire in this role as senior director, she advances innovative high impact actionable solutions that lower barriers for women in the workplace and help women thrive to the benefit of themselves, their family, the economy and the community at large.

Claire, also have uplifted women leadership across government media, like civil society, private sector for more than 15 years and served as the CEO for the New Leaders Council, a national nonprofit, former ED of She Should Run. I love that as well. I was looking at that. was like, helping prepare women and girls to lead and to run for office.

and serves on the nonprofit or the board, sorry, of the nonprofit of the Washington English Center. And you're the senior director, as I mentioned, at the Aspen Institute. So I'm really excited to have you here. I'm really excited to talk about this money. I'm really excited to talk about what the money's going to do for women because I am a feminist, I'm an advocate, I'm totally believing in everything that you guys are doing and so excited about Melinda French Gates who has given this money.

through the pivotal organization to you all. So you can manage this grant and get it out there. So welcome, welcome, Claire.

Clare (01:48.29)
Thank you. I am so excited to be on Holly. I feel like I'm talking to my people on so many levels. So thank you for having me here to talk about the wind challenge.

Holly Rustick (01:53.728)
Yes!

Yeah, I was really excited. was like, soon as I saw it, I reached out to you. was like, can you guys have one to come on? And right away, y'all were like, yes, like living for it. So was like, this is so good, so good. So I was like, it all relates. And what I wanted to talk about too, and just like a little FYI, y'all, if you're listening to this, it does close soon. We're recording this in November 2025 and have a look out for the registration closes December 11th. It only takes a few minutes.

Clare (02:03.682)
Yes, please.

Holly Rustick (02:25.368)
Claire was saying in the green room, she was like, oh, I see what you're But we'll talk about all of the eligibility soon, but just a note in your mind right now, December 11th, register if you are gonna be eligible, and we'll talk about eligibility later on. Before we go there, as I mentioned, Melinda Fridge-Gates has a broader commitment for $150 million for Women in the Workforce Program, so you guys are gonna get 60 million of that. There's other money that she's been delegating out and putting out too, which is amazing, a lot for women's health, and so much going on.

But for this specifically, this win grant competition, $60 million competitive, it's open competitive. You've got to be a 501c3L. You got to be a US based nonprofit from what I've been reading. And you can tell me more on that Claire, but there's going to be 20 million awarded in three different buckets. One for culture and practices, one for AI, one for narrative. Can you break that all down for us? Yeah.

Clare (03:18.476)
Yes, yes. OK, I know, because everyone's looking for the resources to make the impact that they want in this world. And how Aspen started to partner with Pivotal in this work is because if you just look at the landscape, workplaces are facing massive transformations and research data and research that Pivotal has done and many other organizations have shown that many barriers still exist for women at work.

Holly Rustick (03:24.863)
Yeah.

Clare (03:43.544)
from lack of caregiving support to outdated biases. And we really need now new ideas that meet this moment, particularly as emerging technology like AI is rapidly changing our workplaces, our workflows, our very roles, our very places in society. And that's why Aspen Digital is working with Pivotal, which is the group of organizations Melinda French Gates founded. And from Aspen's perspective, we bring deep expertise in emerging technology and narrative change.

Holly Rustick (03:58.871)
you

Clare (04:12.682)
in an economic opportunity and increasing economic opportunity across many different ranges. And Pivotal brings the vision and brings the investment behind the 60 million dollar grant competition. And together, we are focused on discovering and scaling, scaling the bold ideas that are going to help everyone thrive in a rapidly changing workplace, but especially women and ultimately make workplaces better for everyone. And as you said, there are there are three key pillars. How do we leverage the impact of AI?

How do we shape and distribute, get out new narratives and how do we improve workplace culture and practices? And each, as you said, each pillar has $20 million to fund up to eight innovative solutions of award amounts of either 2.5 and 5 million. And the focus here is really on transformative scalable solutions. So we are, have intentionally designed this to make sure that we, this is catalytic, that

Holly Rustick (04:50.849)
Hmm

Clare (05:12.266)
each of the awardees are getting the resources and also support. We can talk a little bit more about that to implement and scale their solutions and really ultimately reshape the workplace, the future of work at a long lasting transformative level.

Holly Rustick (05:28.119)
I love that so much. And in looking at that too, one of the things that just popped out to me right away when I was looking at it is it's 60 million. So you're like, yes, it's for US nonprofits. OK. And then it's like, ooh, eight awards each. So there's up to 24 awards in total under what you have. But potentially, right? Like, could that be more though? Like if you had eight awardees ask or eight people who applied ask for 2.5 million because they're still being money in that bucket left them potentially, right?

Clare (05:57.038)
Oh, good question. Good question. Okay, so the in the application, whichever if everyone can go to winchallenge.org, you'll be brought into a portal where you can explore each of the three pillars and think of each of the three pillars like their own sub challenges, right? They have their own distinct applications, scoring rubrics, you can learn more about the evaluation processes, but there is a read only version of the application right there on the website. And it can go through

Holly Rustick (05:58.818)
Yeah.

Holly Rustick (06:23.095)
Mm-hmm.

Clare (06:24.086)
how there are budget questions of where initially applicants are asked to submit a $5 million budget and then also include answers on contingencies that if you're not awarded the 5 million, what would you do with the 2.5 million? So there's a sense of wanting to be able to have some flexibility, particularly because Holly, I'd say the background here is that everyone on the Aspen team have led small nonprofits, have led large nonprofits. I mean, we just really have...

Holly Rustick (06:50.357)
Amazing.

Clare (06:51.982)
We've come from this background of we've been in y'all's shoes. We have written the grants. We have filled out the applications. And knowing that there are going to be some, particularly when you're running a challenge that's focused on innovation, there are going to be, we designed this to be accessible to large legacy organizations that are truly at scale nationwide, but also the smaller startup organizations, organizations and projects that are fiscally sponsored. There's a sense of we want it to make it accessible.

and ensure that organizations that maybe don't have, like, that have such a broad approach and at different phases, that they're really able to absorb and implement the money and to be able to scale right away when they get the funds in 2026. So this sense of is really, we design these different tiers to make it as accessible as possible to a broad range of applicants.

Holly Rustick (07:42.378)
Okay, and I love that right away when you said, well, it's five million we asked for you to put in your budget, but like, what would you do if you only had 2.5? So right there, I you've been leading nonprofits because instead of just being like, well, here's your whole program and now you have to meet up, we're only going to give you two million. You know what I mean? Like that's where it gets like, so I'm glad that you said like, what could you do with that? You'd have to rearrange your objectives, right? Then if you're only going to get this much money. So yeah, I'm so glad. Yeah, that you have.

Clare (08:04.398)
Yes. Yes. Yeah, that's right. And there are places to put in other considerations. And we know that in some ways we're really mindful of where we know how long it takes. I mean, just truly, I was so excited to talk to Grant Reuters. We understand the time and energy and strategic thinking that goes into fulfilling successful strong applications. so we again have done our best to make it as accessible to

many different size organizations. So there's no budget requirement. Sometimes these open calls have different size of your organizational budget or how many years you've had operating funds or how many years you've had audited reports. If you don't have audited financials, can submit your 990s or certified financial reviews. We've really tried to provide as much flexibility as possible.

Holly Rustick (08:55.859)
I love that. I love that so much because that could scare off a lot of the smaller organizations to be like, it's 2.5. So I shouldn't even. Right. So I do like that. And it's limited. Right. So, no, the competition. So I and I noticed that even like in the initial they have eligibility questions, you guys have definitely checked those out. And it's really quick. And even then you say, like, here's what the questions that are that we're going to ask basically right here is what it's going to you're going to come against. And I'm like, it's pretty simple.

Clare (08:59.342)
Mm-hmm. Great.

Great.


Holly Rustick (09:22.315)
Like even as a grant writer, was like, that would be pretty, you know, it's not a huge lift at all. So I was like, obviously your ideas are where you're going to be spending the most time, right? But the application itself doesn't look like a super heavy lift and it is a quick turnaround. Then the deadline would be in January, right? So yeah, yeah. So you've made it easy because, or not easy, would say, but streamlined it for that. Right.

Clare (09:32.674)
That's Right.

Clare (09:40.718)
That's right. That's right. So the

Clare (09:46.894)
as much And, you know, we'll have, we have resources up on, on the website where we have an extensive FAQ. We have, we just had an informational webinar too. The recording will be up there for folks to be able to listen into. We're trying to provide as much information because yes, this is a relatively quick timeline in terms of our open call launch in September. We have the registration deadline, which essentially is, think of that y'all as going on to your, either of the pillars and registering.

naming your intent to apply and then the applications are due at the end of January. I'll say Holly, just in terms of a technical process note for all the grant writers out there is that if you have clients or you yourself are interested in applying and you think, gosh, I'm doing really important narrative work and my org is also doing really important work in culture and practices, are accepting applications across all three pillars. They need to be distinct and separate ideas, but

Holly Rustick (10:14.999)
you


Clare (10:43.982)
The main thing is register in each of the pillars where you intend to apply because if you don't first register by December 11th, 5 p.m. Eastern, you won't be able to submit those applications at the end of January.

Holly Rustick (10:55.317)
Okay, so if you guys are even just thinking about it, just register. Yeah, just register. Yeah.

Clare (10:58.392)
Correct. Just for, it will take five minutes. Please don't close that door. Leave the door of opportunity open.

Holly Rustick (11:07.487)
I love that. then you actually have a quick turnaround too, as far as funding. It looked like April 26th is decision. Is it go time? Can you talk about that too?

Clare (11:16.782)
It's a great question. So we are, there's a couple of different evaluation phases actually. So I'll go through them as there's admin review, which is looking at folks' eligibility. And then there is going to be a peer-to-peer review process. We wanted a participatory process where it wasn't just folks from sometimes it can feel like in philanthropy, just folks in their ivory tower, but we wanted folks on the ground being able to lend their perspectives to the evaluation process. So.

Each applicants that make it to the peer-to-peer review phase will review five fellow applicants, provide their scores and feedback for the Wynn Challenge team to review. And then there is a panel of judges from across nonprofit, philanthropic, business communities with expertise in each of the areas. And then also finally our Wynn Council, which is around 15 to 20 thought leaders across each of the pillars who will be making recommendations based on the rounds of feedback to Aspen.

on the 5.5 or 2.5 million grants. And I'll say there that that process is longer than it will go into the summer. And the soonest that we're really hoping to disperse funds though are in 2026, in the fall of 2026. And then another really, I love being able to talk about all these process points is that also that we understand that the, you've seen the budget sections that this is funding for

Holly Rustick (12:15.543)
Mm-hmm.

Holly Rustick (12:24.843)
Okay, okay.

Holly Rustick (12:31.733)
Nice.

Clare (12:44.024)
two, three years of a project. isn't just you needing to spend this catalytic amount of funds in one year.

Holly Rustick (12:49.527)
Yeah. Yeah, I did notice that and I was like, oh, yay, this is a multi-year grant. So this is great that you have that. And you're asking, though, for a budget just for all of the years, obviously, then, and how to spend that down. And I did like that you said one of the questions, a pre-vetted question, the eligibility form that you go through is asking for, do you have access? Because sometimes,

Clare (13:02.254)
That's

Holly Rustick (13:13.515)
Well, let me ask you actually this, let me maybe backtrack for a second. Is this a drawdown? Is this an award? Is this reimbursable? How is the money? So like if people are looking at it and they may be a startup and it's like 2.5 million even is a lot over a couple of years for, you know, maybe a smaller nonprofit. Do they need a bankroll this? Like how do, can you talk about that a little bit?

Clare (13:15.084)
Hmm. Hmm.

Clare (13:34.19)
It does need to be spent within the two to three year time frame. So that is the challenge and pull of tension to building out the competition was being able to provide as much flexibility for folks to use the funds while also ensuring that we were providing some type of guidance and time frame that could work or we could really.

Holly Rustick (13:40.363)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Clare (13:59.928)
do the now portion of workplace innovation now and using the funds. So I'd say that for folks as they're thinking about what Holly is referring to is there's this something called a readiness tool on the homepage of every of each of the three pillars. And that's where it'll take you through the eligibility questions, some of the budget questions. Like she said, it's a great, yeah, take you what five to 10 minutes of completing it. Just to get a sense of if this is the right fit for you, either from the conceptual lens of

Holly Rustick (14:03.031)
Yes.

Holly Rustick (14:22.249)
Yeah, not even, yeah.

Clare (14:29.055)
is this pillar right for you and from both the structural lens of how the grant competition is set up.

Holly Rustick (14:35.383)
But our monies are, is it more of a drawdown or is it reimbursed? You know, it's fine. Okay, okay, so that's a lot easier for nonprofits, which is great. So once again, you guys are coming from the lens of being a nonprofit, so that's fantastic. Okay, so let's, talked to, yeah, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah.

Clare (14:40.206)
to overdraw them.

Clare (14:47.278)
Yeah. And Holly, can I just say too, is that also just to get into process, even really looking at the rules sections of use of funds, and then also I'll specifically shout out question 10 and 11 in the FAQ. Yes, have I started to memorize the FAQ? Yes. For being able to understand the use of funds, eligibility requirements too.

Holly Rustick (15:05.527)
You

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. That's so important. And I like also you're asking like, you have other stakeholders involved? Is your community involved? Like you are looking for this larger.

reach, right? And to just look at, you know, mitigation, all of that contingency. So thinking through that is so important for nonprofits when they apply to any grant. But I like a lot of times they don't really ask for that. It's not so upfront. So thinking through like, okay, what would this actually look like? Getting those amount of funds? How would we actually have the biggest impact? How would it be sustainable? How would scale? So there's a lot of like scalability, as you mentioned, too. It's not just are you scaled yet, but like your intention to scale.

Clare (15:47.692)
Yes, exactly. Yes. Yeah. Well, and also let's talk about that. So we have a, we also have a broad definition of scale. You know, as we've, as we've gotten the word out for scale for some folks means, it nationwide? Is it regional? Some folks are thinking about in terms of truly numbers impacted, or are you scaling to different sectors?

Holly Rustick (15:48.124)
and that's with limited funds, right? 60 million sounds like a lot, but you know, it's limited.

Clare (16:10.334)
I really encourage folks to look at the scoring rubric. You can look at that on the website ahead of time to be able to understand how we're just defining scale. But we understand that when this comes to innovation, scale is going to look differently. This could be that it's application of a new idea in a different sector. It could be that you're moving from city to a larger region. It could be that you're scaling from rural to urban, vice versa. I mean, we really truly are open to a broad set of scalable solutions.

Holly Rustick (16:39.991)
I love that. Yeah, because if it's just nationwide, it's going to be very limited, very limited and who can apply? Yeah.

Clare (16:44.138)
Mm-hmm. That's right. And knowing that there's great, are, the point around innovation is that you can start small and that you could start from different pockets around the country or different sectors. I think there's this place of just really knowing that innovation can start in many different places.

Holly Rustick (17:01.751)
Yeah, yeah, I love it. let's get into it. Now, I'm gonna do this backwards to how I had it planned, but I love it. It always happens. So you have to go right into process, because I'm a grant writer. So that's what happens. So, but a lot of you listening and watching are as well. So you're like, okay, taking notes, but do watch the webinar replay. That's gonna be up soon. That's gonna be really good. Okay, so let's dive into then like, what is this? Is this right for your nonprofit? Is this right for your clients? Right? And also like,

Clare (17:07.63)
I know, we got right into process.

Holly Rustick (17:31.382)
Actually, let's start with, I know I keep revising how I'm asking questions today, but the data behind it, I'm interested in data, I'm a grant writer, y'all out there are your grant writers, you're interested in data as well, but I really like a lot of why, like why are you even giving this money out? And I think that's also gonna help shape a lot of your brains and your thought process on like what your program is and it doesn't make sense. So a lot of the, I saw some of the research on your,

Clare (17:49.922)
you

Clare (17:54.85)
No.

Holly Rustick (17:59.836)
Website there which I've also seen in other places or some of it But you're saying leadership bias right more than 25 % of men surveyed in the survey that you have listed there Believe men are better suited to be leader senior leaders versus women Other research shows that women are perceived aggressive or abrasive when conducting themselves like men who are then viewed positively for the same exact behavior So there's a lot of data and even in our own data. We see that women in nonprofits

75 % of nonprofits are made up of women. However, only 22 % are actually run by women as EDs or CEOs, and females on average earn around 25 % less than males in nonprofits. And that's just in the little nonprofit, like the little added information I gave there. And when we look at freelance grant writers, 82%, we know our freelance grant writers are women. And the research that we've done in our...

and also our friends and colleagues have done, right? And we also see that they are, actually freelance freelancers are earning pretty good as far as women looking at versus men. However, in general, freelancers in general, women earn 28 % less than men.

Clare (19:12.878)
Bye!

Holly Rustick (19:13.697)
So let's like break down some of this, like, why are we even doing this? And I know I gave some of your research to take that from you, but I kind of want to like level the ground. But can you talk about this a little bit more? Cause it is nuanced and narrative and culture and all of that in the workplace. Like it's coming from this research, right?

Clare (19:23.446)
Yeah.

Clare (19:31.264)
Right, right. And the foundational view that's based in research, particularly a lot of the research that's on woodchallenge.org is based in Pivotal's work and looking at how when you design workplaces with the needs of women in mind, you're creating workplaces for everyone. So it's it's a sense of really breaking down the zero sum assumption that there is this when we are creating workplaces where everyone can thrive and you're thinking about

Holly Rustick (19:46.775)
Mm.

Clare (20:00.908)
what women need in terms of caregiving needs or how you break down biases, you're actually breaking down boundaries that are harmful to everyone and you're creating workplaces that are better for everyone. And then the impact is multiplied for families, for communities, for the economy at large. And when you look at it from that perspective and you're seeing the trends this year of where nearly half a million women have left the US labor market, that the gender pay gap has widened two years in a row now.

The data is showing that particularly out of the women who are leaving the workplace, many of them are mothers of young children. Holly and I were just talking about how have two kiddos at home, very much feeling that stat at a personal level. And the reasons are structural and they have lasting impacts. So caregiving responsibilities that still disproportionately fall on women. Rigid workplace norms, were return to work mandates, the advancement systems and pipelines to leadership.

Holly Rustick (20:44.311)
Yeah.

Clare (21:00.076)
that still reflect a lot of outdated assumptions and structures. These are all pieces around across the three pillars that we're trying to address now. And when you look at how AI is shaping our workplaces, Harvard Business School released research on how women are adopting AI at rates 22 % lower than men. And so we've got this piece around where if AI is shaping the future of our work,

There's a moment of where those gaps are going to even widen and have an exponential impact if we don't make sure that women are not are using AI and using it to be able to, you know, from our perspective with the win AI challenge, it's it's how do we reskill and upscale women? How do we create and support tools that are going to make women's lives better and help them balance their caregiving and their workplace goals and responsibilities?

there's also sense of how do we mitigate the bias in AI. All of this is combining in terms of how do we create some really huge opportunities here for women to shape the future of work. If we think about all these moments in the past, Industrial Revolution, major changes in the workforce in the 50s and 60s. If you could really center the needs of women in mind, think about how

where we would be now. And so what we're trying to say now is that this is the moment there is urgency. We need to make sure that as the very, very moments that we're living our workplaces and our roles and our abilities to build our own individual income and wealth, but also be able to contribute to the economy. All this is at stake. And that's where there's so much urgency behind us in terms of being able to get this money into the hands of organizations that are just begging and ready to be scaled.

Holly Rustick (22:50.879)
Right, right. I love that so much. And it is so important, right? You said that even looking at fresh data, like in the last couple of years, there, you know, and, and women, like even your children, right? You came like you're a, some is your baby pandemic baby.

Clare (23:06.7)
Yeah, guess I have a right in the heart of pandemic baby of a four year old and then just right after the pandemic baby. So four and two year old.

Holly Rustick (23:15.903)
Yeah, exactly. So I mean, a lot of women and it's hard, like you mentioned, to go back to the workplace, right? And even like that's what we're leaning into too, is like freelance grant writing, then develop your own, like being an entrepreneur, like this is the way forward that we see as far as helping women too, before we can fix all of the structural issues. But I'm also happy that you are addressing that because, you know, this is one thing that we can help women control is like, okay, you know, create your own

your own revenue, right? And you have your own rates and don't deal with toxic workplace in the same way, right? Yeah. Yep.

Clare (23:48.174)
It's a yes and, right? It's a yes and, right? We want women to be able to be making those choices, but we really want them to be able to making them for what's best for their family and career goals, right? And it's not forced out of structural barriers. And otherwise we risk widening gaps in pay. We risk lessening opportunity. And we're really also just, if we look at this big picture, we're really risking the long-term economic mobility and health of this nation.

Holly Rustick (24:01.207)
Yes.

Right.

Holly Rustick (24:16.661)
Yes, absolutely 100%. I mean, there's so much research that shows when women are able to earn more, we give actually way more back into our communities and fund our communities versus men. the, you know, the percentage rates are staggering, like the difference. Yeah.

Clare (24:32.173)
Right, it's a multiplier effect, right? And even if we think about nonprofits, about you're giving the stats of the gaps between leadership and gender leadership in nonprofits. But even if think about how the organizations, the missions that focus on women still only out of all total philanthropic giving, it's only two to 3 % go to causes focused on women and girls. And so there's this sense of where we're, what I'm excited about when challenge is that it's addressing

Holly Rustick (24:42.432)
Mm-hmm.

Clare (25:01.204)
all of these different angles of what it's going to take to really make sure that the investments in women have a true multiplier effect.

Holly Rustick (25:10.839)
yeah, and I love that you're getting to the structural and I think that's what's so important, right? And that's where money is needed. Like that's where, you know, time is needed, all of the things. So let's talk about that. Like what are some of the ideas maybe that you're seeing? Maybe not the grants, obviously, nothing has been submitted, but as far as just looking overall, like what are some of the hopes maybe of some of the things that you're hoping to see?

Clare (25:38.424)
This is right. This is an open call because we're curious. We know we don't have all the answers, but we're open and want to hear and surface the solutions that are going to address those structural issues like caregiving, like in flexible workplaces, like the gender pay gap. If you can hear, my kids are coming home right now and strong applications are going to focus on solutions that help everyone, especially women thrive in a rapidly changing workplace. So we're looking at four key areas. How innovative? What's the feasibility?

Holly Rustick (25:42.657)
Yeah. Yeah.

Holly Rustick (25:55.328)
You

Holly Rustick (26:06.23)
Mm-hmm.

Clare (26:08.206)
how transformative, how groundbreaking, and how aligned. And aligned means how much is the solution really rooted in the community and the beneficiaries that this solution is going to impact. And we want to find ideas that are ready to be scaled, to reshape workplace norms, shift leadership narratives, create models that employees from all sizes or all different sectors can adopt. And I think for existence, when it comes to the AI examples, we're excited.

There are organizations applying that have tools to help workers and caregivers unlock public benefits, navigate what forms to fill out, how to fill out the forms, and really apply for the assistance that they're entitled to. There are more AI tools coming out to help caregivers and domestic workers. So there's the sense of where it's not just playing offense, it's also defense. It's a sense of where we're going to be able to be building workplaces that allow more people to work, not fewer.

Holly Rustick (27:04.311)
Hmm

Clare (27:05.128)
and to participate fully. And I think what's also really exciting is to also just shape the future of work, not just as consumers or the employees, but really looking at the solutions of where we're shaping what our future looks like.

Holly Rustick (27:18.999)
Absolutely. I love that so much. even there's, there is so much out there. mean, even there was that recent article by the New York times as you know, like how women were in the workplace, that whole title that went, you know, just viral and everything. And just looking at like, there's a lot of ideology that is just kind of out there as well. And it really is important to say women need to be in the workforce. You know, we need to have opportunities to be in the workforce.

There is a lot of change that happens when women are leaders in the workforce, right, as well. And there can be balance too. It doesn't like, I like how you said it doesn't have to be this or that, but it can be an and. So I like the ideas too of like, how can there be more?

flexibility and even working from home. Like that could be an innovation, even though, know, it might seem like a norm, but because a lot of people are being pressured to go back in the workforce, because childcare is so high, because of these other things, it is very difficult, right? So even looking at what does that look like? Can AI serve in that role? You know, other other things. And I really, I really appreciate that you guys are spending the time to really lean into this, because it's so important. And there is a lot of like,

It feels kind of combative out there against these ideas too in some ways. Can you kind of talk about that for a second?

Clare (28:38.498)
We can. What I'd say is that what I'm so excited about for this is that there's focus on solutions. When there's a lot of change happening, it's easy to go to blaming mode and it's easy to point figures. And what I like about this challenge, and if you can hear my two-year-old, he would agree, is that we're focused on how do we move forward? And the fact that there's

Holly Rustick (28:45.449)
Yes. Yeah.

Holly Rustick (28:59.639)
Yes.

Holly Rustick (29:04.384)
Yeah.

Clare (29:07.242)
ending the zero sum assumption that when we can help and support women in all aspects of their life and at work, we're supporting everyone. I think, I know it can sound almost cliche and Pollyannish, but it really is quite compelling and groundbreaking to be able to break through this assumption that when we're supporting women, we're actually supporting everyone to be able to advance in the workplace. And

there's this element of where I think that just can't be understated. And I'm really excited that we're working on both narrative change and AI and workplace culture and practices.

Holly Rustick (29:49.536)
Yeah. It's like the triad. It's perfect. You know, as far as like looking at how the system, once again, it goes to a systemic structure and, it's looking at now things AI we wouldn't have talked about probably two years ago or four years ago, like absolutely. So this is now looking at what's happening today, which is so, so good. So as far as, even, you know, thinking about that, it's really interesting to think about like innovation. One of the things that I saw probably about six months ago or so was, an app.

developed by somebody, I think in Norway. And it was an app for chores. And it was basically a gender, they're trying to like gender equality app, which was really interesting. And it sets like different weight to each chore. And it also has like a gamifies it. So if you have people like everybody and everyone can see the amount of work each person has done each week, right? But it's like, know, sweeping might not be as much as like whatever, mopping the floors or whatever, you know what I mean? So it also like has the ability to do that. And I thought,

That is so good because I think that would be a great example of innovation, of using tech, of also disrupting the narrative, and just to give education too, and to have it in this playful way. And I was like, I love that so much. I was so excited. I'm sending it out to all my friends. Oh my gosh, this app is amazing, to really kind of reset that. So would that be a good example?

Clare (31:09.966)
And how it's addressing the mental load. What I'll say is that I want to be respectful of the folks who have been submitting their ideas, but they really are so broad ranging. I think there's this element of where, particularly in nonprofit work, we're not always invited to be as innovative as we could be. And so I think this is a piece around like folks have come to us and said, we think

Holly Rustick (31:15.084)
Mm-hmm.

Clare (31:35.042)
We've always had this wild or crazy idea, or we have the part of our strategic plan that always has really felt like the stretch. And we're saying, yes, please, that's what we want to hear more of. I think then what I'll add from a process point of view, folks really do want to understand how to narrow in on their solution is that each of the pillars on their website, there is an extensive about section, which has some of the research holly you were talking about, but it also lists the key barriers that each pillar is focusing on.

Holly Rustick (31:42.431)
Yeah.

Clare (32:05.082)
and that the applications will ask about. And I'd say that I really encourage folks where if they're, again, they've got these really innovative big ideas, but are understanding how to narrow it in, I'd really would encourage reviewing the research, looking at the barriers list, but then also not limiting themselves. This is called Workplace Innovation Now because we want to hear the big bold transformative ideas.

Holly Rustick (32:26.305)
Yeah, I love that so much. love it. And also like to think like I gave like a tech example and you have AI and I think even thinking like one of my students inside one of my programs, what she's been doing for her grant writing business, which is amazing is she's doing a return ship. So she's really focusing on women, know, hiring women in her business.

who have been out of the workforce potentially because they had young kids or whatnot and getting them back in the workforce through those ways and having these returnship like as far as like setting training and all of that as a part of it too. So there's ways that it doesn't have to be tech. Like, and I think that that might scare some people sometimes to think it's always gotta be tech. It doesn't like innovation is not just technology. Yeah.

Clare (33:04.3)
Right, right. I'll talk to some of the other pillars, right? So there's the when narrative challenge. And what we're looking there is how do we address biases and harassment? How do we look at how we address double standards? You were talking about that with the research a little bit. How do we celebrate women's achievements? I think there's actually a lot of places where one might not even know our history or the advancement that women are shaping now. And there's a sense of like, what are other storytelling narratives around

what different versions of leadership can look like. Right now, so much of the conversation is either, particularly when it comes to women's leadership and women at work in the US, it's like girl bossing or tradwifing. And most American women and families are not on that spectrum, have such a broader, wider, deeper view of how they're looking at how they want to live their lives and what success looks like. And even I would say millennial dads and millennial parents.

Gen Z, they're all reshaping different expectations of what success looks like. Success could look like on and off ramps, right? There's a sense of really shifting the narrative here so that the stories we're telling about future work not only reflect our reality, but reflect where we want to go. And so I think there's also just a lot of exciting innovation that could happen in narrative that don't necessarily have to do with tech, right? Could, but has a whole place about how we shaping our stories about the future of work and women's place in that.

Holly Rustick (34:07.916)
Yeah.

Holly Rustick (34:25.367)
Mm-hmm. Yep.

Clare (34:33.186)
And then for workplace culture and practices, this is looking at the stubborn persistent barriers that women face across their careers, across different sectors. It's from the beginning of your career all to that like first salary negotiation or that first paycheck to how far you make it to your last paycheck in your retirement plans. Like this is a sense of really with work.

Holly Rustick (34:57.035)
Mm-hmm.

Clare (34:58.862)
place, culture and practices. These are those structural pieces of change as well. truly, I think if there's any kind of speaking to the factor of being in your shoes and having determined, these big open calls right for me? And there is an intimidation factor. I just want to name it. If anyone out there is feeling that intimidation factor, please know that we want you to come and even just think about registering and explore a little bit more around the website and with these three pillars and, being

open to the fact that you really could have a really transformative idea. And please don't hold yourself back because the world, our country could really need your ideas.

Holly Rustick (35:37.144)
I love that so much. I love that it is like what I've really taken away from this when I've been going through the website and going through all the things is there's a sense of disruption, right? In a good way. And it's like, it is trying to, that's what innovation does, right? And it's so important to like say, how can we reimagine too? And I love that, you know, just taking them instead of, it's always like this. It doesn't have to be, but giving yourself to pause, to think.

to even create an application makes you go through that re-imagination. And I think that's what's so, like you said, like curiosity, you guys are curious to see what comes in, like you don't know, like you know what I mean? Like these are ideas, like amazing.

Clare (36:14.976)
That's great. you know, I know if you're talking to board members, you're talking to your CEO, if you're talking to just fellow colleagues and you're thinking through, this worth it? Know that the very process of writing the grant could open up other opportunities, but we also will have a database of where we'll be sharing the different ideas submitted. part of our goal and a part of our initiative into 2026 and 2027 is we're going to have incredible 24 awardees, but we also know that we're going to take and share

Holly Rustick (36:35.244)
amazing!

Clare (36:45.16)
the fact that there's many organizations doing lots of good work and spreading the good word with the business and philanthropic community. So the sense of where I want folks to understand that the application doesn't just end with applying, there are different avenues of where we want to be able to uplift. The incredible organizations that maybe don't even just make it to the award. E-level. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. There are like ripple effects that we're trying to create for every applicant.

Holly Rustick (37:07.627)
I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

Holly Rustick (37:14.293)
Right. And I did see, think somewhere on the website, it was talking about like, yes, you have this money, but you're actually looking at almost like a call to action for other places to step up to and to fund more. So this is like you said, that ripple effect, which I think is amazing. Right. I see a lot of organizations doing that right now of like, Hey, we're doing this. Are you going to join? Like, come on, putting a little pressure on in a good way. You know? Yeah.

Clare (37:35.576)
Right. That's right. And to say, look, that these are also highly vetted, highly, these are ideas that aren't just plucked from the air that they've put a lot of intention behind these applications, right? That there has been quite a bit of work. And I'll say that even there's an opportunity here where if you're questioning the teams can apply, I guess is what I'm trying to get to Holly, where if you want to team up with another nonprofit,

The nonprofits do have to be the lead organization, but there can be teams of with private entities, individuals, government entities of where we know that there could be aspects of where there could be private partnerships. So the sense of also you don't need to go at it alone. There could be an opportunity of where you're teaming up with others in your field to be able to apply as well.

Holly Rustick (38:25.717)
I love that, I love that. That opens up so much opportunity then. Okay, so I definitely wanna go ahead and just once again, what is the deadline for registration? What is the deadline to apply? Where can people apply? All of the good things.

Clare (38:38.648)
So everyone, please, if you're just, again, if you're just even thinking about applying, please register at winchallenge.org by December 11th, 5 p.m. Eastern. If you're considering multiple pillars, go ahead and register for one, two, three of each of the pillars. And then the applications for each pillar are due at the last week of January.


Clare (39:23.222)
So we are encouraging everyone to register to apply by December 11th at 5pm. Even if you're thinking about one, two, or all the pillars, you can register in each.

application is going to be due at the last week of January and each pillar does have their own distinct deadline of January 26th, 27th, and 28th. So we just, we do encourage folks to come on, register by December 11th. You'll have access to another webinar. And then also I'd say if folks have questions, please, please email questions at winchallenge.org. We are here to help you with technical assistance. is

Holly Rustick (40:19.895)
Thanks.

Clare (40:20.046)
quite a bit of dense information on the website. So if you have any questions, come, we're here. We're tracking all of your inquiries daily. So I just want folks to understand that there's a way to be able to access some TA, some technical assistance. So don't hesitate to reach out with questions.

Holly Rustick (40:36.267)
That's so, good. And once again, that is winchallenge.org. that correct? Okay. Okay. Winchallenge.org. I'm like, where is it in my notes? But I think I remember it. Okay. So, so good. Well, thank you so much. Yeah, I went in it. Okay. So thank you so much, Claire, for coming on the Grant Reading of Funding podcast. Y'all like take a look at this. If you've been doing anything in this area at all, like take a look, register, and then look at the application. You have some time.

Clare (40:42.382)
That's great. WinChallenge.org.

Clare (40:47.815)
You did it!

Holly Rustick (41:04.439)
Not a lot. You have some time though to like get it in and yeah and like do the things that you guys are doing to change the world. We need this now. There's so much that is needed now in this area because as you mentioned, I am totally on board with that. Yes, it will increase. Good for all, right? Good for all. So this is the way that you guys can help do that. So thank you again for Claire for coming on the grant writing podcast, our funding podcast and we will see you soon. Thank you so much.

Clare (41:29.944)
Thank you. Thanks everyone for their work.

Holly Rustick (41:34.454)
Alright.