Michelle Obama’s foundation awards $500,000 to Chicago nonprofits serving girls
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The Girls Opportunity Alliance funding will support 10 organizations serving more than 2,200 girls ages 10 to 19 across Chicago’s South and West sides.
Michelle Obama is putting $500,000 behind organizations working to create more opportunities for girls in her hometown.
The former first lady’s Girls Opportunity Alliance, an initiative of the Obama Foundation, announced Thursday that 10 Chicago-area nonprofits will receive funding to support girls ages 10 to 19. The grants are expected to reach more than 2,200 girls, with programs spanning mental health care, arts training, athletics, refugee support and mentorship.
The investment comes as nearly 100 leaders from organizations serving girls gathered in Chicago for the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s 2026 Chicago Network Convening.
In an interview with ABC7 Chicago, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett explained the philosophy behind the initiative.
“We want to help them see their infinite possibilities,” Jarrett said.
For Michelle Obama, the work is also rooted in her own experience growing up on Chicago’s South Side. Jarrett said the initiative reflects Obama’s belief that the girls being served have the same potential she once had.
“And why is that? Because she says those girls are just like she was,” Jarrett said.
Among the recipients is Box United, which uses boxing and mentorship to help girls develop confidence and strength. Its grant will help expand the organization’s “Fight Like a Girl” program into five additional South Side schools.
Founder Mary Kate Vanecko called the support surreal, adding, “The funding is incredible but whole infrastructure around it is really amazing.”
Bronzeville-based Praize Productions Inc., a performing arts organization serving Black girls, is also among the recipients. Founder Enneréssa LaNette said organizations like hers often struggle to get adequate resources.
“We get overlooked and under-resourced,” LaNette said, “and Girls Opportunity Alliance makes sure that we are at the forefront and not an afterthought in our communities.”
Other recipients include Sista Afya Community Care, which will launch a group therapy program for Black girls, as well as A Long Walk Home, GirlForward, HEART Women & Girls and Youth Guidance’s Working on Womanhood.
Jarrett, a South Side native herself, emphasized why investing in those organizations matters.
“I know these girls. I’ve seen the challenges,” she said. “Talent is ubiquitous, it’s opportunity is not. And we provide them with an opportunity.”
The latest grants add to the Girls Opportunity Alliance’s broader work supporting adolescent girls around the world, with the Obama Foundation saying the initiative has backed more than 265 grassroots projects across 50 countries.