Hi, it’s Aoife ~

Kindly inviting you to join Step Forward Global Initiative (SFGI)’s Founding Circle, early champions who give SFGI its first momentum and credibility. SFGI is a non-profit, non-governmental, civic tech start-up.

Please allow me to share our origin story . . .

Growing up, on my brother's bedroom wall were posters of prominent global leaders; one was Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of the United Kingdom. I was awestruck by her image, a bit taken aback and intimidated, even. Though, my young mind had difficulty reconciling Margaret Thatcher’s indisputable power with the lack of visibility of women elsewhere - at all levels of government in the U.K. and globally. The impact of her image, a woman in power, stays with me to this day.

Why are women 51% of the global population yet only 13% of global leaders? SFGI asserts that women stepping forward for political office must be more visible. We are a multi-partisan, non-endorsing, global platform advancing women candidates' visibility - and thus, their viability - by catalyzing an ecosystem: connecting women candidates to one another, to organizations that support them, and to the global public. Our platform reflects the growing global momentum of women stepping forward for political office, and we maintain that scaling this network is the difference between symbolic inclusion and an upswell of elected women leaders.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Step Forward Global Initiative (SFGI)! I hope you will join our invitation-only Founding Circle. When you do, your name is added to SFGI's website Gratitude page in recognition of your investment.

With kind regards,

Aoife Meehan, Founding Executive Director https://www.makethestep.org/

Step Forward Global Initiative operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Social Good Fund (EIN 46‑1323531), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Donations are processed by Social Good Fund and are tax‑deductible as permitted by law.

Below, please see questions and answers about SFGI.

❓Before I contribute, can you share what the Founding Circle funds will specifically support?

Yes! Thank you for asking. SFGI’s projected Year 1 budget is 350-400k, 100-130k of which will go toward the technology that will support our global data hub: tracking an estimated 750,000+ women candidates, as well as drawing country data for analysis and visualizations. We have set our Founding Circle goal at 20k to gauge how much our mission resonates with a private sample of invitation recipients. Our hope is that it resonates deeply and that we blow 20k out of the water!

Founding Circle gifts will go to building SFGI's global data hub, first and foremost. Other than technology, research, and website buildout, costs include: state and local taxes, a contingency fund, insurance, legal, admin, and other line items.

🙋Again, what does Step Forward Global Initiative (SFGI) do?

SFGI increases and advances the visibility - and thus, viability - of women stepping forward to run for political office, increasing your access to information about these candidates. We share election updates, profiles of women stepping forward, country analyses, and we bring to light the obstacles that discourage women from running for political office.

❓Tell me more about SFGI's platform . . .

Our platform tracks all global elections where women are stepping forward - at every level in every country - in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. It is a platform that recognizes women candidates are part of a growing global momentum and shifts the global public’s perception: women candidates become more visible and more viable.

🙋How does this affect me, my family, society?

Women are 51% of the global population and only 13% of global leaders. Let that sink in. Leadership around the world does not reflect the population it governs. Decisions are made for girls, young women, and adult women without women: about healthcare, education, the economy, safety, climate, technology, foreign policy, and the list goes on. This disparity impacts the effectiveness of policies and systems - for everybody - locally to globally. SFGI provides you with a global, multi-partisan, non-endorsing platform that makes women candidates more visible, giving a clearer understanding of one's own political environment, as well as a connection to global ones.

💥Bottom Line

When we see women running - everywhere - it shifts our baseline:

We teach young women and girls to see leadership as theirs to claim.
We notice women in leadership more often.
We come to expect women to be present and recognize when they are missing.
We see leadership as a shared human domain.

SFGI Founding Circle Early Champions