For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, March 19, 11:15 am
For More Information:
DEAF, Inc.
Valeria Vaughn
617-505-4823
Watertown, MA, March 19, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced DEAF, Inc. as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States, and we are overjoyed to share that we have been selected to receive a $2 million gift. Our project was selected from among 6,353 applications from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico after a process of multiple levels of review, feedback, and diligence involving peer applicants and an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause.
DEAF, Inc. is a Deaf-led, community-based nonprofit that inspires Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened people to achieve personal and professional goals through accessible programs and services. The agency was founded in 1977 on the principle of self-determination and the rights of Deaf people to identify their own goals and follow through on achieving them, taking increasingly independent charge of their lives.
This generous award will allow us to focus on unmet needs in our Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened communities, including:
According to DEAF, Inc. Executive Director Darian Gambrell, this funding will allow the agency to reduce misconceptions and focus on unmet needs in our Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened community. “DEAF, Inc. can now increase our capacity to provide services and engage in the community to fill in the gaps where access and services are lacking and to provide awareness of our Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing and Late-Deafened communities which are historically excluded and unintentionally overlooked due to access barriers.”
Learn more about our organization at www.deafincma.org.
Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others.
To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations.
"We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations," said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. "In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.
The DEAF, Inc. Board of Directors, Staff, and our community are truly grateful to Lever of Change, Yield Giving, and Mackenzie Scott for this amazing opportunity and for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Darian Gambrell
Executive Director