A local women's advocacy group is accepting applications for mini grants for groups or individuals who support Gainesville's women.
The Gainesville Commission on the Status of Women will offer the grants bi-annually, and $500 will be distributed between up to three advocacy groups, individuals or businesses for their nonprofit programs.
According to GCOSW member and UF student Megan Silbert, the organization is committed to offering the grants for the next two years and hopes it will be possible in the future.
The online application asks for information about the applicant's mission, the project's financial status and its impact on women and girls in Gainesville.
About 20 contributors, including a sub-committee of three judges, helped to create the evaluation criteria that will be used to judge the entries, Silbert said.
The GCOSW was founded more than 25 years ago with the goal of promoting equality for women, according to participant Jan Zak, who helped distribute information about the mini grant via the organization's e-group.
Zak stressed the effect of GCOSW's largest annual conference, which she said "brings to the forefront violence [against women]."
She discussed other awareness events, including an amateur art exhibit hosted in the Reitz Union featuring artists who have survived violence or trauma.
