As stewards of our donors’ generosity The Good People Fund always tries to get the most “bang for the buck” as we invest their tzedakah in our programs.

Jacob Sztokman is the founder of Gabriel Project Mumbai which works to foster health, nutrition, literacy and empowerment among  families living in Mumbai’s slums. In today’s email Jacob shared some good news about our latest grant which provides a special combination of food and nutrients for the more than 300 babies recently diagnosed with severe and acute malnutrition. The Hyderabad mix was developed by India’s National Institute of Nutrition and is used widely in that country to counter the effects of poor nutrition.

What makes our grant that much more meaningful is that the women pictured here learning how to prepare the mix are the same group of local women who we helped in 2013 to establish a small kitchen where they run a micro-business preparing food for students at a nearby school.

Who wouldn’t feel good knowing that seriously malnourished babies have a chance to grow and flourish and that women who previously had no hope of lifting their families from desperate poverty are now earning enough money to change their lives.

How many of us struggle to lose that extra five or ten pounds? It’s the eternal quest. For Dana Marlowe, founder of For the Girls, it was her own weight loss last summer that opened her eyes to the plight of homeless women for whom a supply of bras as well as personal hygiene products are a luxury they can ill afford. With a drawer filled with bras that no longer fit, it was the saleswoman where she was shopping who shared this little known fact. With her typical “let’s fix it” approach, Dana put out a call to friends and family via social media asking for people to send her those items they no longer used in addition to personal hygiene products. The rest, as they say, is history. As that first appeal went viral  Dana was quickly  inundated with boxes and boxes of goods. Clearly she had struck a chord with women across the country and even in foreign countries.

When we met Dana several weeks ago we knew immediately why this dynamo had such success. Her passion, her intelligence and her can-do attitude made it possible for her to build the foundation for a national organization that is harnessing the energy of so many others who believe this is a need that should be resolved. With The Good People Fund’s matching grant, as well as ongoing mentoring, in one year For the Girls has not only collected more than 20,000 bras and 50,000 personal hygiene products but has also established local branches in 9 cities across this country, in addition to Canada, Australia and Pakistan. For the Girls’ official launch is taking place today July 21, and from what we have seen Dana’s actions have clearly inspired so many people. Imagine how many homeless women will now gain dignity and comfort because of Dana’s actions.

We’re excited to announce that Charity Navigator, the country’s foremost independent watchdog that evaluates nonprofits has recently awarded us their highest rating,  Four Stars. Since our inception eight years ago our board has made a conscious decision to operate with full transparency, fiscal prudence including responsible overhead and ethical practices. It is nice to be recognized in this way and we are grateful to all of you, our donors, who help make our work possible.

In our house these days, big bowls of juicy red cherries are quickly disappearing as the season’s bountiful crop has made its way to supermarkets. For the cute little girl pictured here, there’s no need to go to the market. She and her family were fortunate to be part of our grantee, Salem (Oregon) Harvest‘s orchard picking yesterday. The orchard included a beautiful pond filled with fish and bullfrogs and offered a bucolic setting for 30 volunteer families to pick the harvest donated by the orchard owner. In return for their hard work  families were permitted to keep a portion of their pick while the remaining bounty was passed along to local social service agencies so that people who struggle to put even the most basic food on their tables can partake of this luscious summer fruit.

The Good People Fund’s support of Salem Harvest has allowed this formerly all-volunteer effort to hire its first Executive Director, Elise Bauman, whose hard work has increased the group’s output exponentially.