Oprah’s Angel Network

Supervising grants manager Annie Streer discusses both the symbolic importance and real impact of the Angel Network.

Annie Streer focuses on giving out grants that make a difference.

©2009 Oprah's Angel Network

Oprah’s Angel Network has inspired many people over the years to go deep inside themselves, to acknowledge their own good fortune and realize their potential for kindness by helping others who are having a rough time. This spirit is evident from the mail and requests for funding we receive, and the stories we hear from our grantees, as well as the terrific stories we read on our website’s Community pages. To many people, Oprah is synonymous with helping others. It seems as if more people are anxious to help others than to ask for help themselves. It is a wonderful testimony to the Angel Network.

In keeping with this spirit, the grant-making team typically funds organizations that are grassroots in nature, and deliver life-changing programming and resources to their clientele. We look for organizations that are creative in the way they assist potential program participants, use their resources to reach and successfully help as many people as possible, and are led by passionate people.

We’re always interested in the success stories of their program participants, as well as the story behind the organization. Who founded it and why? How did they overcome the odds to do it? In some cases, we also fund larger, more established organizations that have a broad reach and well-established track record.

Memorable Grants

Our “Use Your Life” recipients will always be special to me. To have been made aware of their stories, their compassion-into-action tales, and their humility, was inspirational. Seeing them receive their awards on the show made it doubly special.

With the Oprah’s Book Club grants, thousands of children all over the world received books and literacy education. Equally effective was the grant to the American Library Association for a program they designed for us called Great Stories CLUBS. It has been very successful in terms of meeting the goals of the program, which include opening the hearts and minds of young people in alternative high schools, juvenile detention centers and rehab centers.

Our grants have gone around the globe. The “Rescuing The World’s Girls” grants went to organizations that rescued and rehabilitated children and young girls from devastating circumstances such as child-soldiering in various international sites.

We partnered with three outstanding organizations (Free The Children, Mercy Corps, and Habitat for Humanity International) to give hope to a small community in Sri Lanka as part of a tsunami-relief project. During our long-term school-building projects with Free The Children, 58 schools in 12 countries were established, affecting hundreds of children all over the world. We also partnered with Help the Afghan Children to provide computer training to nearly 5,000 girls in high schools in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Our team is very proud to have provided educational opportunities to children who otherwise would not have them. Life-changing stuff.

The grants team reads through hundreds of grant applications every year.

©2009 Oprah's Angel Network

Gifts with Meaning

A grant from the Angel Network means many things to our grantees. Most importantly, it signifies a vote of confidence in an organization’s work. They are aware of the work the Angel Network has accomplished, and feel honored to be part of the Network. As for the program participants, the women and children involved feel as though Oprah cares about them, which is huge. It’s a way she touches thousands of women and children around the world. They are abundantly grateful. We get cute, handwritten thank-you notes from little kids, and letters are always signed, “I love you, Oprah.”

When I started this journey I learned very quickly that there is so much good work going on in the world. There are so many opportunities to help create a better life for so many who need a hand up—not a handout. For the most part, people are not looking for a handout; they want to be responsible for themselves. They sometimes need a lift, some direction, a solution. A kind word. Someone to believe in them. This is what the Angel Network provides. There are incredible successes, heartwarming stories of survival and change. They have been touched by a magnificent benefactor, and I, for one, am proud to be a conduit for that goodness.