Feminist News and Information

A LETTER FROM THE WFN // April 7, 2023

Together, Let's Keep Reaching for the Light

Dear Colleagues,

This time of year in the Northern Hemisphere is one where we pause and reflect. The Spring Equinox, a rebalancing of lightness and darkness. And across the world, this time has significance with celebrations of Easter (Christianity), Passover (Judaism), Holi (Hinduism), and Wesak (Buddhism), among others. The reality is that we are deeply affected by the balance of darkness and light from the sky, regardless of where we live or what we believe.

April 7th is also the International Day for Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda. This day is a reminder of the atrocities that occurred in 1994 and the importance of honoring the victims and survivors. As we reflect on the genocide in Rwanda, we also honor the role women have had in the recovery and rebuilding process. By enabling more women to take on leadership roles, and acting as equal decision makers within their communities, women-led groups have championed change [[link removed]].

From their courage, a message: we look ahead not just to transition - but transformation.

How does healing ourselves break us free from systematic oppression - and help us rise with our communities? How can we start this season with the intention to push ourselves to grow, to awaken new strengths and clear new paths? After being ground down by a cold and dark winter, how can we rekindle our hope–and keep reaching for the light?

Thank you for all you do in support of our movement today and everyday.

In solidarity,

Elizabeth Barajas-Román

Women’s Funding Network

President & CEO

Best Wishes for Megan

It’s a bittersweet day as we say goodbye to WFN COO Megan Murphy Wolf and wish her well in her next adventure. I hope you’ll join me in thanking Megan for all of her hard work and creativity over the past three years. For example, early in the pandemic, Megan suggested a weekly Zoom for our members’ executive leaders to last for a couple weeks until the global emergency was over. Those Friday meetups lasted all year, and blossomed into monthly calls for six new peer communities.

We look forward to staying in community with Megan as we all continue our work for the advancement of women, girls, and nonbinary people. You can stay in touch and follow her next moves through LinkedIn.

WFN is in an exciting period of transformation. If you’re interested in joining the team, we’re currently hiring a fully-remote Senior Manager of Strategic Philanthropy.

WFN Members WFN Membership Renewals & New Members

Our network is only as strong as the people and organizations who are a part of it. Join us in appreciating our members who have renewed for 2023. If you have questions about membership or would like additional information, please contact us [mailto:[email protected]].

Delta Research and Educational Foundation

National Organisation for Women in Sport Physical Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR)

Sojourner Foundation

Victorian Women's Trust

Wallace Foundation

Women’s Foundation of Greater Saint Louis

Women International Leaders of Greater Philadelphia

Women Moving Millions

Women Win

New WFN Members

Please join us in welcoming new WFN members Anu Kumar [[link removed]], Paula Vasquez Alzate [[link removed]], SVP Cleveland [[link removed]], and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana [[link removed]].

Learn more about WFN Members [[link removed]]

The Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County is seeking a proven leader, with over 5 years of experience in all aspects of donor relations, philanthropic services, and communications, to join the Foundation in a newly created position. The Director of Philanthropy will identify and cultivate new fund holders and strengthen relationships with existing donors. In order to raise the visibility of the Foundation and community needs with key audiences, the Director of Philanthropy will communicate the Foundation’s impact across the region while building on the new strategic plan for the Foundation in 2023. To learn more click here [[link removed]].

The Ascend Fund is hosting their first virtual event of the year, “Mississippi Matters: A preview of the 2023 election and what it means for women’s representation." [[link removed]] Mississippi [[link removed]] is one of three Ascend pilot states and one of only four states holding legislative elections in 2023. Join them and their Mississippi partners, ACLU, Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable, NEW Leadership Mississippi, and the Women’s Foundation of Mississippi, for a discussion about their work to build a more inclusive democracy, including efforts to achieve gender parity and racial equity in the state legislature.

April 19, 2023 | 3:00pm EST | Register here [[link removed]]

Opportunities and Resources

Are you passionate about feminisms and Mesoamerican women human rights defenders? Do you have experience in the management of restricted funds for civil society organizations? Are you bilingual in Spanish and English? The Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative (IM-Defensoras) is hiring for a new Project Management Officer [[link removed]]. To learn more about the position, click here [[link removed]].

More than four decades into the HIV response, universal access to rights-based HIV prevention and treatment – the foundation to reaching the end of AIDS – remains a challenge. In the first months of 2023 alone, the state of Tennessee signaled it would no longer accept HIV funding from the CDC; 150+ state-level bills restricting the rights of transgender people were introduced in the U.S.; and now the Ugandan Parliament has passed a bill that will severely criminalize the LGBTQ and HIV community. With this as a backdrop, the 118th Congress convened with PEPFAR reauthorization and budget appropriations at stake this year.

What can philanthropy do to leverage its voice and funding to address critical, emerging threats to the global response to HIV and AIDS?

Join Funders Concerned About AIDS for its first in-person convening since 2019 and lend your voice to this critical discussion.

April 19, 2023 | 10:00pm-4:00pm | Register here [[link removed]]

Gender Funders CoLab released a report on a feminist approach to streamlining grant applications and reporting: A Feminist Approach to Common Applications & Reports: Lessons from the Gender Funders CoLab [[link removed]]. Learn more and download the report here [[link removed]].

What We're Reading

Rosie Perez Tells Feminists Their Fight for Equality Must Include Women of Color: ‘Consider That We Can Do Better’ - Variety [[link removed]]

Statement on Afghanistan by Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. - U [[link removed]] N Women [[link removed]]

Goldman Sachs invests $2 billion in Black women-owned businesses — the first chapter of a bigger plan. - C [[link removed]] NBC [[link removed]]

LSU’s Angel Reese and Other Black Women Are Held to Unfair Standards in Public. - Teen Vogue [[link removed]]

What We're Watching

It's been 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in Congress, but it still hasn’t been added to the Constitution — here's how Reps Cori Bush & Ayanna Pressley hope to change that.

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