WEEKLY NEWS  //  NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

According to the U.N. Security Council, the number of people who need humanitarian aid increased by 25% over the past year, with 614 million women and girls living in conflict-affected countries. 

The terrible fact is that history shows us that women, children, and LGBT+ people face a particularly high threat of violence during armed conflicts, where violence against women, including sexual violence, increases exponentially. Women in armed conflict zones are also less able to flee, as they are more likely to care for children or the elderly and usually have fewer financial resources. 

It’s critical to get emergency humanitarian aid as well as long-term rebuilding efforts into communities by funding groups that center women and girls in each region’s recovery. We know it is this gender-intentional approach that leads to lasting change. 

We ask you not to look away and not to give into hopelessness. In speaking with our colleagues working in, and with, women in war zones, we’ve heard that even relatively small individual donations make a difference because they show that they haven’t been forgotten–and that’s as sustaining as the money itself. 

That’s why, this Giving Season, we’re asking you to give to organizations supporting women, girls, and gender non-binary people in war zones. Feminist-led groups are critical partners and act as bridges in times of crisis because they work with and within the communities that they serve, and, as a result, deploy money faster to local solutions that truly impact everyone. To join the global movement to support their collective efforts, learn more at ProsperaINWF and at Women’s Funding Network.

In solidarity,

Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network 
President & CEO

In response to the spike in violent conflicts around the globe, WFN has put together a media kit with social media posts, graphics, and information that you can share through the giving season as part of our #WomensFundsForPeace initiative — designed to raise awareness of, and direct resources to, key feminist organizations working in conflict zones. Thank you for helping us share this important message. 

Thank you. Because of meaningful gifts from feminists like you, Women’s Funding Network has been able to provide powerful support to gender justice movements around the world for almost 40 years.

Our collective long-term work requires sustaining support. That’s why, this year, we invite you to consider starting a recurring monthly gift to WFN as part of your 2024 generosity plan. While supplies last, we’re also giving away Feminist Funded swag as a token of our appreciation to new recurring donors. Hurry, these gifts are limited and exclusive – see below for details.

Your donation will help foster a powerful change agenda that links global and local strategies in the movement for equality, justice, and power for all.

Your support helps WFN create a unique and deliberate space for learning, reflection, and the dissemination of philanthropic practices for the public good. By choosing to give boldly you inspire investments in more and better data, evaluation and research, policy advocacy and thought leadership, and opportunities for collective experimentation.

News from WFN

NEW WFN MEMBER

Our network is only as strong as the people and organizations who are a part of it. Please join us in welcoming new WFN member Theresa Gonzales.

If you have questions about WFN membership or would like additional information, please contact us.

News from WFN Members

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Global Fund for Women announced that PeiYao Chen will be their next President & CEO. PeiYao Chen currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Global Operations at Global Fund for Women, and will take over leadership as President & CEO from Latanya Mapp Frett beginning January 1, 2024. We’re grateful to both PeiYao and Latanya for their leadership. Read more about this announcement here.

Gina Jackson, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Return to the Heart Foundation wrote Inequality Didn’t Just Happen… It Was By Design. It’s Time to Return to Our Values and Return to the Heart., a guest blog post with partner National Partnership for Women & Families. This piece highlights how the founding values of the US Constitution were modeled on the Haudenosaunee constitution with one important piece missing: the rights and status of women. Read it here.

Return to the Heart Foundation and The National Partnership for Women & Families released Native American Women and the Wage Gap, a fact sheet that dives into the details behind why Native women are paid 55 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men nationally, what the wage gap looks like for a few specific tribes, what the wage gap costs Native women, and what can be done to close these gaps, both nationally and by tribal nations.

Orchid Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation (TXWF) distributed a record $376,688 in grants to 24 nonprofit organizations that serve the North Texas Asian community. The organizations include education, social services, healthcare, literacy, workforce readiness, domestic violence prevention, and more. Orchid Giving Circle at TXWF Chair Mylinh Luong said, “These nonprofit organizations are helping Asian and Asian Americans who need the most assistance. We are thankful to our members, donors, corporate sponsors and in-kind supporters for helping us make a significant impact.” Over the past nine years, the giving circle has granted $1,721,688 to 44 nonprofits and helped impact thousands of lives with these gifts. To learn more, visit here.

The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation gave $165,000 in grants to 12 nonprofit organizations whose missions support the African American community in North Texas. Sheri Crosby Wheeler, executive co-chair and membership management and engagement chair of The Village Giving Circle at TXWF, said, “From health and mental health services to education and homelessness, the needs are many. I’m proud that The Village Giving Circle continues to impact incredible organizations that are positively helping those who need it. I want to thank our members and donors who have contributed to make it happen.” Since 2017, the group has distributed $1,158,000 in grants to 55 nonprofits. For more information, visit here. 

Opportunities and Resources

Global Philanthropy Project (GPP) is excited to launch the development of a third edition of the Trans and Intersex Funding and Movement Surveys. These surveys document the current focus of trans and intersex groups’ organizing and access to funding. All trans-led and intersex-led groups worldwide, as well as programs focused on trans and/or intersex issues, are invited to take these surveys, whether funded or unfunded, formal or informal.

The deadline to complete this survey is December 8. To learn more, click here.

Native Americans in Philanthropy (NAP) will be holding their 2024 Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN on April 22 - 25, 2024. The Annual Conference will bring together a community of leaders, practitioners, and learners at the intersection of philanthropy, Native advocacy, and Tribal sovereignty to collaborate on ways they can be involved in the movement to Indigenize philanthropy. 

Registration will open early January 2024! To learn more, click here.

What We're Reading

What We're Watching

​​​​​​Citizens of Nowhere is a 10-minute documentary highlighting stories of being stateless people in America, including gender discrimination in nationality laws as a significant cause of childhood statelessness. This film is produced by United Stateless in partnership with international film company What Took You So Long? and directed by Alicia Sully.

Have a story to share?

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