Feminist News and Information
WEEKLY NEWS // MARCH 29, 2024
// A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO
This Women’s History Month, We Need More Funding – and More Optimism
Dear Colleagues,
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s wrong and damaging decision in June to end affirmative action at universities, our field has been bracing for the financial impact to organizations that support and empower minorities, especially women, girls, and nonbinary and transgender people of color, who live at the intersection of gender and racial discrimination. This is incredibly frustrating and discouraging, especially as we close out Women’s History Month, when we want to feel celebratory about how far we’ve come and hopeful about the future.
In actuality, the Supreme Court ruling on race in college admissions doesn’t restrict grantmaking related to race or gender — grantmaking in this way remains perfectly legal. And the elimination of prejudice and discrimination remains a valid charitable purpose under section 501(c)(3). Yet the backlash against DEI efforts and fears about legality have had a chilling effect on race- and gender-conscious giving. This is what experts call “repressive legalism,” in which the public’s interpretation of legal decisions can be more restrictive than necessary because it can lead to fear of the threat of litigation. That’s exactly what we’re seeing happen in philanthropy, and it’s no accident. Instead, fear-mongering and exclusion is the goal of those who benefit from the existing unfair power structures and want to stand in the way of gender and racial justice.
Despite all of this, I am hopeful for the progress of women, girls and nonbinary people of color.
Why? Because of you. Your organizations are doing vital work for all genders - from infancy to elderhood - covering a range of needs: prenatal care, education, reproductive justice, access to youth sports, safe and affordable housing, gender-based violence, healthcare, breast cancer research, and so many other critical areas.
Around the globe, your incredible yet underfunded organizations are doing critical work, stretching every dollar to best support women, girls and nonbinary people of color. I’m optimistic because I believe where and how foundations invest reflects our values and our vision for the future. There’s still time to create the world we want to leave for future generations.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
WFN is pleased to partner with the public policy experts at ChildFocus (don’t let their name fool you; they specialize in issues impacting children, families, women, and gender-expansive people) to support our members working at the intersection of philanthropy and advocacy.
As part of this collaboration, we will offer our members a monthly advocacy and policy newsletter and a rapid response helpdesk. If you’d like to receive the newsletter, which launches this month, sign up here.
News from WFN
NEW MEMBER & 2024 WFN MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
Our network thrives on the strength and diversity of our members.
Please join us in welcoming new WFN member Chanida Phaengdara Potter, and in appreciating WFN members who have renewed for 2024:
WFN’s 2023 members have been emailed 2024 membership renewal information and the 2024 membership renewal grace period ends on March 31. If you have questions about membership or would like to learn more about WFN membership, please contact us.
News from WFN Members
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Women’s Fund of Rhode Island’s (WFRI) report, the 2024 Census of Directors and Chief Executives of Rhode Island’s Largest Nonprofit Organizations (Census), is an update to the 2019 report of the same name. Assisted by a class from Bryant University, WFRI collated data on 135 of the state’s largest nonprofits, based on revenue. The Census demonstrates how Rhode Island is doing in regards to gender and racial diversity among these nonprofits’ leadership circles.
MEMBER EVENTS
Women’s Foundation of Mississippi, in partnership with the Junior League of Jackson, is proud to offer this leadership program for Mississippi women interested in advancing their skills for nonprofit board service. She’s on Board 2.0 offers interactive training for leveling up nonprofit board service knowledge and leadership skills.
April 5, 2024 | 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join Global Foundation for Girls for an event that promotes family justice, hope, resistance, and healing. This free virtual event will feature special guests and panel presentations that focus on digital violence, the impact of artificial intelligence on families, and how families are overcoming food apartheid.
April 11, 2024 | 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
The Fund for Women & Girls' annual celebration, Illuminate, is an evening of inspiration, empowerment, and support. The event will celebrate the Fund's wins and empower more women and girls to achieve happy, healthy futures. All proceeds support the Fund’s programs, with a focus on medically underserved women and girls in Fairfield County.
April 11, 2024 | 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join Women's Fund of Hawai`i as they host their annual Tea & Champagne fundraising and networking event. In addition to featuring special tea, champagne, and delicious heavy pupu, the Fund will highlight the work of their grantees.
April 19, 2024 | 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. HST | Register here
Join Collaborate Cleveland's first annual Women's Breakfast, featuring keynote speaker, Wendy Chun-Hoon, Director of the Women’s Bureau at the US Department of Labor. The breakfast will focus on equitable workplaces for women and ways to advance gender justice in the region’s policies and practices.
May 1, 2024 | 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. EDT| Register here
Women's Fund of Rhode Island is hosting a workshop that empowers women and underrepresented groups to speak openly about their accomplishments in the workplace and beyond. In this interactive session, they will share data and research regarding self-promotion and unconscious bias, help attendees articulate achievements and practice self-promotion, and share take-home exercises.
April 27, 2024 | 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Once women determine to run for office, the next step is creating a campaign “cabinet” of staff and volunteers. This workshop by Women's Fund of Rhode Island's will share the nuts and bolts and local resources on how to best support a candidate. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
May 3, 2024 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join Women's Fund of Rhode Island to connect with female professionals from Rhode Island's business community and get advice on starting a new career or changing career direction. This event features a keynote presentation by Katie MacDonald of beNourished, career connecting coaches, speed networking rounds, guided conversation, and more.
May 15, 2024 | 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Global Foundation for Girls' (GFG) Birth Justice Institute is a 12-month virtual series that will cover topics around cultural awareness, trauma-informed care, supporting survivors, healing justice for birth workers, and doula business management. The series is designed to meet the needs that GFG has assessed in the birth community. Attendees can select dates to attend or enroll in all of them.
Multiple Dates | 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Opportunities and Resources
The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Colmena Consulting, in partnership with Philanthropy Together will release In Abundance: An Analysis of the Thriving Landscape of Collective Giving in the U.S., a new research report that examines groups like giving circles, SVP chapters, nonprofit-led circles, and giving projects. Join us as we discuss the key findings of the report and take questions from the audience.
April 2, 2024 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join Philanthropy New York for a virtual session where participants will learn about emerging tools and resources to help them reflect on how they listen, how their foundation can meaningfully respond to community in their work, and how they can shift and share power with people with lived expertise in their foundation strategy and grantmaking.
April 4, 2024 | 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join Building Movement Project for their upcoming webinar highlighting research from their recent report, The Push and Pull. This webinar will examine the data about the variety of factors that “push” BIPOC leaders to take on executive positions, and then too often “push” them to burn out of those roles.
April 4, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Care Conference 2024 is co-hosted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) and the American University (AU) College of Arts and Sciences. This event will feature a full day of plenary sessions and breakout discussions with leading policy researchers and experts on caregiving, and its impact on the U.S. economy and workforce, especially among communities of color. It will also be streamed live for virtual event registrants.
April 5, 2024 | 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT | Register here
Join experts from the Women’s Funding Network community, who will be featured on Women Together CIRCLES, an interactive livestream experience moderated by WFN Board member Antionette Klatzy and made possible by the Eileen Fisher Foundation. Women Together CIRCLES are designed for women who want to explore current challenges, situations, and possibilities in their lives with the support and wisdom of other women.
Speakers for this 3-part series include Roslyn “Ros” Dawson Thompson, President & CEO, DAWSON Communications + Strategy + Governance; Ashlei Spivey, Founder/Director, I Be Black Girl; Lori Robinson, Founder and Executive Director, VidaAfroLatina; and Elizabeth Barajas-Román, President and CEO of Women’s Funding Network. This virtual event will occur over the following three Thursdays.
April 25, 2024 | 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
May 2, 2024 | 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
May 9, 2024 | 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
You can register here.
Visión y Compromiso was contracted by the Alliance for Health Integration and the Departments of Health Services (DHS), Public Health (DPH), and Mental Health (DMH) in Los Angeles (LA) County to learn more about best practices and identify opportunities to strengthen and improve relationships between community-based organizations (CBOs) and LA County. Building the Future Community-Based Workforce in Los Angeles County begins to craft a vision for the future of community health workers in LA County. Read the assessment here.
What We're Reading
The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies — The Fuller Project
Anti-Gender Backlash: Where is Philanthropy? — Countering Backlash
A Note on Accessibility: As we incorporate new communications assets, we strive to ensure that the platforms and tools that enable us to share content are accessible to the widest possible audience. We are committed to learning and growing in this area and appreciate any helpful guidance you have to share. Please reach out if you have any tips or requests to make your experience more accessible.
