Feminist News and Information
WEEKLY NEWS // JANUARY 24, 2025
// A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO
For Feminist Philanthropy, a Time for Audacious Action
Dear Colleagues,
As we face the new year and new leadership in the U.S., I am reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s admonition that we must walk forward together “with an audacious faith in the future.” WFN is committed to the hard work ahead by partnering with its members and powerful network of allies to identify and support effective and actionable strategies that ensure the human rights of all, including women and girls, immigrants, LGBTQIA+, and non-binary people.
WFN is proud to introduce the first in an ongoing series of specific action steps designed to advance the issues and strategies we care about most:
What You Can Do NOW for Gender Equity and Racial Justice:
- Stay Vigilant: WFN will help you stay informed through its monthly newsletters and policy updates, but if you haven’t already, subscribe to the 19th newsletter, a free daily briefing on gender, politics and policy. To understand what is coming, it is equally critical to understand the new U.S. Administration’s priorities and Executive Actions and the Presidential Transition Project 2025 first-hand.
- Strengthen Your Congressional Relationships: As the 119th Congress begins, if you live in the U.S., check in with the staff of your Congressional delegations and begin to build strong bipartisan relationships with new Members. WFN’s policy help desk is ready to help at [email protected].
- Learn and Act: Participate in upcoming webinars offered by WFN and its members on gender and racial justice issues, including the Global Fund for Women’s Virtual Town Hall on January 23rd, Protecting the 2025 Care Agenda on February 5th, and other upcoming events.
At WFN, we have the tools, individual and collective, to take on the global threats against gender equality and racial justice and, together, we will make a difference.
With conviction and resilience in 2025,
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
You're Invited
RSVP to be the first to hear about ticket sales for Feminist Funded '25, presented by the Women's Funding Network. The 2023 conference was a sold-out event. This is an opportunity you won't want to miss.
September 10-11,
2025 in Washington, D.C.
Optional Policy Action Day on September 9, 2025
News from WFN
WFN ANNOUNCEMENTS
Calling All Changemakers! Women's Funding Network is accepting proposals for Feminist Funded ’25, the largest global gathering of feminist philanthropy leaders, happening September 10-11 in Washington D.C. (with a pre-conference Policy Action Day on September 9). Submit your ideas on themes like economic justice, feminist advocacy, and reproductive justice by February 14. Let’s co-create transformative solutions for gender justice. Learn more and apply here.
Questions? Email us.
WFN EVENTS
Join Candid and Women's Funding Network for Using Demographic Data to Move From Intention to Action to hear how foundations are leveraging demographic data to address inequities across the sector. Panelists include Cathleen Clerkin, Ph.D, from Candid, Elizabeth Tabita from The California Endowment, and Sara Keilholtz from the Women’s Funding Network. This session will be moderated by Kelly Brown from Viewpoint Consulting.
January 30, 2025 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST | Register here
Please join Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund, Economic Opportunity Funders, Tax Equity Funders Network, and Women’s Funding Network for a funder briefing on the devastating impact of federal budget and tax cuts on women, children, older adults, and people with disabilities and how the care movement is organizing to resist them.
A stated priority of the new Administration and Congress is to enact massive tax cuts disproportionately benefiting wealthy individuals and corporations. Proposals to pay for these tax cuts include substantial budget cuts and structural changes to Medicaid, Head Start, food and housing assistance, and other vital programs. These budget cuts would also shift large costs onto states, further undermining family health and income security. The impacts will cut across generations, reverse gains for women, children, older adults, people with disabilities, and workers, and hinder future federal public investments in equitable child care, paid leave, and aging and disability care.
Learn how a cross-issue, cross-generational state and federal movement is raising the voices of the families whose lives and livelihoods are at stake, and how philanthropy can engage at this moment.
Speakers:
- Alison Friedman Phillips, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado
- Amy Matsui, National Women’s Law Center
- Anna Shireen Wadia, Care for All with Respect and Equity (CARE) Fund
- Jaimie Worker, Caring Across Generations
Please note this program is for funders only.
February 5, 2025 | 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST | Register here
News from WFN Members
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Inside Philanthropy released an article, Five Top Regional Women’s Foundations to Know, which highlights The New York Women’s Foundation, Women’s Foundation California, Chicago Foundation for Women, Women’s Foundation of the South, and Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. Learn more about five of the top regional women’s foundations in the U.S.
As devastating wildfires continue to sweep through parts of Los Angeles, ABFE has launched the Wildfire Relief Resource Form: Supporting Black Communities Together where members and partners can submit valuable tools, donation links, and updates to help expand and enhance our collective response.
The Chicago Foundation for Women is hiring a Major Gifts Officer and a Digital Communications Associate. Learn more about the roles here.
MEMBER EVENTS
Join The Women's Fund Miami-Dade for Invisible Victims: A Gender Lens on Gun Violence in Miami-Dade County. Hear about their critical, year-long journey to deepen their understanding of gun violence
February 6, 2025 | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. EST | Register here
Join Women's Foundation California and the Just Economy Institute for Our Money, Ourselves, a virtual gathering for women and gender-expansive people activating capital for transformation. This event hopes to create a space for women and gender-expansive people to explore the intersection of money and meaning and engage in an interactive learning experience about how we activate resources for transformation. WFN members will receive a $200 discount on top of the sliding scale.
February 12-13, 2025 | 9:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. PST | Register here
Join Iowa Women's Foundation for Galentine's Night at Wells Fargo Arena. Honor women in the community and support a great cause. With your ticket purchase, enjoy early access to the Women in Business Panel. Connect with empowering voices and celebrate the achievements of women.
February 13, 2025 | 4:30 - 8:30 p.m. CST | Register here
Join the Women's Foundation of Greater Saint Louis to toast Galentine's Day. Enjoy an evening filled with champagne and sweet treats. Shalia Ford, Director of Leadership Programs | Women in Leadership and Youth Leadership at Focus St. Louis and WFSTL board member, will be sharing insights on the importance of friendships in our lives.
February 13, 2025 | 4:30 - 6:00 p.m. CST | Register here
Join the Women's Foundation of Minnesota and BMO for a webinar in celebration of Black History Month. Panelists, Dr. Terresa Moses and Dionne Sims, will share their experiences and insights on economic justice and entrepreneurship, including transitioning ownership of Black Garnet Books. Explore how investing in local Black entrepreneurs drives community transformation and economic empowerment.
February 26, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CST | Register here
Opportunities and Resources
Join CREA and Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership with support from the CEDAW Committee for an informational webinar on CEDAW General Recommendation 40 on Equal and Inclusive Representation of Women in Decision-Making Systems: Process, Content, Implementation.
January 27, 2025 | 7:30 - 9:15 a.m. EST | Register here
The inaugural HER CONSTRUCT: Innovation Parlor Gala, powered by A Women's Work, will celebrate women in construction. Celebrate progress and the people driving change in the construction industry while contributing to the success of women in this male-dominated industry.
March 7, 2025 | Register here
Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity is accepting applications to join their 2025 Fellows cohort. The Fellowship Experience invites racial justice changemakers from across the globe to envision and build a world beyond anti-Black racism. Over the course of the experience, Fellows explore the expansiveness of global Blackness, deepen their leadership practice, cultivate lasting relationships with each other, and nurture their innovative ideas. In this way, the cohort blooms into a generative community for living liberatory futures.
The Ascend Fund’s latest report, Unfinished Business: Systemic Barriers for Women in the 2024 U.S. Election, offers a look at the 2024 U.S. election outcomes for women in Michigan, Mississippi, and Washington. The report provides an overview of trends impacting women leaders at the state and national levels, offers funding recommendations, and highlights innovative efforts by organizations driving change.
Panorama Global's Philanthropic Action Guide is a roadmap for funders to take meaningful action toward addressing online harms and image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), which turn digital spaces into hostile environments for women and girls. Mainstream media, legislators, and tech companies are finally paying attention, but the field needs dedicated investments to build on the momentum and dismantle systems that perpetuate IBSA.
What We're Reading
Undocumented Women Ask: Will My Unborn Child Be a Citizen? — The New York Times
Leaders at Davos: We’ve been ignoring women’s health for too long — World Economic Forum
The Woman Who Wants to Protect America from Trump 2.0 — The Cut
What We're Watching
NPR’s TED Radio Hour recently selected a TED Talk by MADRE's Executive Director, Yifat Susskind, as one to highlight in times of uncertainty. They asked how to stay calm, grounded, and on course, in unpredictable times. As Yifat shares, there is a way to face crises in the world without feeling overwhelmed and despair. It’s powerful: think like a mother.
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