Feminist News and Information

WEEKLY NEWS // MARCH 24, 2025

// A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT & CEO

Gender Equality:

Key to Freedom for All

Dear Colleagues,

We join you in rejecting the global anti-gender movement’s claims of “protecting women” to justify their attacks of transgender people, and their fearmongering about “open borders” to legitimize family separation and merciless detention.

Acting US Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council’s statement last week to the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women [[link removed].] is an example of how this movement is weaponizing women’s rights to roll back fundamental freedoms for all [[link removed]].

“Gender plays a powerful role in the construction and promulgation of power and identity that is particularly meaningful in authoritarian regimes,” global security experts write. “ As history shows, when those gender-based power structures are challenged by everyday citizens, profound societal change becomes possible. Gender therefore appears to be a key, if underappreciated, fault line in the authoritarian societies with which the United States and its allies are strategically competing [[link removed]].”

Thank you for everything each of you are doing to ensure we are not ceding ground to rhetoric designed to dismantle [[link removed]] our power to imagine a gender equal world.

Instead, we reaffirm our commitment to stand together against all forms of cruel or unjust use of authority by a government or state apparatus against a specific group or groups of people. Join us [[link removed]].

Onward,

Elizabeth Barajas-Román

Women's Funding Network

President & CEO

You're Invited RSVP [[link removed]] 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.

Pre-Conference Policy Action Day on September 9, 2025 RSVP for Feminist Funded '25 Here [[link removed]]

Have a story to share? We want to hear from you.

Submit content for the newsletter here [[link removed]].

News from WFN NEW MEMBERS & 2025 WFN MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

Our network thrives on the strength and diversity of our members. Please join us in welcoming to the network new WFN members:

Jennifer Barrett Fajardo

Justice and Joy National CollaborativeThe Acorn Project

Please also join us in appreciating WFN members who have renewed membership for 2025:

Girls Rights ProjectIowa Women’s FoundationThe Haitian Women’s CollectiveWomen's Fund for the Fox Valley RegionWomen’s Fund of HawaiʻiWomen Moving Millions

If you have questions about membership, please contact us [mailto:[email protected]]. WFN members have exclusive access to discounted pricing when registration opens for Feminist Funded ’25, so join or renew today!

News from WFN Members MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota announced $425,000 in general operating grants to 22 organizations through its Fund for Safety [[link removed]]. The fund resources organizations and programs working to keep our communities safer by addressing gender-based violence. Read the press release here [[link removed]].

The Women's Fund of Central Ohio's research report, Making Women Wealthy and Free [[link removed]], outlines what over 3,000 women shared about their experiences with building wealth in Central Ohio. It's a roadmap to address barriers that prevent women from building wealth and having the freedom to make their own decisions about their lives.

The Jeannette Rankin Foundation has released its 2024 Annual Report [[link removed]]. Read about the work accomplished, the milestones that were reached, and what's to come.

MEMBER EVENTS

Women control $31.8 trillion in global wealth—but are they fully activating their economic power?

Join Working for Women and Luminary for an evening of bold conversation [[link removed]] on women, money, and power.

March 27, 2025 | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. EDT | Register here [[link removed]]

Join the Women's Fund of Rhode Island for a screening of Preconceived [[link removed]], which tells the stories of two women who, while navigating unplanned pregnancies, found themselves at facilities discouraging them from abortions.

March 27, 2025 | 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. EDT | Register here [[link removed]]

Join the Women's Foundation of Mississippi for a night [[link removed]] to honor game-changing women in Mississippi. Celebrate their Visionary honorees and share stories about transformative work happening in communities across the state.

March 28, 2025 | 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. CDT | Register here [[link removed]]

Join Equality Fund and Criterion Institute for a webinar [[link removed]] that aims to explore how endowments can shift power in gender lens investing and drive systemic change. Get information on the current state of the feminist funding ecosystem and engage in discussion about how to overcome the existing power dynamics in endowment funding and unlock their full potential as a feminist funding mechanism.

April 9, 2025 | 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. EDT | Register here [[link removed]]

The Women’s Fund of East Tennessee's 14th Annual Luncheon [[link removed]] is a time to network and celebrate the power and impact of women in the East Tennessee region. Join an impactful event to raise the necessary dollars for women and girls.

April 10, 2025 | 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. EDT | Register here [[link removed]]

Join the Women's Foundation of Minnesota for its 2025 Feminist Future Festival [[link removed]]. Build the feminist future by sparking new ideas and connecting with bold women and gender-expansive leaders.

April 30, 2025 | 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. CDT | Register here [[link removed]]

I Be Black Girl's 2025 Reproductive Justice Summit: Tending to Our Gardens [[link removed]] will be held in Omaha, Nebraska. Join for meaningful conversations and learnings around crucial issues and opportunities in reproductive health, economic justice, political power, and more. You can also apply to be a breakout speaker here [[link removed]].

August 21-22, 2025 | Register here [[link removed]]

Opportunities and Resources

Neighborhood Funders Group's 2025 National Convening: Seeding (and Ceding) Transformational Power [[link removed]] will be held in Nashville, Tennessee. Join a space for grantmakers to co-conspire and strategize around seeding transformational power and ceding power. Save the date for a dynamic convening rooted in joy, camaraderie, care, and fun—and focused on moving money to BIPOC communities.

July 15 - 17, 2025 | Register here [[link removed]]

Read this report from Future Forward Women. The U.S. Women’s Power and Influence Index [[link removed]] assesses women’s power and influence in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and analyzes the economic security and well-being, health and safety, civic engagement and political inclusion, and public policy and legal protections for women in each state.

It’s a critical time for European democracy, and the stakes are high. The Democracy Briefer for Funders [[link removed]] takes an in-depth look at the key indicators of democratic backsliding and root causes driving it, drawing on a wide body of evidence from published research to offer insights into the current state of democracy and opportunities to seize.

What We're Reading

Why philanthropy needs a one-world strategy for gender — Alliance [[link removed]]

Thousands Gather to Oppose Trump on International Women’s Day — The New York Times [[link removed]]

Harassment, Stalkers, Death Threats: A Day in the Life of Women on Twitch — Rolling Stone [[link removed]]

What We're Watching

Equal rights. Equal opportunities. Equal power. On International Women’s Day (8 March), that is the bold call for action for all women and girls worldwide. From the suffragists to digital activists, each generation has pushed boundaries, shattered barriers, and refused to step back. Behind every policy change and legal victory there have been fearless feminists organizing, protesting, and demanding action. The world today is more equal for women and girls than ever before — but progress is still too slow, too fragile, and too uneven.

Have a story to share?

We want to hear from you. Submit content for the newsletter here [[link removed]].

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