|  | Dear John, Every day, we’re working to fund, resource, and invigorate the movements for gender and racial equity through grantmaking, capacity building, and philanthropic advocacy. Our Strengthening Feminist Movements highlights the latest Foundation news, including open grant cycles, convenings, opportunities for strategic assistance, and more, as well as sharing victories and insights on the work our grantee partners are doing on the ground. |
| | | Responsive Grantmaking Cycle In March, we established a modest responsive grantmaking fund of $250,000 to support current grantee organizations navigating the new political and social terrain. Movement organizations are working hard to meet this moment: pivoting to address unanticipated needs, fortifying themselves against multifaceted threats, protecting their communities, providing care, and much more. This fund is intended to provide one-time grants of $5,000-$15,000 to Ms. Foundation grantee partners in support of the work most needed at this time. Ms. Midwest Ms. Foundation launched our 2025 grant cycle in April with invitations to seven Midwestern organizations. This year, we are prioritizing organizations that address reproductive justice, community care/safety, and civic engagement/democratic participation, given the severity of the threats in all three of these areas. Ms. South In April, Ms. South launched a grantmaking cycle of majority renewal grants for current grantees to continue supporting the field to meet this moment of immense funding cuts and political backlash. In May, we also hosted a convening of Ms. South grantee partners to foster connections, support peer learning and support rest and restorative practices. Birth Justice Initiative Over the winter, we extended renewal grants to four grantees who were originally awarded grants as a part of our inaugural BJI grantee partners. Our continued support ensures that we stay connected to grassroots organizations working on the front lines of the birth justice movement, allows us to invest more deeply in the relationships we have formed since the launch of this initiative, and supports the financial resilience and capacity of birth justice movement organizations and leaders. Building Connections In FY25, the Building Connections Initiative mobilized one-time, general operating support grants totaling $1,235,000 to 21 national organizations or collaborations representing a mix of new collaborations and legacy organizations that have been established for over 10 years and have a budget above $2 million. Grantee organizations are working to strengthen alliances between gender issues and social justice movements to support democracy and movement-building. |
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| | Conferences, Convenings, and Conversations |
| Infertility Instagram Live Ms. Foundation Birth Justice Program Officer Sona Smith; feminist scholar, author, and Associate Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies and Society, Environment, & Health Equity at the University of California, Riverside Jade Sasser, PhD; and Founder and Executive Director of The Broken Brown Egg Regina M. Townsend had a powerful conversation on The Color of Infertility in America, and the racial, ethnic, gender, ability, and class-based disparities that fertility challenges bring. You can watch the recording of the Instagram Live here! |
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| Repro Funders Convening at Ford Foundation In January, Senior Program Officer Samantha Franklin attended a meeting jointly organized by the Ford and Overbook Foundations on Democracy and Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice (RRHJ). This in-person convening provided an opportunity to hear from grantee partners and experts in the field about the nexus of these issue areas, develop a shared understanding of the intersections between democracy and RRHJ, and discuss threats and opportunities to both funders and grassroots organizations. |
| Funders for Birth Justice and Equity Governance Committee (Ongoing) Sona Smith continues to serve on the Funders for Birth Justice & Equity (FBJE) Governance Committee. FBJE is a collective of funders (individual, grantmaking, and public) working to advance a transformed and just birthing system focused on birth equity and justice, centering community-rooted solutions led by BIPOC communities most impacted by inequities and are committed to accountability to these leaders in the field. The governance committee is made up of community based orgs and funders working together to ensure the organizational structure and programs reflect the values of the movements we support. |
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| | |  | After five years of fighting to win participatory budgeting through their LiberateMKE campaign, African American Roundtable announced victory in April. The MKE Community Impact Fund, a $600,000 fund for participatory budgeting, will be established in the city of Milwaukee, giving residents real decision-making power over public funds that will improve Milwaukee communities. |
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 | Birth Detroit, which opened in January, was featured in PBS Newshour. As Michigan’s first Black-led freestanding birth center, they aim to provide a comfortable, home-like environment that focuses on community-based care, and to develop partnerships with patients, offering things that can be harder to come by in large health systems. |
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 | Over the last year, Este Poder has experienced an uptick in participation among students in classrooms at local East Texas high schools and colleges, at local meetings and volunteer coordinating due to the major shifts since the presidential election. Fundraising over the past year and a half has also allowed for a budget that recently supported their newest staff hire, a Director of Finance and Operations. |
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| | Ms. Foundation For Women
1 Willoughby Square, Suite 2000 | Brooklyn, New York 11201
Questions? Email us at [email protected] or call (212) 709-4421 |
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