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** FEBRUARY 12, 2021
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Elizabeth Headshot
Dear Colleagues,
While hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 may be moving in a downward trajectory in many parts of the world, the financial impact of the pandemic on women remains dire. ([link removed]) It will potentially take years for women and their families to fully recover — even after the pandemic ends. That is why our conversations about how to strengthen and highlight our sector’s core practices - like participatory grantmaking ([link removed]) - is so important. As the U.S. looks to build back better, targeted investment in partnership with women’s funds is critical for community recovery and building long-term economic resilience.
In 2020, with support from the Ford Foundation ([link removed]) , we engaged in a research project to examine the participatory grantmaking practices within our network. While much of what we learned affirmed what we already knew – like those most impacted by funding decisions should be the ones driving those decisions – there were still a few surprises.
First, that some women’s funds were engaged in activities and embedded in an organizational ethos that was aligned with participatory grantmaking markers, though they did not identify them as such. Second, that some women’s funds identified their programs as participatory – but over the years, had lost connection to grounding principles. We also found it interesting that years of operation, size, and location did not seem to factor into how and why women’s funds engaged in participatory grantmaking practices.
We know that our network presents a unique opportunity to generate evidence on the benefits and challenges of participatory grantmaking. As we continue our exploration and conversation with you, we hope to better understand the spectrum of use across the network, the challenges for those in early adoption or considering adoption, as well as the added value, the long-term benefits and costs, and how participatory approaches galvanize community engagement in solving complex problems, strengthens advocacy efforts, and builds power for larger movements.
We know you are still rapidly adapting and recasting your work for the greatest impact amid the pandemic-fueled She-session ([link removed]) and caregiver crisis that is negatively impacting women’s economic mobility, personal safety, generational poverty, health and welfare. We know your learnings - informed by deep relationships with local movement organizations - hold valuable insights for policy and advancing philanthropic practice.
As we move forward, we are eager to continue working together to not only build on this body of knowledge, but also to co-create a new framework that will connect your best practices with national funders to amplify impact at this critical time. Onward.
Yours for equity and justice,
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
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Women's Funding Network, Funders for Reproductive Equity, and Funders for LGBTQ Issues have partnered to host a virtual conversation, "FCAA CONNECT: COVID-19 At the Intersection of Black & Brown TGNC Lives." ([link removed]) The event will explore the impact of COVID-19 on Black and Brown TGNC lives, as well as opportunities for funders to partner with TGNC-led organizations to make meaningful, positive change. WFN President & CEO Elizabeth Barajas-Román will be moderating the conversation.
February 18, 2021
11am - 1pm ET
Register here ([link removed]) !
** WFN MEMBER NEWS
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Help Working for Women find and celebrate women who are doing extraordinary work in their communities to benefit underserved women for Women Crush Wednesday! Those selected will be featured in Working for Women’s weekly Women Crush Wednesday (#WCW) posts on their social channels and other communications throughout the year. To nominate someone, click here ([link removed]) .
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Marking its 20th anniversary, The Women's Fund of Central Ohio is launching Enduring Progress ([link removed]) , a groundbreaking initiative that will target the woefully inadequate funding devoted to breaking down systemic barriers and creating meaningful social change. The Enduring Progress Initiative will initially prioritize investments in organizations run by and for women and girls of color.
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On the International Day of Women, the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts, in partnership with MassMutual, presents a free panel discussion as part of the Women's Leadership Series, "Perspectives from the C-Suite: A Women's Leadership Panel." (bit.ly/march-womens-panel)
March 8, 2021
12:30PM - 2PM
Register ([link removed]) today!
RENEW YOUR 2021 MEMBERSHIP TODAY! ([link removed])
Thank you to the following members who renewed their WFN membership for 2021. The deadline for renewals is January 31. If you haven’t renewed, please be in touch with staff about an extension or a needs-based dues waiver. These are financially uncertain times and our priority is keeping our membership strong and united!
** OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
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Join The Population Council for the first virtual public screening ([link removed]) of The Lakota Daughters, a VOA documentary about the women and girls of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota. A Q&A with the film's director, the founder of the IMAGEN program, and Native American women from the Oglala Lakota and Ihanktonwan Dakota Nations will follow.
March 1, 2021
3PM EST / 1PM MST
Register ([link removed]) today.
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The Center for Effective Philanthropy has released a three-part resource, Foundations Respond to Crisis ([link removed]) , with concrete insights on how foundations have responded to the compounding multiple crises of this past year, including how they’ve shifted priorities to focus on racial equity and moved more quickly to respond to community needs and whether these changes will stay.
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Join The Neighborhood Funders Group for a two-part series to further discuss the growing work on reparations to heal, restore, repair, and rebuild communities. Learn more how funders and leaders are moving forward a diverse range of approaches to move resources to respond to our political moment.
Register here ([link removed]) .
** WEEKLY READ
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In an interview aired Sunday, President Joe Biden says it is a "national emergency" that many students have been kept out of classrooms and that there has been a staggering loss of women in the workforce because of the coronavirus pandemic. - CNN ([link removed])
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The National Women's Law Center finds that in January, women's labor force participation has hit a 33-year low. - CNBC ([link removed])
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Nina Banks argues that community activism by Black and other marginalized women is another form of work that has been historically overlooked and uncounted in economics. - New York Times ([link removed])
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A new PBS documentary Women in Blue asks, "Do "Women in Blue" police differently than male officers?" - NPR ([link removed])
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Read here ([link removed]) for five ways to bring women back into the post-pandemic workforce.
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New research finds that men get more actionable feedback than women. - Harvard Business Review ([link removed])
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WATCH: Author and political commentator Zerlina Maxwell talks about how women of color will shape future elections.
** Browse the New WFN Website!
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