Dear Colleagues,
Stories have power. That’s why those with control over the dominant culture have consistently, relentlessly, deployed inaccurate terms, phrases, and rhetoric to undermine progress and success toward racial and gender equity and justice.
The impact of their strategies is heartbreaking. It’s the testimony of a nine-year-old girl in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd. It’s the news last Saturday of a Tulum, Mex. police officer kneeling on the spinal cord of Victoria Esperanza Salazar Arriaza, killing her as she cried out for mercy — just days before Mexico was to serve as kick-off host for the UN’s Generation Equality Forum. The tragedy highlights the discrepancy between Mexico’s talk of women’s rights and its domestic violence record that includes an average of 10 women killed every day in 2020.
This week I also wrapped up service as a Mayoral appointee to my community’s policing review commission, which after 74 meetings, two public hearings with hundreds of residents’ testimony, and a countless number of hours researching and investigation, concluded with recommendations that were a far cry from the demands of last year’s Black Lives Matter civil rights protests.
Progress is inherently disruptive. Experiencing the disruption (even if in our favor) can be highly uncomfortable, even terrifying. Status quo supporters exploit our basic human need for anchoring during turbulent times by responding quickly with stories that help us make sense of hard truths and unconscionable loss.
You have stories too. You’ve gathered the data, you’ve surfaced trends, you’ve pioneered new practices. You are also in unique positions to match data to your community’s lived experience. Your stories not only create clarity and conviction about what needs to be done, but they also help everyday people see themselves as powerful and moored to the narrative.
That’s why we’re excited to honor your requests for WFN to create a narrative infrastructure that centers your leadership in making sense of the collective trauma we’ve endured, deepens the imperative and urgency of the moment, and that ensures as we change the world. We are also ready to rapidly deploy as effective and trustworthy guides of the new world that emerges.
As a start, we hope you join us this Wednesday, April 7th at 1:30 p.m. EST for our next Economic Justice Speaker Series, where our speakers will share their deep expertise and expansive vision for how stories, culture, and transformative narratives can catalyze social change, build towards equitable policies, and create narratives where all communities see themselves reflected.
In solidarity,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
P.S. — we're moving our weekly WFN Above the Fold newsletter to Tuesdays! We'll miss you next week (April 9), but stay tuned for the next newsletter on Tuesday, April 13, 2021!
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WFN Members:
We are launching four Peer Communities organized around issues we heard the most interest in from our conversations with you over the last year.
For the following peer communities, sign up HERE and share this link with your staff members!
• Communications and Development
• Advocacy and Public Policy
• Research
• Equity and Justice learning group
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Welcome our newest members!
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Robyn Mazur, Center for Court Innovation in New York City
I am currently Director of Gender and Family Justice Initiatives at the Center for Court Innovation in New York City. In this capacity, I provide assistance and strategic planning advice to communities and justice systems who are interested in enhancing their response to gender-based violence by sharing research and best practices, reviewing policies and performance measures, conducting needs assessments and providing ongoing consultation. I also coordinate and provide training to community leaders and justice system professionals across the U.S. and internationally on the issues of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and the needs of justice involved women and families. I am an attorney who has extensive experience in the field of intimate partner and family violence and access to justice. Before joining the Center, I worked at the National Network to End Domestic Violence in Washington, DC and the House of Ruth in Baltimore, MD.
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National Organisation for Women in Sport Physical Activity & Recreation (NOWSPAR)
The National Organisation for Women in Sport Physical Activity and Recreation (NOWSPAR) has the mission of advancing the rights of girls and women in and through sport. We are a daring and leading women’s sport advocacy and empowerment organisation. We encourage and promote engagement of women and girls in all areas, levels and abilities in physical activity, sport and recreation for fun and excellence. Our vision is all girls and women in Zambia lead physically active lifestyles. Our focus is strengthening the sport sector to deliver for girls and women.
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Lat week, The Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts held a virtual meeting on the Springfield Women’s Economic Security Hub, which builds off their research from the "Status of Women and Girls in Western Massachusetts, 2019" report. Watch the recording here.
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The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is hiring for a new Limited Term Program Assistant. The position providing general administrative support and specific support for grantee proposal documents. To apply, click here.
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Washington Area Women's Foundation released their 2020 Community Investment Report, which highlights bright spots in their work and provides a glimpse of how The Foundation will operate going forward.
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The Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham released their latest research, the Status of Women report, which delves into both statewide and county-by-county well-being indicators for women.
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The HERitage Giving Fund at the Texas Women’s Foundation has awarded more than $56,000 to seven North Texas nonprofit organizations that are led by Black women serving Black women and girls, including Abide, The GEMS Camp, Hopeful Solutions, Soul Rep Theatre Company, Southern Dallas Link, TR Hoover, CDC, and Viola's House.
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Join us in congratulating Women's Fund of Rhode Island CEO, Kelly Nevins, who has been selected as a fellow for the prestigious Women Leaders for the World (WLW) program. The 12 month fellowship is a transformational leadership training, coaching, and advising fellowship for women leaders solving some of the world’s most intractable problems in nonprofits, social entrepreneurship, media, politics/government, and business.
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#WomenFunded’21 is coming! Please SAVE THE DATE for September 23, 2021
We are seeking community input and volunteers to join the 2021 Conference Committee. Please indicate your interest HERE. This committee will work together with WFN staff and event managers to design the virtual gathering this fall.
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OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
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Join Funders Concerned About AIDS (FCAA) for their webinar, COVID-19 and Systemic Inequality: Community-led Lessons for Funders, where they discuss their newest upcoming report, which leverages learnings from community-based responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly from organizations representing or led by LGBTQ and communities of color in the US, and key populations globally.
April 13, 2021
11:00am EST
Register here.
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Join Early Childhood Funders Collaborative for a discussion with Katie Hamm, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Early Childhood Development, to discuss how philanthropy can support Federal early childhood priorities.
How Philanthropy Can Support Federal Early Childhood Priorities
April 1, 2021
3:00-4:00pm ET
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Apply to the Third Wave Fund's "Own Our Power Fund." Since its first grantmaking cycle, the Own Our Power Fund has awarded $700,000 in two-year grants to 17 organizations working across gender justice movements at the intersections of age, race, class, sexuality, disability, and geography. The fund currently makes two-year grants to build organizations’ leadership development and succession planning, financial sustainability, self-representation, and strategic communications capacities.
The Own Our Power Fund’s 2021 cycle is now open and proposals are due on April 30, 2021.
For more information, click here.
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Tides and the WE LEAD initiative have announced an open call for letters of inquiry (LOI) for their Spring 2021 grantmaking cycle. WE LEAD will grant $1,000,000 towards the growth and sustainability of queer, trans, non-binary, non-conforming, and cis women, particularly Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) leaders and BIWOC-led climate justice organizations.
Submissions are due by March 26.
To submit an LOI, click here.
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Hispanics in Philanthropy is now accepting applications for their Líderes Fellowship. The program cultivates mid-career Latinxs working in philanthropy and nonprofits by gaining knowledge, learning new practices, and building relationships within a network that supports their ability to advance and thrive.
Applications are due May 14, 2021. The program will run from September 2021 to June 2022.
For more information, click here.
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How do women feel about Women's History Month? Conflicted. - New York Times
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This week, governments, corporations, and civil society converged to kickstart the Generation Equality Forum, convened by UN Women, which revealed a 10-year agenda aimed at accelerating gender equality. - Human Rights Watch
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As more women are taking positions in state office, family policies have not yet caught up. - NPR
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Thousands of anonymous online accounts are calling out "rape culture" in U.K. schools - New York Times
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WATCH: Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), Sung Yeon Choimorrow, breaks down how racism and sexism intersects against Asian American women.
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Browse the New WFN Website!
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If you have a story to share, email Ellen at
[email protected]
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