Dear Colleagues, 
This week several countries, including the U.S. and Canada, marked a commemoration and celebration of Indigenous peoples.
Edgar Villanueva, founder of Decolonizing Wealth, urges people to “draw on Indigenous wisdom and teachings to understand how to heal relationships and leverage the day to talk about the truth and reconciliation.”
We must not ignore what has come before if we are going to forge a stronger foundation for the future.
For example, there were 140 federally-run Indian Residential Schools in Canada between 1831 and 1998. The government separated some 150,000 Indigenous children from their families and forced them to assimilate into Canadian society in an attempt to erase thousands of years of cultural knowledge and heritage.
Today, the Canadian Women’s Foundation is not only helping shine a light on the past but is also using it to catalyze action. They have created a list of key resources to learn more about the Native Women’s Association of Canada’s action plan to end violence against indigenous women, girls, and gender diverse people.
In addition, Native Americans in Philanthropy recently highlighted action steps to honor the National Day of Remembrance for U.S. Indian Schools, and their CEO Erik Stegman shared additional insights as to what philanthropy can do collectively to take action for missing and murdered indigenous women. Stegman calls for philanthropy to invest into an ecosystem of diverse organizations that can support grassroots movements in re-framing issues, building coalitions, advocating for more funding, and pushing for policy change.
Thank you for all you do to uplift the leadership of women, girls, and marginalized genders and races who are advancing solutions for change. We stand beside you and commit to centering your voices and honoring those who hold an unflinching commitment to equity and justice.
In Solidarity,
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO
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INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL
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This past Monday, UN Women joined other UN agencies, civil society, and girls around the world to celebrate International Day of the Girl under the theme "Digital generation. Our generation.” Together, they are calling for equal access to the internet and digital devices for girls’ and targeted investments to facilitate opportunities for girls’ to safely and meaningfully access, use, lead and design technology.
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Content from our 2021 virtual conference, Women Funded 2021, is continually being posted on the WFN YouTube channel. Top highlights like the Women’s Economic Mobility Hub videos are also now live on a WFN YouTube Playlist. Learn more about these powerful regional hubs.
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Congratulations to Julienne Lusenge, co-founder and president of Women's Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development (SOFEPADI) and co-founder of the Fund for Congolese Women/Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises (FFC), for winning Aurora's 2021 Humanitarian Award. A tireless advocate for victims of wartime sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for years, her efforts have shone a light on the desperate plight of thousands of Congolese women subjected to horrific sexual abuse amidst the civil war in the country, exposing the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
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The Chicago Foundation for Women is seeking nominations for their 2022 Impact Awards, which has a long tradition of honoring incredible local leaders that work tirelessly to ensure woman and girls have the support they need to succeed. Award recipients will be honored at the Impact Awards to be held on March 2022.
The deadline to apply is November 1, 2021. To learn more, click here.
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Join Rise Up for their virtual Breakfast Gala, where you'll hear from inspiring Rise Up Leaders from here in the U.S. and around the world who will share stories about how they’re taking bold action to improve health, education, and economic opportunity for women and girls in their communities and countries. You'll also hear from award winning actress and activist Jane Fonda, who will share her own personal commitment to supporting women's rights.
November 4, 2021 | 9:00-10:00am PST | Register here
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Join The New Hampshire Women's Foundation for their 17th Annual Women Building Community Luncheon. Due to the COVID-19 Delta variant, the event will be all virtual. Their special guests Teresa C. Younger, President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women, and Jennifer Lockwood-Shabat, former President and CEO of the Washington Area Women's Foundation, will have a conversation on gender justice philanthropy and the future of women's foundations. To learn more, click here.
December 1, 2021 | 12:00-1:30pm
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The New York Women's Foundation is proud to invest in the work of organizations like grantee partner American Indian Community House (AICH). Founded in 1969, AICH is a community-based organization with a mission of improving and promoting the well-being of the American Indian Community and increasing the visibility of American Indian cultures in an urban setting in order to cultivate awareness, understanding, and respect.
AICH has started The Manna-hatta Fund presents an opportunity for all settlers to support the Indigenous peoples, such as the Lenni Lenape, who were forcefully displaced by European settlers and their descendants to create New York City and the United States. To learn more about their work and the fund, click here.
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The Women's Foundation of Colorado's WAGES (Women Achieving Greater Economic Security) grantee cohort works to achieve gender, racial, and economic equity for all 2.85 million women and girls who live in Colorado. The cohort is unique in that WFCO invests in and connects direct-service and public policy grantee partners to move our mission forward.
After three years of working with their 23 grantee partners, their understanding of what it takes for women to advance economically is in sharper focus. The ongoing work of their 15 direct-service partners and 8 public policy partners, especially the program adaptations they made during the pandemic, show that flexible and holistic resources are key levers for women to pursue economic advancement.
To learn more about their important work over the last three years, click here.
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The Women's Foundation of Boston has released their 2020 Annual Report, which includes key data highlights, grantee spotlights, and more.
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OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES
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This month’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) continues to show that America’s women face enormous challenges returning to the labor force following the pandemic. This past September, women’s payroll employment actually declined for the first time since December 2020. - Institute for Women's Policy Research
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Women Win has developed an Organisational Resilience online course to support organisations in responding to unexpected events and to strengthen their ability to turn crises into a source of strategic opportunity. You will find different modules, and associated tools, to support you in addressing your challenges whether they are strategic, financial, programmatic or related to resource mobilisation.
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What We're Reading
by Zak Cheney-Rice
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The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a a lower federal court ruling that temporarily blocked Texas from enforcing its ban on abortions as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. - NPR
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A new report finds that an investment in child care would help lift some Latina women out of poverty. - CNBC
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Maya Angelou, Sally Ride and other trailblazing women will be featured on U.S. coins. - NPR
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The pandemic put a spotlight on the need to invest in women founders. - Tech Crunch
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Philippine journalist Maria Ressa became only the 18th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. - New York Times
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A disturbing trend that does not get enough attention is the continued practice of taking work, ideas, and creative genius from Black women without properly crediting or citing them as the source. - Forbes
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WATCH: Amanda Gorman was honored at Variety’s 2021 Power of Women event, where she recited her captivating new poem.
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