Dear John,

Abortion in America is under attack. We were devastated by the draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that leaked in May. What became immediately clear is that now more than ever we must follow the leadership of those on the ground who have been sounding the alarm, and create strategies to ensure that grassroots leaders have the long-term support they need to continue providing these essential services and fighting for reproductive justice. 

Make no mistake, this affects everyone. 

So, to address this moment we need everyone to come together - funders, donors, institutions, etc. If you’re a longtime feminist or newly committed or re-energized by the latest news in this struggle, we need you.

In collaboration with a coalition of colleagues and friends including Funders for Justice, Funders for Reproductive Equity, Groundswell Fund, and the Women's Funding Network, we drafted a bold philanthropic pledge to protect abortion access and reproductive justice - and we urge you to join us. 

If you’re looking for ways to increase or deepen your investment in the fight to protect abortion access and bodily autonomy, here are five actions that we’re asking folks to take right now:

1. Give Now and With Trust: Consider giving locally and often to the abortion funds, practical support networks, independent abortion providers, and reproductive justice organizations in your cities and states. 
2. Listen to Movement Leadership: Reproductive, gender, and birth justice movement leaders have been organizing in their communities and on the ground for decades, and have a clear vision for building a world where accessibility, agency, and self-determination are centered. 
3. Plan for the Future While Acknowledging the Past: The likely reversal of Roe is part of a broader attack on bodily autonomy and civil and human rights that includes anti-trans legislative efforts, threats to marriage equality, and voter disenfranchisement. 
4. Collaborate Across Strategies and Issues: Whether grassroots organizing, culture and narrative change, financial and practical support, research, legal support, policy advocacy, or impact litigation, ensuring continued abortion access will require us to use all the strategies we have at our disposal to win.
5. Invest in Existing Movement Infrastructure for the Long-Term: These organizations and leaders have the vision, decades-long track record, and relationships with communities on the ground already, and are best placed to advocate for their communities, build power for the long-term, and fight back against current oppressive legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.

We’re proud to help lead, show up for our partners, and work alongside the philanthropic community to support those who are at the forefront of organizing and mobilizing for reproductive justice. We will continue to follow their leadership and won’t stop until we achieve freedom for all.

In solidarity, 

The Ms. Foundation for Women