Dear Colleagues,

Dear Colleagues,

While the events of the last few weeks have led to unprecedented partnerships to work toward better solutions, we know we need to rest and restore for the long road ahead.  

Resting is not quitting. It’s taking the time to care for ourselves in a world that doesn’t care for us. It’s taking the necessary time to heal and recharge, so we can reenter the fight at full capacity, ready to push for what matters.

My team and I are putting this into practice by pausing this newsletter after this week until the week of Sept. 13^th. Know that we’ll continue to communicate urgent and important matters as needed. In the meantime, however, WFN staff will be resting, restoring, and reviewing the insights and learnings of the past year and drafting plans for impact for the year to come.

Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network 
President & CEO

P.S. As we take this time to reflect and plan, one significant bright spot in our next conference, in person, and together again. If you are as excited as I am, I invite you to participate in our early planning by sharing your preferences in THIS FORM, and thank you.

WFN Member News

Please give a hearty welcome to Groundswell Fund for joining WFN as our newest member!

Our peer communities are taking a summer break and no peer communities will meet in the month of August. All will reconvene in September, and we’re excited to share that we’ll soon be launching a new Development peer community. We’ll share more details on our newest community soon, but in the meantime, we encourage you read more about each group here, and all members are welcome to join!

Join The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade for their August Impact Collaborative panel to discuss increasing diverse female leadership across all sectors. Having female leaders is shown to improve systems and economies, in addition to breaking down barriers and accelerating progress towards closing the gender inequality gap. The Women's Fund Miami-Dade advocates and takes action to ensure women and girls have the ability and resources to lead and succeed in their lives and their communities. When women become leaders, they often provide different perspectives, skills and structural and cultural differences that drive effective solutions. In the U.S. less than 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs are female and, according to their Gender Equity Dashboard, locally women hold only 36.6% of elected governmental positions.  

This event will have closed captioning available, if you need any other accommodations please contact [email protected] by August 1. If you don't automatically receive the link to the event upon RSVPing please check your spam folder, or contact [email protected].

August 4, 2022 | 9-10:30 a.m. EDT | Register here

Rhode Island gubernatorial candidates on the fall ballot will participate in a debate hosted by Women's Fund of Rhode Island and the League of Women Voters at Roger Williams University School of Law. It will be moderated by WPRI's Weekend Evening Anchor, Chelsea Jones. Candidates will be asked to speak about how they will improve the status of women and families in Rhode Island during their tenure, including whether they will put abortion care funds in their first budget. As supporters of Women's Fund of Rhode Island, you are also welcome to attend a special "Toast to Tenacity" reception immediately prior to the Forum. There is no cost for either the Forum or the reception. Registration links are below. 

Join us for an evening in participatory democracy and learn more about the political process in Rhode Island. Please RSVP by August 1st.

This is for in-person attendance. The forum will be livestreamed on the social media channels for Women's Fund of Rhode Island, League of Women Voters and Roger Williams University.

August 30, 2022 | 5:30-6:45 p.m. EDT

Roger Williams University School of Law, Ten Metacom Avenue, Room 283, Bristol, RI, 02809

Register here

Opportunities and Resources

As wealthy women in America make more multimillion-dollar gifts, they are reshaping philanthropy — giving with fewer strings attached to groups often overlooked in the past. Join The Chronicle of Philanthropy to hear from three women philanthropists who are giving more general-operating and multi-year grants. We’ll delve into causes they care about, why they give, and their visions for the future of philanthropy. This free event will include announcement of the recipients of the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Register today.

The Birth Justice Fund – Rapid Response Fund (BJF-RRF) is a three- year opportunity to advance community power efforts led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) birth justice (BJ) organizations to address implicit bias and structural racism and their impact on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. 

Applications for the first wave of funding will be accepted beginning Wednesday, July 20 through 5pm ET, Wednesday August 14, 2022. To learn more, click here.

What We're Reading

What We're Watching

‘We cannot stop fighting for her’ — Megan Rapinoe and Steph Curry were among the star athletes pleading for Brittney Griner’s freedom at The ESPYs Wednesday night.

Have a story to share?

We want to hear from you. Email i[email protected]

A Note on Accessibility: 

As we incorporate new communications assets, we strive to ensure that the platforms and tools that enable us to share content are accessible to the widest possible audience. We are committed to learning and growing in this area and appreciate any helpful guidance you have to share. Please reach out if you have any tips or requests to make your experience more accessible.