Feminist Strategy Archives

Black Giving for a New Era of Equity

Editor’s Note: The following essay is by By Dr. Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, Founder of Black Philanthropy Month and The Women Invested to Save Earth™ (WISE) Fund.

This year has unfolded like the chapters of a dystopian Octavia Butler novel. A third of US Covid deaths are Black. Black unemployment rates are at more than 20 percent. More than 40 percent of Black small businesses have closed. The George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor lynchings, broadcast across traditional and social media, made it clear that virulent, violent, anti-Black racism is alive and well.

black giving — *Dr. Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, Founder of Black Philanthropy Month and The Women Invested to Save Earth™ (WISE) Fund*

These are confusing, life-changing times. Black joy, struggle, rage and giving converge in our story, creating history and shaping our future this Black Philanthropy Month (BPM). Stories give form to chaos, helping us see hidden lessons and new visions to become the change we want to see. For this unprecedented historical moment of BPM, the story begins and ends in Minneapolis, a new center of the global racial justice movement.

Liveblog – What Donors Can Do About Lack of Funding for Women and Girls of Color

Today marks our third webinar at Philanthropy Women! On Thursday, July 23rd, we gathered for “Lack of Funding for Women and Girls of Color: What Donors Can Do.”

We kicked off our third webinar with a warm welcome to our participants. Kiersten Marek, Editor-in-Chief, began with an overview of the funding issues outlined in Pocket Change, the Ms. Foundation’s report on the funding gap for women and girls of color.

Kiersten pointed out other issues impacting the funding environment for women and girls of color, including the recent announcement of downsizing at the NoVo Foundation, and the potential for funds being redirected to address the COVID crisis. However, there is some encouraging action happening now, as new corporations and foundations have stepped up for intersectional giving.

ABOUT WOMEN: Enter our Art Contest by August 5!

“You don’t exist if you’re not represented… I felt a need to claim my own social existence by making the representation happen.” – Njideka Akunyili Crosby

As women, as people, and as philanthropists, what does womanhood mean to you? In ABOUT WOMEN, Philanthropy Women‘s first art contest, we seek to answer that question through the lens of the artist: finding what womanhood means in our worlds and the worlds around us.

Introducing ABOUT WOMEN: A Contest to Celebrate Women’s Art

Join us for the first Philanthropy Women art contest, designed to shine a light on women and LGBT+ artists. Enter today for your chance to win a cash prize and a six-month feature on Philanthropy Women!

What Melinda Gates Says, and Doesn’t Say, About Women in COVID

“Architects of a better world” is how Melinda Gates frames the role of women in the age of COVID. In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, the co-founder of the world’s largest philanthropic organization makes the case that women’s leadership is the beacon of light the world needs most right now.

Gates starts off the essay by recognizing the silent pandemic of violence against women happening during COVID. She goes on to detail in full the many ways that women are losing access to health care and jobs, all while being piled with more housework and childcare duties.

(Image Credit: Oladimeji Odunsi at Unsplash)

Maternity Care Needs to Develop Workarounds for COVID

Gates is particularly worried about expectant moms in COVID, and with good reason. She relates some of the staggering losses suffered in the Ebola outbreak of 2014 in Sierra Leone. One suggestion that Gates makes for COVID: separate facilities for COVID and non-COVID pregnant women in some countries so that women can still get maternal care, even if they are COVID positive.

Equality Can’t Wait Holding Webinar on August 4

Editor’s Note: The following announcement is from Lever for Change, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Affiliate, which is facilitating the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge.

Equality Can’t Wait will be holding a webinar for prospective applicants to their funding competition.

Please join us Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Central for a Q&A webinar to learn more about Equality Can’t Wait Challenge and ask questions. Please sign up for the webinar and note that the webinar will be recorded then made available shortly after.

On Thursday, September 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Central, we’ll host a second webinar for registered applicants to provide a technical demonstration of the online application platform and to answer questions.

Barefoot Gives $1 K Grants to Black Women in Beauty Biz

MODESTO, Calif., July 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — In a society where the appearance of Black women is often critiqued or overlooked, Barefoot is proud to announce #WeStanForHer— a platform to highlight the collective beauty of Black women through original content, conversations and community partnership.

New Voices Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women of color entrepreneurs. (Image Credit: New Voices Foundation)

Launching the program, Barefoot will acknowledge the role beauty routines play in self-care and promote economic equity for the Black community by donating to the New Voices Foundation (NVF), a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of women of color entrepreneurs. This donation will be invested in Black women-owned beauty businesses that provide spaces, products and services that center, celebrate and uplift Black women.

Caress Gives $1 Mil as Founding Donor to IFundWomen of Color

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Throughout history communities of color have been affected by systemic racism and societal injustice. The global pandemic of COVID-19 has further highlighted the ongoing economic, health and social inequities communities of color face. As a brand that aims to empower and uplift women, we recognize that, women of color entrepreneurs and small business owners face specific challenges and lack of access when it comes to starting or sustaining their businesses.

Today, Caress has announced a $1,000,000 investment over the next 2 years to support women of color entrepreneurs through a founding partnership with IFundWomen of Color. IFundWomen of Color (IFWOC), is the leading platform for diverse entrepreneurs to raise capital through crowdfunding, grants, and coaching. Through this partnership these entrepreneurs will receive the support needed to stay open, re-open, and ensure their long-term success. Beginning with a $500,000 immediate relief donation to support 200 women of color entrepreneurs, already in the IFWOC community, with funding and IFWOC group coaching, mentorship, and connections needed to sustain their businesses.

Liveblog of WPI: How Giving Circles Diversify Philanthropy

On July 16, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute hosted a live Q&A with Sara Lomelin of Philanthropy Together, to discuss the ways philanthropy can be democratized, empowered, and fueled by diversity. In light of current pressing issues like the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19, WPI and Philanthropy Together seek to answer the question, “How can giving circles transform the future of trust-based giving?”

Image Credit: **WPI and Philanthropy Together**

WPI Director Jeannie Sager kicked off the conversation by encouraging the participants to share their locations – people chimed in from all over the US and beyond.

Sager introduced the concept: “For too long, philanthropy has been seen as an exclusive club. Yet today, our country is experiencing a drastic reckoning… Who is called a philanthropist?”

Stacy’s Rise Announces $10 K Female Founders Grantees

Four-month program to provide $10,000 grants, professional advertising services and executive mentorship – including access to Press and Heath – to the Class of 2020, as recent Stacy’s Rise Project survey reveals 72 percent of female entrepreneurs report difficulties finding a mentor.

stacy's rise grants — Stacy’s Rise Class of 2020 (Image Credit: Stacy’s Rise)

PLANO, Texas, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — When the Stacy’s Rise Project announced it would expand its 2020 grant and mentorship program to support even more female founders with broadened services, women responded in kind – with 1,600 applicants, quadrupling last year’s numbers for a chance at $10,000 business grants, 1:1 executive mentorship and a dedicated team of professionals creating, producing and strategically placing advertising on their behalf.

July 23 Webinar: Lack of Funding for Women & Girls of Color

Join us at 2:00 PM ET on Thursday, July 23rd for the next iteration of our new Philanthropy Women webinar series: “Lack of Funding for Women and Girls of Color: What Donors Can Do.”

The Ms. Foundation for Women has produced a new report showing how rarely funders show up for women and girls of color. In this webinar, we bring three expert opinions in to discuss how to increase funding for this population, both in the United States and globally. Guests for this webinar are Roz Lee, Vice President of Strategy and Programs for the Ms. Foundation for Women, Tessie San Martin, PhD, President and CEO, Plan International USA, and Suzanne Lerner, Donor Activists and President and Co-Founder, Michael Stars Clothing.

Category: Feminist Strategy