Wake up daily to our latest coverage of business done better, directly in your inbox.
Get your weekly dose of analysis on rising corporate activism.
The best of solutions journalism in the sustainability space, published monthly.
Select Newsletter
By signing up you agree to our privacy policy. You can opt out anytime.
New $500,000 Fund Makes Organizing Easier for Women of Color and Trans Women
For more than a decade, reproductive justice foundation Groundswell has supported communities of color by funding grassroots organizers looking to create political shifts in health care for marginalized groups. And earlier this month, the organization added a new "Liberation Fund" to its arsenal.
The fund will support the leadership efforts of women of color and trans women working across issues such as environmental, racial and economic justice, immigrant issues, and transgender rights.
The fund will launch with an initial $500,000. Its first set of grantees will be curated by 15 advisors, who are prominent women of color leading in these same sectors. The fund is now accepting donations.
Notable names of advisors to the fund include Bamby Salcedo of the TransLatin Coalition, Dr. Charlene Sinclair of the Center for Community Change, Sarita Gupta of Jobs with Justice, and Linda Sarsour of MPower Change.
“The Liberation Fund will make it easier for donors and funders to identify and resource some of the most effective and innovative organizing at the grassroots led by women of color and transgender people of color,” Alicia Garza, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, said in a statement announcing the fund.This new funding comes at a sensitive time in human rights movements as advanced data and reporting aid to document the injustices against women of color and trans women — including political disparity and the need for intersectionality on issues facing these women.“To elevate women of color and trans people of color at a time when our communities are under extreme duress is not only smart but essential for our survival. There's never been a better time for donors and funders to put their money directly where change is happening.”
More than 20 transgender people were killed in America last year. As the new presidential administration threatens funding to resources like Planned Parenthood and Medicaid, access to reproductive services for all women is at risk.
"At a time when trans women of color experience and face disproportionate amounts of violence at the hands of the state and society, it is so critical for movements and resources to amplify the voices of TWOC leaders and community-based organizations that are empowering our most vulnerable,” said Isa Noyola, director of programs at the Transgender Law Center.
“This fund is a show of support and signal to the movement that we must do better to protect, defend, and uplift TWOC-led work!”
Image courtesy of Groundswell
Sherrell Dorsey is a social impact storyteller, social entrepreneur and advocate for environmental, social and economic equity in underserved communities. Sherrell speaks and writes frequently on the topics of sustainability, technology, and digital inclusion.
