Feel Good Friday - Black Women's Health Imperative

February is Black History Month. Let’s kick it off by highlighting an organization dedicated to the health and wellness of Black women and girls, Black Women’s Health Imperative.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the mission of Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) is “To lead the effort to solve the most pressing health issues that affect Black women and girls globally.” They do this by making investments in evidence-based strategies, delivering bold new programs, and advocating health-promoting policies. Watch this 3-minute video or keep reading for details.

BWHI has seven signature programs designed to address the most pressing health issues currently impacting 21 million Black women and girls across the United States. They are: lifestyle change, reproductive health, HBCU advisory, rare diseases, menstrual equity, maternal health and HIV awareness. The focus of most of these programs is self-explanatory. For the other, lifestyle change is a support system to help Black women prevent, or manage, type 2 diabetes. The HBCU advisory is an advocacy and leadership-building initiative for women on Historically Black College and University (HBCU) campuses that provides training, skills, and strategies to advocate for wellness, education, and policy related to Black women.

There is also a policy and advocacy team that evaluates and develops national and state policies to hold elected officials accountable for addressing issues most critical to Black women’s health, especially regarding: maternal health, reproductive health, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, breast and cervical cancers, intimate partner violence and sexual assault.

In addition to all the actives above, BWHI has special initiatives which focus on specific topics such as periods, uterine fibroids and menopause. They also train lifestyle coaches to support the lifestyle change program and publish a variety of reports, including the 2024 Health Policy Voters Guide.

If you’d like to support these programs and help the Black Women’s Health Initiative achieve their vision where “all Black women will enjoy optimal health in a society that promotes health equity and social justice”, there are many ways to do so. Start with a donation or shop for merch, then amplify their message on social media. Follow BWHI on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Goods Unite Us

If current events are motivating you to find multiple ways to support your political beliefs, whatever they may be, you’ll want to keep reading about today’s highlighted organization, Goods Unite Us.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, the mission of Goods Unite Us is “to empower people to become political consumers and investors so that we can all collectively put an end to corporate political donations.” Watch this one minute overview video from CEO Abigail Wuest to learn more.

Goods Unite Us has a research team that hand curates and certifies all of the data they share on their website and app. By bringing more accountability and transparency to political donations made by corporations, they help consumers more easily align their everyday purchases with their politics. Search for a company or brand to find out “what percentage the company, its affiliates and its senior management and executives collectively donate to Republicans and Democrats, what percentage comes from the company itself versus its employees, and the top five politicians donated to.” 

After downloading and using the app, I was very sad to find out that, despite their Berkeley, California roots, Peet’s coffee gives more money to Republicans than Democrats and earns a -37 Campaign Finance Reform Score. These scores can range from -100 to +100. The higher the score, the more likely that purchases from the company or brand will lead to meaningful campaign finance reform. Time to switch to Starbucks since they rate a score of 66.

Not only can you explore brands and companies one at a time, you can also take this quiz to rate yourself, find out where your money goes, and make any needed adjustments. If you also want your investments to reflect your political beliefs, and those beliefs are Democratic, you can invest in the DEMZ fund. Designed to provide similar risk and performance as the S&P 500, it only includes companies that have made over 75% of their political contributions to Democratic causes and candidates.

If you’re ready to reclaim your voice and align your spending with your political beliefs, download the app and start checking on the brands you support. To help more people learn about Goods Unite Us, spread the word on social media. Like their Facebook page, follow them on Instagram.

Feel Good Friday - California Community Foundation

Another week and fires are still burning around Los Angeles so again we’re going to highlight an organization providing support to the impacted communities. Today, it’s the California Community Foundation.

Established in 1915 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the mission of the California Community Foundation (CCF) is “to lead positive systemic change that strengthens Los Angeles’ communities.” They do this through fundraising and awarding grants to organizations that provide “long-term, comprehensive solutions that address the vital issues concerning quality of life in Los Angeles County.”

Let’s start with the wildfires. This falls under CCF’s focus area on community resilience and empowering communities to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change. In response to the current wildfires, CCF created a Wildfire Recovery Fund. As of January 17th, they have raised over $30 million from a cross-section of donors, including major corporations, foundations, and more than 27,000 individual donors. Over $15 million in grants has already been awarded to nearly 130 nonprofit organizations and future donations will help people in the region recover and rebuild.

Other areas of focus for CCF include housing and homelessness, education, health, immigration, arts and culture, and civic engagement. Examples of what the funding provides includes: low-interest loans and grants to create and preserve affordable housing, making art accessible for all, healthcare and health education for economically disadvantaged residents in greater South Los Angeles, creating more equity and inclusion so immigrants and their families can thrive, and education initiatives for students from underserved communities.

In the last fiscal year, CCF gave out more than 9,837 in grants, which totaled just over $440 million. Since 2004, they have given more than $3.9 billion in grants, which has impacted hundreds of thousands of lives across Los Angeles County.

If you’d like to help the California Community Foundation respond to the wildfires or otherwise help strengthen Los Angeles communities, you can. Make a donation and spread the word on social media. Like the CCF Facebook page and follow them on Instagram and LinkedIn.