Feel Good Friday - Ms. Foundation for Women

Oh no, I'm back with another post inspired by the passing of a prominent public figure. This time it's feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem. Two weeks, two icons gone, which makes this a fitting day to talk about the organization she helped create more than 50 years ago, Ms. Foundation for Women.

Founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Marlo Thomas, and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, the mission of Ms. Foundation for Women is: “We build women's collective power in the U.S. by investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural, and economic change.”

As the nation's oldest women's foundation, the Ms. Foundation doesn't run programs directly. Instead, they fund and strengthen grassroots, women-led organizations working on reproductive health and rights, economic justice, and safety from violence, with a particular focus on women and girls of color. Current grantmaking initiatives include the Birth Justice Initiative, which addresses maternal and infant health disparities, and the Girls of Color Initiative, which funds leadership development for adolescent girls and gender-expansive youth of color.

Their Take Our Daughters to Work Day, created in 1993, became a national institution that's now known to eight out of ten people across the country and involves 35 million participants each year. The Foundation also hosts the annual Women of Vision Awards, originally launched in 1988 as the Gloria Awards in Steinem's honor, celebrating women whose leadership is changing the world.

In the fiscal year ending June 2025, the Ms. Foundation distributed more than $7.6 million in direct grants to 194 grantee partners across 108 cities and towns in 38 states and territories! Over 98 percent of that portfolio is led by women and gender-expansive people of color.

If you'd like to honor and celebrate Gloria Steinem, you can do that by supporting Ms. Foundation for Women. Make a monetary donation, become a monthly giver, or shop their store, with proceeds going toward their grantmaking and advocacy work. You can also amplify their message on social media. Follow the Foundation on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or subscribe to their YouTube channel, and share their fight for equity and justice with your network.

Rest in power, Gloria. ✊ 

Feel Good Friday - Equality Now

Happy Friday! It’s still March, it’s still Women’s History Month so let’s talk about Equality Now.

Founded in 1992 and based in New York City, the mission of Equality Now is "to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.”  They do this with a global network of lawyers, activists, and supporters who hold governments responsible for their international obligation to prohibit all forms of violence and discrimination against women. 

Equality Now works in all regions of the world and uses a combination of legal expertise, advocacy, collaboration, and resourcing to get their work done. Watch this video to hear Global Executive Director, Mona Sinha explain their work or keep reading.

There are four areas that Equality Now focuses on. Achieving legal equality is the first step towards gender equality. The team at Equality Now works to end legislative gender discrimination and holds governments around the world accountable for their obligations under international law. Ending harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation means leading global campaigns against these practices while also collaborating with regional partners and pushing for states to enact and implement effective laws. 

Ending sexual violence and sexual exploitation is important because 1 in 3 women globally will experience sexual violence in their lifetimes. Equality Now works to enact good laws that are effectively implemented while also exploring partnerships that take an ecosystems approach to building support mechanisms for women and girls. They work to prevent online sexual exploitation and abuse as well as partnering with local activists to challenge sex trafficking and sex tourism.

In 2023, Equality Now shared their feminist, legal expertise in 76 trainings and workshops. They helped change 14 laws in 12 countries, which improved access to justice for 39.2 million women and girls worldwide. Read stories of this impact here.

If you’d like to help Equality Now realize their vision of “a world in which women and men have equal rights under the law, and full enjoyment of their human rights” there are many ways to do so. Make a donation, join the changemakers network, shop for merch, and amplify their message on social media.  Follow Equality Now on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - Ukrainian Women's Fund

March is Women’s History Month and we’re kicking it off by highlighting work being done by the Ukrainian Women’s Fund.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine, the Ukrainian Women’s Fund (UWF) is the only women’s foundation in Ukraine. Their mission is to “support women's/feminist organizations, make for their participation in the development of a powerful, effective and mass women's/feminist movement capable of protecting women's rights and promoting gender equality in all areas.”

Current efforts by UWF are focused on rapid response grants to support women and girls who face humanitarian challenges caused by the Russian invasion as well as activists who are at the forefront of the volunteer movement. Funds are used to cover the urgent needs for water, food, medicine, hygiene, and communication with a focus on the most vulnerable groups of women and girls.

In addition to these immediate needs, funding provided by UWF supports women’s rights and feminist organizations in Ukraine, women activists and entrepreneurs, young women leaders, and journalists and editors in the media.

Examples of the work being done in current projects includes advancing women’s security, economic empowerment, and leadership in post-conflict Ukraine; continuing Ukraine's EU integration-related reforms; and training teenagers on how to create a culture of consent, define their own boundaries and respect the boundaries of others.

UWF shares many success stories on their website which involve developing girls’ independence and leadership skills through a girl scout program, creating a Women’s Leadership Academy that trains women how to make improvements in their communities, and a grant competition to support female veterans and military families. From February 2022 to February 2025, UWF has received over $54,000 in donations which they apply to these programs.

If you’d like to to help the Ukrainian Women’s Fund change systems with and for women in Ukraine there are several ways to get involved. Make a donation and amplify their work on social media. Follow UWF on Facebook or Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel.