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 - National Women's Law Center

This Sunday is International Women's Day and the 2026 theme, "Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls," feels more urgent than ever. That’s why today's spotlight is on National Women's Law Center.

Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., National Women's Law Center (NWLC) “fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls”. They do this through litigation, policy advocacy, and culture change to help “break down the barriers that harm all of us—especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families.”

The Center began when secretaries at a public interest law firm made four demands: better pay for women, more women staff attorneys, work on women's rights, and an end to being expected to serve coffee every morning. The group succeeded and NWLC has been fighting for women ever since.

Today, NWLC works across five core issue areas: reproductive rights and health care , education and Title IX, workplace justice, poverty and economic security, and LGBTQ+ equality. Their tools include litigation, federal and state policy advocacy, and public education campaigns, making them one of the only multi-issue gender justice organizations working across all of these fronts simultaneously.

NWLC has had a big impact in the courts and beyond. In 2024 alone, they filed 25 amicus briefs, brought four new enforcement actions before federal agencies, and filed a novel federal lawsuit to protect access to emergency abortion care. They also launched Project Defiance, a four-year, $100 million campaign to safeguard the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people.

If you'd like help NWLC in their fight for gender justice, there are many ways to do so. You can make a donation, take direct action by texting NWLC to 32434, shop for merch, and amplify their message on social media. Follow National Women’s Law Center on Bluesky, Instagram or LinkedIn. Happy International Women's Day!