MS Foundation for Women

Grantmaking and capacity building: during the 2023 fiscal year, the Foundation provided general operating support for more than 200 grantee partners throughout the united states and us territories and helped advance a wide-range of projects that work to end gender violence, improve economic security, promote health equity, and more. The support of our grantmaking efforts includes strategies that are new, creative and responsive to our partners movement spaces.this year's funding is an increase over past years and represents a balanced portfolio of rural, urban, emerging, and established organizations with a concerted effort to invest and support Women and girls of color (wgoc), including trans and non-binary people. With 90% of our grantee portfolio comprised of organizations led by Women and girls of color, and is aligned with part of the Foundation's strategic plan to invest in and support movement leaders and social justice infrastructure. The Foundation launched the birth justice initiative, our newest grantmaking strategy which aims to advance equitable birth outcomes and strengthen the capacity, organizational infrastructure, and financial stability of grassroots black, indigenous and Women of color-led birth justice organizations. In this round of grantmaking, the MS. Foundation invested $1 million in support of birth justice organizations, leaders, and movements across the spectrum of birth justice issue areas. All the MS. Foundation strategies complements the other grantmaking efforts (activist collaboration and care fund, MS. south and the girls of color initiative and building connections initiatives) of the Foundation. The Foundation also hosts donor advised funds including the oma fund, asian Women giving circle, and gloria fund.

Advocacy and policy: the advocacy and policy program enhances the organization's reach, thought leadership and strategically promotes social, culture, and legislative policies and practices to improve the lives of Women and their communities. We use this platform to not only promote change but also to create space for Women to find synergy and leverage their impact through partnership and collaboration.

Public education: the Foundation strives to lift the voices of all Women and conducts public education in the areas critical to Women's wellbeing, such as health access, reproductive justice, economic justice, and increasing the safety of Women and girls. We educate and engage audiences through our website, blogs, social media platforms, online engagements, and media placements through news outlets across the country. We also strive to create strategic media and advocacy partnerships that amplify the voices of Women, particularly Women of color like through our virtual conversation about Women + justice with the center for brooklyn history. This year, MS. Foundation also engaged in a 50th anniversary campaign which heightened national conversation about what an equitable future looks like through regional events, mass communications, and the annual Women of vision awards. The MS. Foundation also published "living with pocket change: what it means to do more with less, original qualitative research documenting the experience of Women, girl, and nonbinary leaders of color with philanthropy and recommendations for more equitable partnerships. Living with pocket change resulted in over 200 pieces of media coverage including an op-ed in philanthropy news digest entitled "a call to move beyond trust-based philanthropy to care-based philanthropy."