News
Emergent Fund awards second round of COVID-19 Relief Grants
Already since January 2020, WDN members have proudly moved $750,000 to the Emergent Fund, with $450,000 since the pandemic. $100,000 of this funding was specifically designated for COVID-response work. In just the last month and a half, this funding has been leveraged into over $1.4 million in commitments to COVID-response funding from other funders and […]
WDN’s Reflective Democracy Campaign funds “Councilwoman”, the film
WDN’s Reflective Democracy Campaign is a proud funder of Councilwoman, a film about Carmen Castillo. Castillo is a Dominican American woman who is elected and serves as a city councilwoman in Providence, Rhode Island. The film follows her as she advocates for workers rights, leads the fight for a $15 minimum wage in Providence, and runs a grueling […]
WDN Moves $2 Million Start of Pandemic
We know that these are frightening times. We’ve all been worrying about the health and safety of those we love and the communities we hold dear. In the face of that fear, our network has stepped up to the moment. In the midst of this pandemic, we’re proud to share that the WDN community has […]
Reflective Democracy Fellow Premal Dharia Sounds Alarm
On May 14, 2020, Reflective Democracy Fellow Premal Dharia was interviewed by NPR about the thousands of legal cases tossed into limbo as district and state courts shut down across the country due to the pandemic. What does this mean for all of people connected to those cases? She also authored a piece in Slate bringing […]
If white male electability is a myth, then why does it, nevertheless, persist?
Reflective Democracy Campaign Director Brenda Choresi Carter spoke to the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle in reaction to Elizabeth Warren ending her bid for Democratic presidential nominee. Carter provided analysis about the pervasive myth of white male electability and how it has played out during the current race for President. Spoiler, white men are not more electable than […]
Equal Rights Advocates’ Women’s Agenda Policy Hub is live!
In 2019, Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) came to the Opportunity and Equality Impact Collective with a vision of creating an online hub where advocates from across the country could share model legislation to advance women’s economic security. WDN was an inaugural funder and now we’re thrilled to report that the online hub is here! ERA outlines policy solutions […]
Wrapping up 2019: Final Updates from WDN’s Initiatives
As we wrap up the year, we are excited to share a few final updates from WDN’s initiatives. The Impact Collectives have been hard at work awarding final grants for the year. We’re finishing 2019 strong and supporting the following organizations: This year, the Emergent Fund moved over $1 million to sixty-nine grantees, with most of them getting […]
Notes from Chicago: Recapping WDN Connect 2019
WDN’s annual conference has come to a close and we’d like to share some highlights. This year we were in Chicago. We drew from the city’s rich tradition of community organizing and the collective power of our network as we explored some of the most pressing issues of our time, from the future of our […]
Challenging the “Old Boys’ Club” Among Elected Prosecutors
In a new report, Reflective Democracy updates their 2015 study on the race and gender of elected prosecutors, which found that 95% of prosecutors were white—almost 80% white men. This research shows clearly that those who are most vulnerable to prosecutorial bias and misconduct are also the most underrepresented in prosecutors’ offices. Reflective Democracy Campaign […]
“Can Philanthropy Save Democracy?” WDN Featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy
WDN was featured in the Latest Chronicle of Philanthropy Cover Story. The women of WDN were highlighted as leaders in democracy funding in the latest issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy [subscription required]. The focus on democracy is relatively new for many funders, but WDN had prioritized this work even before we launched the Reflective Democracy Campaign, our […]
