News
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 […]
What is WDN’s Safe & Sustainable Future doing amidst the youth climate strike?
Community organizing and global solidarity is critical for climate justice, as we’re seeing from the youth climate strike. Earlier this year, WDN’s Safe & Sustainable Future Impact Collective awarded $100,000 to the Sunrise Movement—key organizers of climate actions. Last year, Safe & Sustainable Future made grants to an incredible cohort of climate activists to attend […]
The Movement to Stop the Detention of Immigrant Children at Fort Sill
This July, we saw powerful cross-movement solidarity in a successful effort to stop the transfer of 1,600 immigrant and refugee children to a detention camp at the Fort Sill military post in Lawton, Oklahoma. Many of WDN’s partners and grantees, including United We Dream (UWD) and the Sunrise Movement, led and participated in the movement to Close the […]
Reflective Democracy Releases New Data
Today is the day we redefine “electability.” We’re thrilled to share that the Reflective Democracy Campaign has just released its latest dataset and the results speak for themselves—white men’s electability advantage is a myth. When reflective candidates are on the ballot, they win as often as white men. We’ve already been covered in the New […]
WDN named a Gender Justice Champion by Equal Rights Associates
Last Friday, Equal Rights Associates (ERA) honored WDN for our early support of their Stronger California Advocates Network, which launched in 2015. Stronger California’s goal was to create a legislative agenda that improved the economic security of millions of Californians while influencing other states across the country with bold policy reforms to help women and […]
Announcing alicia sanchez gill as the New Emergent Fund Director
Founded in 2016, the Emergent Fund is a partnership between WDN, Solidaire, Threshold Foundation, and the Democracy Alliance. The Fund moves quick resources with no strings attached to communities that were and continue to be under attack by federal policies and priorities – immigrants, women, Muslim and Arab-American communities, Black people, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ communities, […]
We’ve Been Making Impact
What impact has WDN had so far this year? Continue reading to find out. Jean Hardisty Initiative In the face of rampant white supremacist violence and rhetoric, WDN is supporting Black-led movements that are channeling protest energy into building power. So far in 2019, we have invested nearly half a million dollars into Black-led movements. […]
A Rising Tide? The Changing Demographics on Our Ballots
The Reflective Democracy Campaign, a collective initiative funded by WDN members, has just released our latest study, an analysis of the race and gender of candidates on the ballot in November. We looked at congressional and governor races, as well as a sample of state legislative races, and we found some historic shifts. WDN members launched the […]
