We Sent $3.8M to the Field This Fall

Photo: Alliance for Youth Organizing

We close 2023 with one of our largest funding pushes to date – over $3.8 million in grantmaking this fall! WDN’s members, staff, and movement partners collaborated to channel these funds to 48 organizations championing progress across Black liberation and feminism, workers’ rights, economic justice, abortion access, a Just Transition, year-round voter engagement, and pro-democracy work.

$750k to Sustain Existing Partnerships & Seed Emerging Opportunities in the Black Liberation Movement

Photo: Bet On Us

“Black Americans have always been at the forefront of American democracy and anti-fascist movements.” – Jason Stanley, Professor of Philosophy, Yale University. 

In the face of disproportionate obstacles and inequality, Black women continue to emerge as resilient and visionary leaders whose contributions to social, political, and economic progress are immeasurable. By directing resources towards empowering Black women and nonbinary leaders, our Jean Hardisty Initiative aims to help correct the historic underfunding of Black organizations and to catalyze a positive ripple effect that will strengthen our movements for racial, gender, economic, and climate justice. 

The latest round of grants invests $700k in Black women leaders and movement infrastructure:

*First-time WDN grantee

$650k for Worker, Economic & Gender Justice

During the pandemic, U.S. billionaire wealth surged by 70%, while nearly 89 million Americans lost their jobs and nearly one in four parents struggled to afford housing or food. Despite the significant growth in the wealth gap, this disparity is nothing new. People of color have been systematically denied the ability to build and keep their wealth for generations. 

Yet even with skyrocketing inflation and each new attack on reproductive rights, LGBTQIA+ youth, and education, our grassroots partners are making breakthroughs for their communities – and all people – to ensure the security to thrive.

In their final round of grantmaking for 2023, our Opportunity & Equality For All Impact Collective granted $600k to six grantee partners:

5 organizations building worker and economic justice:

2 organizations fighting for reproductive justice:

*First-time WDN grantee

$600k Towards Building a Reflective Democracy

Over the last several years, democratic movements for racial and gender equity have seen rapid growth and achievements – changes that WDN’s Reflective Democracy Campaign has both documented and helped to catalyze. However, conservative movements are weaponizing race and gender to mobilize support for anti-democratic projects, facilitated by widespread distrust of and alienation from the political system. The Reflective Democracy team identified several important interventions that the Campaign is uniquely positioned to support – building on years of work, movement relationships, and expertise. WDN continues to back the Campaign’s vital work and the $600k in grant funding will support six organizations as they combat the rise of authoritarianism and invest in democracy-building efforts in areas of the political system that are often overlooked.

$600k through the Reflective Democracy Campaign to support 6 organizations:

Photo: Geoff Livingston

$585k to Protect Abortion Access Across the U.S.

In the year plus since the Dobbs decision, the needs of reproductive justice organizations have only grown greater: funders have pulled or are pulling back from funding abortion, a constantly-changing legal landscape provides countless difficulties, and more people than ever are cut off from accessing affordable, proximate reproductive healthcare. As we look toward a second year post-Roe, WDN’s Abortion Bridge Collaborative (ABC) Fund continues to fund the clinics, abortion funds, disseminators of information, and other organizations that facilitate getting people to care. 

In their November round of grantmaking, ABC sent $585k to the field to help sustain abortion access:

$575k for Climate Justice & a Just Transition

Photo: Que Paguen

The U.S. is among the world’s top polluters, second only to China. Our reliance on fossil fuels and our history of colonization continue to contribute to the widespread destruction and displacement of marginalized communities worldwide. Yet, from Nigeria to Nepal to New Orleans, our partners are seeding change for a regenerative, sustainable world where all can thrive. 

In their final round of grants for the year, our Safe & Sustainable Future For All Impact Collective moved $575k to 12 organizations leading Just Transition efforts, narrative and culture change strategies, political power-building, and land reclamation throughout the U.S. and Global South:

*First-time WDN grantee

$500k for Year-Round Voter Engagement & Protecting Democracy

With the 2024 elections on the horizon and fascism an ever-present threat, it is critical we continue to invest in long-term organizing. Our conversations with grantee partners have reinforced the vital need for long-term investment in state ecosystems, election and voter protection, and year-round grassroots organizing. 

Movement Voter Fund’s Billy Wimsatt recently named organizers the “‘essential workers of our democracy” who show up each day to “fight injustice, tend to the urgent wounds of our communities, and patiently plant the seeds and till the soil of voter turnout.” Their tireless, collective action engages tens of millions of voters: “In short: organizing works. Investing consistently in long-term local organizing has returned enormous dividends.” 

Our Participation & Representation For All Impact Collective sent $500k to five organizations that are building capacity to advance voter justice in 2024, have a broad reach, and engage overlooked constituencies:

$155k in Rapid Response Funding for Middle East Peace

“Solidarity is the political version of love.” – Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Jewish feminist-activist

WDN’s reputation for bold, nimble, and courageous action comes from a 30-year-long legacy of meeting the moment and standing on the side of freedom, safety, and justice for all. Whether it was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the racial justice uprisings after the murder of George Floyd, the threats to our democracy, or our abortion rights being stripped post-Dobbs, we are an active community driven by our commitment to both protecting and advancing shared justice. Holding a vision toward collective liberation, we know intimately that our struggles here in the U.S. are bound with global struggles for freedom.

Most recently and in the days following the Hamas attack and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, WDN worked in collaboration with our members, peers, and grantee partners to move $420k to the most immediate needs, prioritizing U.S.-based frontline organizations where our resources would be most catalytic and funding a slate of progressive Palestinian-led, Jewish-led and BIPOC-led organizations working together in solidarity. After raising additional funding for this effort from our members, we mobilized a further $155k to support the ecosystem of organizing efforts. And we continue to raise funds.

Photo: Palestine Legal

In this latest round, we prioritized the ecosystem for permanent ceasefire efforts, including frontline organizing, legal support against censorship and doxxing, and fighting disinformation through culture and narrative change work. These organizations came by recommendation from members, staff, and our network of grantees:

$155k to four organizations:

*First-time WDN grantee

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The WDN community protects and advances gender, racial, economic, and climate justice by channeling collective power and resources in solidarity with movements to transform people, culture, and systems. Learn more about what we fund.

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