As a people from diverse cultural backgrounds mostly identifying as part of the 99%, we historically find ourselves witnessing unimagined poignant times. Across this country we witnessed how those of us, trained in watching and waiting, decided to take a stand and created a movement from coast to coast on our own terms. The Boston Women’s Fund maintained a close look at Occupy Boston, from day one up to December 10 and beyond, by seeking information as to where our grantee community of activists’ stood: where were those organizations and groups led by women and girls in relation to Occupy? How were they now envisioning their grassroots efforts in relation to Occupy, if at all? In our lead article, Beth Levanthal of The Network, La Red grappled with the issues of a movement still seeking to understand its common ground.
These stories from three of our new grantees detail the positive impact that their organizations have on their members. They write in their own words about the importance of the work that they do. The Brazilian Immigrant Center is a grassroots organization whose mission focuses on the training, advocacy, and organizing of immigrant workers. Gedakina is a multi-generational endeavor to strengthen the cultural identity and knowledge of Native American youth and families of New England. The Genki Spark is both an arts and advocacy organization that aims to share the art of Japanese taiko drumming and to promote the voice and visibility of Asian women.
Inspired by the Egyptian Tahrir Square uprising and the Spanish acampadas massive demonstrations by young workers, the Occupy Movement began in September 2011 on Wall Street as a nonviolent, leaderless resistance movement to end corporate greed and corruption in the United States. In the few months since its inception, the movement spread to hundreds of cities world-wide. The main slogan of Occupy, “We are the 99%”, refers to the fact that those in the top 1% income bracket control almost half of the wealth in the country. While those who occupy the encampments are activated around a wide variety of social and political issues, the “99%” campaign focuses first and foremost on capitalist-based oppression.
Staff and grantees – Please click on the picture to read more information on our new blog
Staff and grantees gathered to receive pointers on Making The Case (MTC) reports, mingle with BWF donors, and learn more about the Massachusetts State Budget.
Ronita Nath, former executive assistant, shared a summary of the gathering: “Not only were we able to reach out to the BWF grantee community and provide them with tips on how to monitor and evaluate their programs effectively, but in turn, grantees provided BWF with feedback on how we could better support them. In addition, grantees and donors were able to connect at this event, strengthening their concept of the BWF family.”
Our success within the world of philanthropy hinges on our founders’ initial commitment to strengthen the leadership of women’s and girls’ grassroots organizing and advocacy efforts. Their vision to reach out primarily to women philanthropists for capital as leverage in realizing racial, economic and social justice drives us to be the best in whatever we can achieve. It remains our firm belief that women’s struggles for social change historically impacts the whole community: family, friends, neighborhood, and society in general. Our recent grants to twenty community-based women’s and girls’ organizations sets in motion this belief. Continue reading Message from the Executive Director→
Within a period of less than thirty years, the Fund awarded 5 million dollars in grants.
This fiscal year, our grantee pool included the work of some newer organizations in line with our core values. The Fund invited seven new projects, welcomed back a grassroots hip-hop group, and maintained its ongoing support for twelve long-standing women’s grassroots organizations.
With a sum of 20 grantees and total funds of $350,000, the Fund remains exceptionally proud of its support for women and girls-led efforts which includes new initiatives—all thanks to your involvement and contributions. Within a period of less than thirty years, the Boston Women’s Fund awarded 5 million dollars in grants. This makes us tremendously impressed and humbled by your enduring support.
Oiste Awardees July 2011
Scores of remarkable women and girls-led community based organizations work tirelessly to increase the effectiveness of women and girls across the board. Here at the Fund, we work with those organizations to facilitate the gap between individual donor support and grassroots work in action. Project HIP-HOP, for instance, links artful youth expression with political organizing, while the Brazilian Immigrant Center works with their community and collectively acts as a unanimous voice to promote the rights of immigrant workers in the area. Organizations like MassCOSH, The Network/La Red and WILD are among the grassroots organizations that we have steadily funded over the years, based on their powerful work in the constant pursuit of racial, economic and social justice.
Other FY2012 grantees, such as Gedinka, Inc, the Mystic Learning Center, and the Genki Spark are organizations that received first-time funding. These grassroots initiatives seek social change through time-tested community organizing, workforce development, and educational advocacy. ¿Oíste?, for example, provides civic engagement training and leadership development techniques by and to low-income Latina women interested in taking a role in policy work. These women go through 12-week workshops that address the systemic issues Latina women experience in relation to domestic violence and health disparities. Following the workshops, the women gain fundamental skills to initiate policy work and to develop local social change campaigns around key community-related issues. Through its organizing project, the Brazilian Immigrant Center recognizes the link between domestic work and immigrant women of color, while it organizes around the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. These last two organizations stand with our other grantees working around the clock to address the injustices that affect many socially and economically marginalized communities in Massachusetts.
Merrimack Valley Project
The Fund proudly supports projects that work in unison with women and girls in strengthening the viability of grassroots communities and applying strategic techniques to establish long-term, systemic social change. We welcome you in choosing the opportunity to invest in women’s and girls’ grassroots work. Ultimately, your investment assures systemic social change in many arenas. Our success, and the success of our grantee organizations, relies on your philanthropy and dedication to assuring all women live with rights and resources that sustain their commitment for realizing racial, economic and social justice for the whole community.
The Greater Fall River Domestic Violence Coalition is a collaboration of agencies that provide education, awareness and support to reduce domestic violence.
