Boston Globe: Boston-based Maternal Health Organizations get Funding Boost, a win for Women of Color

Three local organizations receive $75,000 in grants for their work addressing the maternal health crisis

Members of the Birth Equity and Justice Massachusetts Steering Committee. Photo by Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff.

"...Three Boston-based organizations...earlier this month received $25,000 grants for their work filling gaps in maternal and reproductive support that continue to fuel the Black maternal health crisis.

The funding is part of an effort by the Boston Women’s Fund, a foundation that supports marginalized women, girls, and gender-diverse people, to shore up funding for women of color, who are often overlooked for grants."

Female-led organizations are often the first to respond to the needs of their communities during crises, providing essential services to marginalized groups, raising awareness around risks to human rights and health, and demanding accountability, according to UNICEF. But they often lack adequate financial support.

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Boston Women’s Fund Grants Advance Reproductive Justice for Birthing People of Color

Grants to 3 Black-Led Grassroots Organizations Go Beyond Abortion Rights

For immediate release: July 25, 2023

Contact: Aisha Woodruff, aisha@bostonwomensfund.org

BOSTON — July 25, 2023 — Boston Women’s Fund (BWF) announced three new Movement Building Grants to grassroots organizations working on reproductive justice in Massachusetts, supporting birthing people of color as they decide to have or not to have a child, seek quality pregnancy care, and navigate the aftermath of childbearing.

BWF awarded Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts, Melanin Mass Moms, and Propa City Community Outreach each a grant of $25,000 for their work tackling inequity in their communities. For each organization, BWF’s support marks their first-ever foundation grant.

“The fall of Roe v. Wade signaled a new era in the battle for reproductive freedom. There’s no time to wait. It’s not an understatement to say that we are in the fight for our lives,” said Natanja Craig Oquendo, Executive Director of Boston Women’s Fund.

“Reproductive justice goes beyond abortion and must include sex education, STI care, menstrual equality, pregnancy care and postpartum care for both parent and child,” Oquendo said. “While the federal government has yet to respond to the Black maternal health crisis, our 2023 Movement Building grantee partners work passionately in their communities to improve the pregnancy and post-pregnancy experience for Black and Brown and low-income women, girls, and gender-expansive people in radical ways.”

Birth Equity and Justice Massachusetts (BEJMA), a statewide organization co-chaired by Jallicia Jolly and Yaminah Romulus, elevates the voices and experiences of Black and Brown birthing people, advances maternal health policy, and builds community power through a lens of justice and equity.

Melanin Mass Moms works across the state to bridge the gaps between community resources and health disparities for mothers of color as they navigate all stages of motherhood. When founder Julia Lotin was pregnant, she was the only mother of color in her moms’ groups. She started Melanin Mass Moms to create a community of mothers of color who could share resources, ask for advice, and simply be there as a support network for one another.

Propa City Community Outreach, founded by Stephanie Crawford, is a pregnancy and infant loss support network for women of color, based in Roxbury. Through the lens of parents losing children, Propa City builds community, promotes mental health and positive healing, elevates issues of Black and Brown maternal health, and addresses medical trauma for women of color.

“We are deeply grateful for the generosity and support of the Boston Women’s Fund through its intentional investments in participatory grantmaking and democratic leadership. The Movement Building grant demonstrates BWF’s strong commitment to community-led grassroots work and leadership among women and gender-expansive individuals of color which is critical to our community,” said Yaminah Romulus and Jallicia Jolly, co-chairs of Birth Equity & Justice in a joint statement. “As a majority Black women-led reproductive justice coalition that aims to improve the health outcomes of birthing people in Massachusetts, this award will be instrumental in helping BEJMA develop a strong and sustainable foundation for authentic and meaningful coalition-building and engagement with pre-existing and potential partners organizing within the reproductive health landscape.”

About Boston Women’s Fund

Boston Women’s Fund (BWF) invests in women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals leading grassroots organizations working toward racial, economic, social, and gender justice. BWF envisions a world where power, opportunity, and access exist for those persistently marginalized, regardless of gender identity or gender expression.

Founded in 1984 by progressive women, BWF was the first women’s foundation in Massachusetts and is one of the oldest nonprofit women’s foundations in the nation. Through forward-thinking grantmaking practices, BWF predominantly supports Black and Brown leaders from communities persistently excluded from philanthropy, including LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, immigrant, refugee, disabled, low-income, and elderly communities. To learn more, visit www.bostonwomensfund.org.

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Announcing Our 2023 Grantee Partners: Over $400k to Grassroots Organizations Driving Radical Change

This year, the Boston Women’s Fund is deepening our commitment to women, girls, and gender-expansive leaders across Greater Boston. We’re excited to announce that we’ve selected our 2023 grantee partners! With the support of our community, this year, we’ve granted over $400,000 to 22 grassroots organizations driving radical change.

These organizations led by women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals across Greater Boston are building movements and leading systems change to usher in a more just world.

As a part of our commitment to leading the way on more equitable philanthropic practices, we’ve held true to our unique, people-first grantmaking approach. All of our grantee partners were nominated by the public and reviewed by our Allocations Committee, a diverse community-based group of volunteers. They then sat down with leaders from every organization in “Requests for Conversations,” our alternative to a traditional RFP or a lengthy grant application. This is not only a more personal, and accessible way to learn about each organization's work, it completely lifts the application burden from organization leaders.

The committee members then drafted applications for the organizations they interviewed and shared their info with the larger group. The final grantee partners were selected through a consensus process.

Our grantees represent our communities: people of color, LGBTQIA+, youth, elderly, immigrant, refugee, disabled, and low-income communities. Of the 22 grassroots organizations selected to receive funding, all are led by women or gender-expansive individuals, 95% of whom are people of color. Four organizations are focused on reproductive justice, two center youth, and two are recipients of our seed-funding grant, our initiative aimed specifically at closing the funding gap for Black and Brown grassroots leaders.

In addition to our Movement Building, Community Impact, Youth-Centered Movement Building and Seed Funding grants, we’ve also created a new funding opportunity. While we strategically fund organizations with annual operating budgets equal to or less than $500,000, this year, we’ve launched our first-ever Momentum grant for members of the BWF family whose organizations have grown to exceed that threshold. All Momentum grantee partners received a one-time grant award and our commitment for ongoing beyond-the-grant support throughout the years to come.

We’re honored to support our 2023 grantee partners, both new and seasoned within the BWF family, and the innovative, life-changing work they’re pursuing in their communities.

The following organizations have been selected as BWF’s 2023 grantee partners:

Abilities Dance

Asian American Women's Political Initiative

Asian Women For Health

Association Of Haitian Women In Boston

Birth Equity & Justice MA

Blackyard

Cambridge HEART Program

Dominican Development Center

Eastern Woodlands Rematriation Collective

Essex County Community Organization

Grimes King Foundation For The Elderly

Justice For Housing

Love Your Magic

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition

Massachusetts Coalition of Domestic Workers

Melanin Mass Moms

Neighborhood Birth Center

Propa City Community Outreach

Save Our Selves

Sisters Unchained

Small House

Women Encouraging Empowerment

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin for more on the change our grantee partners are driving across Greater Boston.