Join Our 2025 Allocations Committee

We are excited to share that the Boston Women's Fund will be putting together an Allocations Committee in 2025!

With the leadership of the Allocations Committee, BWF will award grassroots organizations in the Greater Boston area with a one-year, unrestricted $25,000 grant to support their movement building work.

We cannot do this work alone — we are calling on you to assist us in our commitment to community-led and participatory grantmaking. As an Allocations Committee member, your assignment, both difficult and rewarding, determines who will receive these grant funds.

Allocations Committee members will review nominations, facilitate conversations with nominated organizations and their community members, conduct research and draft proposals, and use a consensus model to select organizations to receive grants from BWF. This approach decentralizes power by shifting it from foundations to the community — democratizing philanthropy through transparency, equity, and inclusion. 

We strongly encourage people of all ages and identities, inside and outside of philanthropy, to apply! No prior grantmaking experience is required! This is an incredible opportunity to learn more about BWF, gain hands-on experience with grassroots leaders, and engage with community-led solutions to local challenges.

If this sounds like a challenge and an opportunity you would like to be part of, please fill out our application form by December 31, 2024.

We will offer a virtual info session on Tuesday, December 3 at 6:00pm EST. If you are interested in joining the Allocations Committee and have any questions or would like to hear directly from our team about the process, register here!

---

Responsibilities of Allocations Committee members include:

1. Attend one mandatory, in-person orientation on Saturday, March 8, 2025 from 10:00am - 3:00pm.

2. Research assigned organizations; interview their leaders and community members who have been impacted by the work; prepare, write and present grant proposals; and recommend organizations to the Allocations Committee and BWF staff and board for funding.

3. Participate in a mandatory, in-person Consensus Session on Saturday, May 10, 2025 from 10:00am - 3:00pm (selection of grant awardees).

4. A total time commitment of 40-45 hours.

Allocations Committee members will also receive a modest stipend.

Apply By December 31

Official Statement on The 2024 Presidential Election — Leaning Into US

In times like these, I am reminded of the enduring power of US — not the United States, but the power of each of us, standing together. We are the ones who strategize, support, and organize to make liberation tangible. We have always understood that change begins locally, where our voices echo the loudest and our actions carry the most weight.

As we look toward Project 2025, let’s not be fooled. We’ve seen this before. We know their blueprint, their playbook, and their attempts to undermine our freedoms. Project 2025 is not just a policy agenda—it’s a call to action for us to fight for our right to live freely and fully. They seek to take away our ability to make choices for ourselves—about our bodies, our identities, and our futures. But history tells us that when they try to suppress us, we rise stronger. From the Combahee River Collective to the fight for marriage equality, we have always resisted and reclaimed our power.

So today, I am choosing US. I am leaning into our shared commitment to equity, justice, and self-determination. This fight is not just for one community but for all of us. No matter your gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or background, we are in this together. We have the knowledge, the strength, and the resilience to face this head-on.

In the coming days and weeks, BWF will be hosting virtual spaces of reflection, processing, and solidarity. I invite you to join me on Zoom. Let’s process, reflect, and strategize. Let’s hold space for the anger, the grief, and the hope that fuels our work.



Together, we will rise.

Together, we will resist.

Together, we will keep building a future that honors all of us.

With love, fire, and unwavering solidarity,

Natanja Craig Oquendo

---

Sign up for updates on upcoming gatherings here.

Donate now to support local movements and leaders here.

Meet Our New Board Member — Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez

The Boston Women's Fund recently added new leaders to our incredible Board of Directors!

We are excited to welcome Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez (she/her) to the Boston Women’s Fund board! D.J. currently serves as an Associate at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP. In her legal practice, Stephanie regularly advises clients on matters related to private foundations and charitable giving. She is also on the board of Project LEARN, a nonprofit that supports public schools in her hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

We connected with Stephanie to learn more about what liberation means to her and the work she hopes to do with the Boston Women’s Fund!

---

Boston Women's Fund: What initially drew you to the Boston Women’s Fund?

Stephanie Klinkenberg-Ramirez: I believe that BWF has the right approach to philanthropy because we, first, listen to communities and their grassroots leaders to understand their needs. This is a unique model in philanthropy that places the power back in the hands of the communities with which BWF works. It also allows philanthropists who work with BWF to obtain a true understanding of a community’s needs and ensures that their contributions will have the most impact.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role as a Director of the Board?

I am excited to hear directly from grassroots leaders and gain a better understanding of the innovative initiatives that they wish to implement. 

What does liberation mean to you?

In the context of my role as a board member of BWF, liberation means the freedom and ability for communities to make the changes they wish to make. 

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about philanthropy, what would it be?

Often when decisions are being made about how to structure philanthropic giving, the people that philanthropy seeks to serve are not invited to the conversation. Decisions are made on behalf of communities by individuals who are not members of those communities. I believe BWF is making the exact change that I most wish to see in philanthropy by amplifying the voices of grassroots leaders when they express the needs and goals of their communities, permitting donors to better serve those communities via their philanthropic efforts. 

What are two fun facts about you?

1. My family immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. Most of my family - including many aunts and cousins - now live in Massachusetts, which means that our typical family gatherings include 20+ people.

2. I have a dog named Lulu, and we love going on long nature walks together.

What’s one quote that gives you life?

“But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer.” ― Samwise Gamgee