Dear Colleagues,
As I write this message, we still await the results of the U.S. presidential election. It could be days, or weeks, of continuing uncertainty. What we do know is that nearly 66 percent of the voting-eligible population cast ballots this year – breaking nearly a one-hundred-year-old record. With that level of participation, comes a stark reality. People in the U.S. are deeply entrenched in sharply opposing political factions that leaves little room for common ground, empathy, or healing.
That’s why your work to resource and advance intersectional feminist and anti-racist movements is needed now, more than ever. Our communities’ — already struggling and fatigued — will likely face even greater need in the year to come. Thank you for meeting the challenge by your bold funding of grassroots, women-led, civic engagement and community organizing. You know that just policies, laws, and officers of government can only exist when all genders, of all races, are regarded as crucial to the creation of those social, political, and economic policies and systems.
Thank you for the courage it takes to fight, though the resolution of the struggle may be beyond our lifetimes. Thank you for the courage to heal, though the wounds reopen daily. Thank you for the courage to feel the pain of those whom you disagree – and the willingness to find beauty in our shared humanity. Working together, change will come. It’s already on its way.
Yours for equity and justice,
Elizabeth Barajas-Román
Women’s Funding Network
President & CEO