July 30, 2024
Grassroots leaders in the Midwest have the solutions for their communities – now is the time to fully fund them
by Samantha Franklin
Our Pocket Change research showed that the women and girls of color (WGOC) in the Midwest receive the second-lowest level of philanthropic support (with the South coming in first) at just $2.99 each per year. The Ms. Midwest strategy is our second regional grantmaking initiative, following the launch of our Ms. South initiative in 2020. In addition to the region being vastly underfunded and under-resourced, the political significance of the Midwest cannot be overstated – especially during an election year. The region has become a defining battleground for national issues that impact the lives of women, girls, and gender-expansive people, and is also home to some of the most regressive legislation in the nation. The opportunity in the Midwest is great as well. The skilled brilliance of women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color is consistently driving organizing wins. More meaningful and sustained investment has the power to deepen their impact. Last November, for example, Ohio became the seventh state in the nation to protect abortion access since Roe was overturned. Critical to this work were the efforts of the Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights (OURR) campaign, which included Ohio Women’s Alliance, a Ms. Midwest grantee partner, to engage and turn out voters – especially Black and brown women – to approve a constitutional amendment that guarantees access to abortion and other reproductive health care. This power-building work generated a significant, direct impact not only for Ohioans but for people traveling from other states for care, while laying the political groundwork and infrastructure for additional wins. In developing this portfolio, we held conversation with Midwestern leaders, learning: In launching this portfolio, our hope is to uplift what we know to be true: funding and resourcing multi-issue movement-building work led by women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color is a winning strategy in the Midwest and beyond. In this pilot year, Ms. Midwest aims through general operating (and mostly multi-year) grants, capacity building, and convenings, to bolster connections, coalitions, and collaborations; strengthen organizing, advocacy, and civic engagement efforts; and support organizations to deepen their engagement in politically salient fights affecting women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Ms. Midwest especially seeks to support organizations led by and for trans and Indigenous communities and organizations working in rural areas. The organizations we selected demonstrate a strong gender analysis in their work for social and gender justice, focus their work on structural change led by/affecting women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color, clearly and explicitly center and prioritize the leadership of women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color, and hold a long-term vision for structural change in their work. Get to know the awardees here: It is essential to invest deeply in regions like the South and Midwest not only to push back against regressive forces in these regions, but to highlight the brilliance, innovations, and insights generated by WGOC-led organizations. Women, girls, and gender-expansive people of color have a grounded perspective on what needs to happen in their communities. They advance our movement work in intersectional and inclusive ways and can be our leaders in creating a thriving world for everyone. To learn more about our strategy and the incredible organizations fighting for liberation in the Midwest (including those we were unable to fund in our pilot year!) please contact [email protected]. *Ms. Foundation defines the Midwest as the 12 states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.