Network News: September 2011

Last spring, WFN completed a one-year planning process that explored the fundraising landscape and individual donor engagement in reproductive health, rights and justice work, with a particular emphasis on high net worth donors capable of large gifts. 

As part of its investigation, WFN conducted focus groups with current and potential individual donors in five U.S. cities, two African cities and two European cities to learn how reproductive health and justice fits in with their philanthropy and how they talk about and think about this issue. At these meetings, WFN tested new messages and strategies for attracting new donors and deepening the engagement of existing supporters.

These sessions clarified that donors are looking for new ways to talk about reproductive health and justice. They want the issues framed in a broader context and they want to hear positive messages that focus on solutions rather than negative talk that focuses on confrontation. As a result, WFN has crafted a more holistic view of reproductive health and justice which includes an examination of the larger systems at play in women's and girls' lives and the many elements that impact their reproductive health and ability to make decisions about their bodies, including when and whether to have children.

Armed with these findings and new communications tools, WFN is currently planning an initiative that would re-energize existing donors and engage new donors in an effort to lift up new leaders, to foster new energy and commitment to the cause, and ultimately to grow the amount of money given to women's funds and other organizations in the reproductive health and justice field. 

Click here to learn more about the focus group findings or, to learn more about the project, contact Amy Friedrich-Karnik at

Each year hundreds of women gather for the annual Women's Funding Network conference. The 3-day conference includes workshops, plenary gatherings, and spaces for idea exchange. Help make the 2012 conference exciting and relevant for your peers by joining the planning committee. Email Cynthia Schmae for more details.

We are seeking nominees who exemplify the diversity of the Network - whether it is through age, class, geography, physical ability, race or sexual orientation.  The nominees can be from a variety of sources ranging from staff or board of member funds to individual donors and corporate funds. Click here to learn more and submit a nomination.

What is LEAD?  

The LEAD Award seeks to shine a spotlight on bold and inspiring bodies of work marked by specific, significant accomplishments -- efforts that not only intentionally benefit diverse women and girls, but also recognize the critical role they play in bringing about broader social change.

Generously endowed by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1997, the LEAD award was created by Women & Philanthropy in response to the historic Platform for Action that emerged from the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. The award, and the work it honors, acts as a catalyst, inspiring and energizing other grant-makers to pay closer attention to the role and impact of diversity and gender in their work. Click here to learn more and submit a nomination.