Dear Colleagues,
The 2026 midterms reshaped Congress and brought historic firsts: Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state; Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman elected governor; Gina Hinojosa became Texas’s first Latina governor; and Amy Acton became the first woman elected governor of Ohio. The election also marked a party milestone: more than 100 Democratic women are projected to serve in the House.
Early voter-poll estimates suggest that Black voters made up roughly three in ten Georgia voters, with about nine in ten supporting Bottoms. Nationally, about six in ten Hispanic voters supported Democratic House candidates. These figures do not tell a single story about either community. They do show the influence of Black and Latino voters—and why their voices, leadership, and priorities must continue to shape public decisions after the ballots are counted.
WFN members are already sharing what these results mean in their communities. The Women’s Fund of Rhode Island is celebrating women holding the state’s top executive roles—governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general—and four Women’s Policy Institute alumnae winning elected office, including the incoming attorney general. The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation reports that Granite Staters elected two women to Congress, a woman Governor, four women to the five-member Executive Council, and eleven women out of 24 state senators. Moreover, 54 of 69 Women Run alums on the ballot won their races, a historic night for their Women Run program. In South Carolina, the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network’s sister organization, The South Carolina Liberty Project reports 14 victories across the General Assembly, including nine flipped seats that broke the supermajority. The Women’s Foundation of the South is celebrating the historic gubernatorial wins in Georgia and Texas.
These member updates reflect the work behind representation: developing women leaders, supporting local funds, and building community power over time. Representation is a milestone. The work ahead is to advance the conditions in which women—including women of color and Black women—LGBTQ+ people, and gender-expansive people can thrive: safety, bodily autonomy, care, economic security, and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their lives.
That work is especially visible in the South, where women’s funds are supporting local leaders and building durable community power. WFN’s network includes 25 members based in the South; together, they support more than 568 grantees and move over $22.5 million annually. Across 16 states where voting rights are under threat, WFN members bring trusted relationships and local knowledge to this work. These are not only numbers of reach—they reflect an infrastructure of community leadership and support.
The stakes cross borders, too. U.S. foreign-assistance rules and funding decisions can shape the work of women’s and gender justice organizations around the world. At the same time, international women’s funds and movements bring leadership, knowledge, and strategies that strengthen organizing and philanthropy in the United States. Our exchange is reciprocal: we learn and build together across regions.
Through DataWoven and its forthcoming State of the Field Report, WFN is strengthening the evidence available to women’s funds and philanthropy. Our developing Shared Gender Equity Index can connect national data with local realities, while WFN’s feminist framework for responsible AI asks whose voices and interests shape systems increasingly influencing our economy and civic life.
Following our 2026 Summit in New York City, WFN will gather in Atlanta in 2027 with intention and care—making space for Southern leadership, local knowledge, and connection across our global network.
Democracy requires more than participation at the polls. It depends on whether communities are heard, resourced, and able to shape what comes next. We invite funders and partners to stand with women’s funds and sustain the relationships, data, and shared infrastructure that make that possible.
In Solidarity,
Chantal Bonitto
Women’s Funding Network
Director of Philanthropy