Every season of our growth has led to the next. We began as a home for progressive women to claim agency over their resources; and with time, we grew into a learning space where women built skills as philanthropists. Next came a transformational focus on multiplying our impact through collective giving. As the political landscape shifted nationwide, we created Women Donors Action to build and strengthen our advocacy work.
Then, 2020 changed everything. In the pivotal years that followed, this network evolved to move funds faster and farther than ever before — in partnerships with movements and in pursuit of justice.
We also made space to reflect on the path ahead. In the process of creating this strategic path, we sought out the collective brilliance of over 200 members, grantees, and peers in the field. What we heard was a call to action: the time has come to fully step into our power as a network.
We are a growing multiracial and multigenerational community of donors organizing through a gender and racial justice lens.
Together, we move mountains. We combine long-term strategic investments with responsive funding to meet the moment. From climate, to reproductive justice, to democracy, to human rights, our approach is the same. We fight for the freedom, safety, and dignity of all people.
Our impact is felt not just in what we do—moving millions in funding every year to organizations helmed by BIPOC leaders, women, and gender-expansive people—but how we do it—by collaborating together, trusting movement expertise, committing to personal and cultural transformation, and building towards liberation for all.
Today, members are ready for the next challenge. Grantees are encouraging us to amplify our voice and share our principled practices and learnings to influence the field. Our movement-aligned peers and partners are keen to deepen our work, collaboration and partnership together. Members are eager to grow their capacity to meet the moment in ways they never thought possible. The political moment demands that we dig deep and get bold. We’ve heard the call to action loud and clear. Let’s answer it.
Our work is to build a home at the edge of what is possible. We need to be equal parts persistence and imagination. Rooted in the space between the limits of today and a limitless tomorrow. Together, we are wide awake to the realities of this moment—and we leave the door open to the dream state.
By 2028, we aspire to:
As a multigenerational and multiracial community of donor organizers, we pledge to:
We adopt an intersectional feminist approach—guided by values of solidarity, trust, deep listening—shifting power to those who have been marginalized, honoring and centering their lived experiences.
We recognize that no one is free until we are all free. We are working toward our liberation by eliminating the harmful and extractive structures, systems, and narratives that hold so many of us back, and turning our imagination towards a better world.
We unlock the full range of our resources—financial, social, and political—for justice. We leverage our power in solidarity, across generations, identities, and lived experiences. This includes discerning the right moments to yield our power, wield our power, and build the power of leaders and communities who have been historically excluded.
We cultivate our interdependence as a community—learning from and valuing the diverse range of lived experiences, expertise, and gifts that we all bring to this work.
We believe that as we work to transform the culture, systems, and structures that enable ongoing harm and oppression, we must come together in community to interrogate and transform our own role in those systems.
We envision a just and sustainable world where everyone can safely and freely determine their own futures.
Together, we protect and advance gender, racial, economic, and climate justice by channeling collective power and resources in solidarity with movements to transform…
people,culture, andsystems.
policies,
political infrastructure, and
political possibilities
There is no “one way” to engage with this community — and that’s by design. Each of us brings our own gifts, connections, personal missions, and growth edges to the work. As we explore opportunities to unlock the full range of our power towards justice, we’ll chart diverse paths. Members can engage as doers, collaborators, or delegators, and roles can shift over time.
In this new season of our work, we’re digging deeper.
We’re committing to collective resourcing — unlocking the full power of the many social and political resources we hold. When we pool our resources in deep partnership with movements, the future we dream of becomes inevitable.
WDN and WDA are separate organizations. Our missions are complementary, with differentiated capabilities and strategies to drive change, and separate resourcing that reflects our distinct funding vehicles and legal requirements. WDN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and does not support or oppose any political party or candidate for public office. WDA is a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that primarily supports policy advocacy and issue organizing.
