Hello

Are you ready to flex your charitable muscle? If yes, GivingTuesday is just 12 days away. As you’re thinking about what organizations you may help this year, consider supporting Black women and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. I know I can count on you because women have been supporting one another long before there were GivingTuesday campaigns. Whether you call it philanthropy, charitable giving, mutual aid, putting something on it, or just helping out…women have always been philanthropic and altruistic. 

Every donor no matter who you are and every donation, whether it is ten dollars or more, has an impact. 

I’m sure many of you have heard the heart-warming story of Oseola McCarty — a Black woman born in 1908 in Mississippi. Oseola, who worked as a domestic only had a sixth-grade education, but she had a monumental work ethic and a propensity for saving. At the time of her death in 1995, she had saved nearly $300,000 and donated a large portion her money to the University of Southern Mississippi to fund scholarships. Oseola is a great example of how a little bit of money can go a long way and make a big difference. 
By supporting Black Reproductive Justice (RJ) this Giving Tuesday you too can make a difference and help Black women and girls thrive in all aspects of their lives. Here’s how: 
  
  • A $500 - $1,000 contribution will allow us to expand our capacity building support to smaller state-based Black RJ organizations.   
  • A $250 contribution will enhance our voter education and outreach to Black women voters on RJ-related issues.  
  • A $100 contribution will allow us to provide training opportunities for future RJ leaders through our Next Generation Leadership Institute.  
  • A $25 - $50 contribution will allow us to promote our Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda to other justice movement organizations.

When you give to Black RJ, you are taking a stand for Black women, femmes, girls, and gender-expansive people and letting it be known that our lives, our bodies, and our voices count. Thank you in advance for investing in our work. 
 
With gratitude, 
Marcela Howell
President & CEO
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women's Reproductive Justice Agenda
In September, President and CEO Marcela Howell joined a group of dynamic Black women leaders on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court to demand that Congress protect our voting rights. When Black women come together, change happens. Black women are the single most progressive voters in the United States and our collective votes equal power that leads to change. By donating you can help us continue to advocate for Black women.  
In June, In Our Own Voice, Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Justice, and SisterLove released the Black Reproductive Justice Policy Agenda, an innovative, proactive policy agenda created in collaboration with more than 30 Black women’s organizations and Reproductive Justice activists. The Agenda is the most comprehensive policy vision for Black communities to date. Help us continue to dismantle the racism and sexism Black women, femmes, girls and gender-expansive individuals face by donating. 
Our seventh annual Black Reproductive Justice Week of Action (RJWOA) was a success thanks to supporters like you. Held in collaboration with our partner organizations, the week (Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2021) was filled with events and activities that elevated the voices of Black women, girls, femmes, and gender-expansive people. Help us continue to support the state-level work of our partner organizations by donating. 
Throughout 2021, our Next Generation Leadership Institute fellows have donated over a thousand menstrual products to menstruators in need at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the nation. Combating period poverty is at the forefront of the Next Generation Leadership Institute's work. Fellows are rising to the occasion to reduce period stigmas while addressing the need for menstruation products on their campus. Please donate to help us end period poverty on HBCU campuses. 
Get Tested. Grab a Bite.
The Afiya Center will be hosting its annual End With Red fundraising Gala on Dec. 4. This year's theme is an unforgettable masquerade evening, marking The Afiya Center's 10-year anniversary. The funds raised through this campaign support reproductive justice work that is centered around its HIV programs that address the holistic needs of Black women living with HIV, promotes leadership development, and provides a pathway to their advocacy.
The California Momnibus Act
On Oct. 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 65, the California Momnibus Act into law. Black Women for Wellness Action Project co-sponsored this legislation and worked closely with the bill’s author, Sen. Nancy Skinner, to ensure the Act's passage. The legislation addresses the maternal mortality crisis in California and advances equity in birthing outcomes. Your donation allows Black Women For Wellness to fight for better health outcomes for Black moms and birthing people in California and beyond.
Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care
Earlier this year, Black Women's Health Imperative launched Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care, a partnership with Hologic to host a multidisciplinary group of celebrities, media personalities, policy makers, doctors, faith leaders, and community stakeholders for a closed roundtable discussion to understand and address the barriers that stand in the way of improved outcomes for Black women living with uterine fibroids today and in the future. With your donation, you support BWHI's efforts to bring awareness to and effect change around negative health outcomes that disproportionately impact Black women.
Black Women Green Futures
This month, New Voices for Reproductive Justice hosted its Black Women Green Futures Award, honoring 25 incredible Black environmental justice activist across the country. With your donation, you support New Voices for Reproductive Justice in its efforts to emphasize environmental justice's integral role in Reproductive Justice.
This year, SisterLove, Inc. created its Healthy Love Youth Advocates Inaugural Cohort (HLYA) — a 10 month fellowship comprised of youth living in Georgia. The fellowship program shared valuable knowledge to build skillsets in activism, grassroots organizing, and public policy through a Reproductive Justice lens. The HLYA program culminated into a six-day Healthy Love Youth Advocate Statewide Summit in September. Your donation allows SisterLove, Inc. to continue to develop programs that foster and facilitate youth activism and the next generation of Reproductive Justice leaders.
Pearl's Pantry
Pearl's Pantry is a SisterReach program that offers clothing and food items to Memphis families in need. The program accepts donations on Tuesdays and Thursday and distributes items by appointment. With your donation, SisterReach can continue its efforts to provide direct support to its community's most vulnerable families.
Crisis Pregnancy Center Reviewathon
In October, SPARK Reproductive Justice Now hosted a Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) Reviewathon to educate people on what CPCs are and why they are harmful. Participants were then invited to use that knowledge to write Google reviews for known CPCs to inform people that these centers do not provide abortion services. Your donation enables SPARK in its efforts to fight for abortion access and justice in Georgia and beyond.
Deep South Decrim
This year, Women With a Vision fought for the passage of LA HB67, a law that decriminalizes sex work in Louisiana. Decriminalizing sex work will decrease disenfranchisement, poverty, risk of violence and vulnerability to sex trafficking. Individuals who are hyper-policed and arrested for sex work related offenses live at the intersection of multiple oppressions and often engage in sex work as a means of survival. By donating, you uplift Women With a Vision's fight to protect sex workers in Louisiana and beyond.
Donate this GivingTuesday to help us achieve Reproductive Justice so that all women, girls, femmes, and gender-expansive people can lead lives in which they thrive.