Women Donor Network

“Mover and Shaker” Award for Bold Peer Organizing

Press Release | Video

It becomes clearer every day: we’re in the midst of an all-encompassing fight for democracy. The core issues that Women Donors Network supports—racial and gender justice, economic freedom, abortion rights, immigration, voting rights, climate justice, free speech, the right to dissent, and more—are considered “anti-American” by the Trump administration, with allies threatening, censoring and silencing those who stand up for justice.

While some entities are decreasing their funding in light of these threats, WDN is increasing and expediting grants to ensure that resources make their way to the field. That’s because WDN’s mission has always been to support grassroots, people-powered movements that keep communities safe and make people’s lives better.

Founded in 2002, WDN is a multigenerational, multiracial community of more than 250 individual donor activists who leverage their collective power for justice. Since their founding, WDN and its c4 sibling organization WDN Action have collectively mobilized more than $140 million to the field, with $100 million moved in the past five years alone. WDN believes in a world where every person enjoys fundamental rights, freedom from violence and oppression, sustainable access to resources and equal economic opportunity. All the work they do collectively is in service of realizing this vision.

Because as President and CEO of WDN Leena Barakat says, “Philanthropy is not neutral—it’s accountable to the people and movements that make democracy possible. This award honors a coalition that refuses to stand on the sidelines and instead organizes its peers to meet this moment with courage, solidarity, strategy, and heart.”

Doing Good the Right Way

At WDN, philanthropy is not only about what they fund but how they fund. By centering those most impacted, practicing trust-based philanthropy, and acting with clarity and courage, they move resources to the frontlines of gender, racial, economic, and climate justice. Their model pairs long-term investment in movement building with rapid response funding that meets the urgency of the moment.

WDN knows that dollars alone don’t change the future. Their members bring their vision, expertise and connections that multiply their impact and drive transformative change. Rooted in community and fueled by an audacious vision for justice, WDN has grown from a home where women worked to claim agency over their resources into a powerful hub that connects, grows, funds and mobilizes the collective power and brilliance of their network toward systemic change.

Members organize in myriad ways: connecting by region, funding collaboratively with member committees and learning with peers – where they tackle issues like moving beyond capitalism and democracy protection. They understand that as they work to transform the culture, systems, and structures that enable ongoing harm and oppression, they must interrogate and transform their own role in those systems.

WDN is also stepping up to organize its peers within philanthropy through the Block and Build Funder Coalition (BBFC). In May 2024, a range of social justice and philanthropic organizations were targeted by the U.S. House of Representatives Committees on Oversight and Accountability and Education and the Workforce for their support of the Palestinian freedom movement. In response, WDN and Solidaire Network convened the coalition in June at the request of grassroots movement leaders deeply concerned about this escalating repression and the erosion of civil rights, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.

Understanding that attacks on this movement are always deployed against other movements for justice, BBFC was created to be a bold, coordinated response to this rising authoritarianism. The coalition has grown to include more than 375 individuals from 175 institutions and is grounded in the understanding that protecting all of our movements is the only way to defend any of our movements. Institutional philanthropy cannot afford to be reactive, fragmented, or cautious. BBFC is working to organize the sector to act with strategic clarity and strength—and to not shrink back.

As BBFC continues to expand, its members are building infrastructure to defend freedom of speech, assembly, and the right to dissent, all while resourcing communications, legal defense, and security for movements doing the riskiest and most necessary work.

Both BBFC and WDN are reshaping the role of institutional philanthropy in times of crisis—choosing bold action over self-preservation, and organizing not to uphold the status quo, but to design and build a better future.

“This recognition affirms what we’ve long known: that courage and coordination are the most underutilized currencies in philanthropy,” said President and CEO of WDN Leena Barakat. “When funders organize as boldly as movements do, we’re able to do so much more than just redistribute resources—we can actually reshape what power looks like altogether. What an opportunity that is.”