The Capitol attack was the continuation of white supremacist violence that women, trans, and nonbinary people of color have faced for centuries

by Uncategorized

The Collective Future Fund issued the following statement in response to the white supremacist violence and insurrection seen at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6th:

“The violence and insurrection we saw on Wednesday, January 6th in the U.S. Capitol can be directly traced to the racist and misogynist interpersonal and systemic violence that has targeted BIPOC communities, women and trans folks of color for centuries. Organizers on the ground, particularly across the Southern United States, have been sounding the alarm for decades on the conditions that have bred this hate and violence, too often falling on deaf ears. The failure of white leaders to recognize and address those threats, despite concerns being repeatedly raised by BIPOC communities, has undermined our collective democracy and our safety.

January 6th proved that it is possible for white domestic terrorists to walk into the Capitol of the United States of America, to ransack and loot and desecrate the space, and then walk out free, with little to no accountability or consequences. We saw state security officials exercise a level of restraint against largely white, male crowds that was not afforded to those who protested for the lives of Black people, for Indigenous land and water rights, for civil and human rights. 

We stand in solidarity with all those impacted by this domestic terror, and all survivors of white supremacist, racist, gendered violence. We will as always follow the leadership of our allies and partners who are working to guide us towards a future free from all forms of state, community, and interpersonal violence.“

Statement from the Collective Future Fund on the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

by Uncategorized

As hundreds of survivors across the country gather together at the Survivor’s Summit to set the agenda together as a collective, organized voice, we are reminded to look to the leaders who came before us to fuel our momentum forward. Aleyamma Mathew, Executive Director of the Collective Future Fund, issued the following statement  remembering the work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and connecting it to the work being led today by Black, Indigenous, and survivors of color to end violence and build a future of safety and dignity: 

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be remembered as a powerful, pioneering advocate for the rights of women and girls in the United States. Her groundbreaking litigation work before the Supreme Court tore down so many of the structural barriers that she herself overcame in the course of her life and career. She was a dedicated feminist, a truly brilliant legal mind, and for many an iconic and inspirational figure into her final years.

As we memorialize Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week, we reflect on her long history working for gender equality and how she broke barriers in the law and made critical decisions that protected women’s reproductive choices and ensured bodily autonomy. This is the first step. Now we must continue to improve on the foundation she laid. 

It is our duty to acknowledge her shortcomings – around race, criminal justice, Indigenous rights – but it is also our duty to address those shortcomings now by supporting the leadership women of color and resourcing their critical work to address the impact gender inequality on the lives of all women, survivors, trans and gender-nonconforming people, not just cisgender white women. Black, Indigenous, and other women and activists of color have and continue to play an immeasurably important role in securing and defending justice and visioning well into the tomorrow that Justice Ginsburg spoke of when she talked about writing dissents to push toward change. When we look to what’s next, we know that protecting the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and credibility is critical to uplifting the rights and solutions of survivors, Black women, Indigenous women, women of color, transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Survivors knew this when they led organizing in support of Christine Blasey Ford in 2018, and today we once again look to the leadership and power of survivors and Black women, Indigenous women, and women of color.  

We cannot rush through the process of selecting the next Supreme Court justice in the midst of a chaotic election that may very well appear before the court. We must build on the fire and resilience that was passed to us by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and defend the court. We must gather our collective strength and move forward with the determination, vision and clear-minded focus on gender justice that she embodied. May we strive to learn from her successes and her shortcomings, and may her memory be a revolution and a blessing.” 

mackenzie-scott-bezos

CEO MAGAZINE: Mackenzie Scott donates US$1.7 billion since Bezos divorce

by In The NewsUncategorized

MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, has donated US$1.7 billion to “116 organisations driving change”.

MacKenzie Scott, who was MacKenzie Bezos for 16 years before divorcing Jeff Bezos for adultery in 2019 and becoming the third-wealthiest woman in the world largely due to her US$38 billion divorce settlement, has given an update on Medium that reveals she has changed her surname from Bezos and the causes she has already supported.

Read the full piece here.

MacKenzie Scott Gifts $5 Million to Collective Future Fund

by Press ReleasesUncategorized

This week, MacKenzie Scott announced her philanthropic commitment to the Collective Future Fund, as one among 116 organizations to benefit from her Giving Pledge. In response, Aleyamma Mathew, Executive Director of Collective Future Fund, made the following statement: 

“The Collective Future Fund is honored to be among the many racial and gender justice organizations to receive MacKenzie Scott’s support; this unrestricted grant will enable us to expand our commitment to working alongside our grantee partners towards a future in which all women and girls of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, and survivors are free from all forms of state and interpersonal violence––and thrive.

Women of color have always been at the forefront of transformative social change. But for decades, institutions of wealth and influence have discounted our power and kept this vital work marginal in philanthropic portfolios––a compounding disinvestment that we are only beginning to redress. This commitment is a promising step, and now our broader philanthropic sector must take up the mandate to dedicate robust and long-term support for women of color- and survivor-led work as core to any effort for social change. Resourcing girls and women of color, survivors, and trans and gender non-conforming people can transform the future––for everyone.”

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The Collective Future Fund brings together social justice movements, survivors, and donors to heal, resource, and mobilize to shape a collective future free from violence. With a priority on supporting efforts that are led by women of color, the Fund envisions a world in which all women and girls––cis, transgender, and gender non-conforming––can live, learn, and work in safety and dignity. Learn more at www.collectivefuturefund.org  

Female doctor working in hospital, holding intravenous drip, accuracy, protection, care

Announcing Survivor Safety and Support Fund

by In The NewsPress ReleasesUncategorizedUpdates

COVID-19 is exposing long-standing disparities and inequities created by unjust policies and systems that have left communities vulnerable, in spite of powerful mobilizations by grassroots movements. Millions of people who work in essential care and service industries including homecare workers and house cleaners, restaurant, grocery, and delivery workers, and health and child care providers, are facing risks to their own health, emotional stress, and the economic insecurity that comes with the evolving landscape of managing the coronavirus outbreak. 

Queer, trans, and cis women of color, Indigenous, and immigrant women and girls in particular make up a significant proportion of the essential workers in our communities showing up day after day to mitigate the transmission and impact of the virus. Even prior to this crisis, they faced widespread discrimination, harassment, and violence in the workplace and have been further marginalized by lack of health benefits or paid sick days, low wages, and job insecurity. 

In the United States, which has now become the epicenter of the pandemic, we anticipate that precarity will only deepen, and a lack of safety at home, in the workplace, and in institutional settings will expand. From the intimate space of the home where people are isolated from broader networks of support, to workplaces, to prisons and detention centers, survivors of gender-based violence are facing even more complex challenges. 

Evidence from other crises, including Hurricane Katrina and outbreaks such as Ebola, suggests that violence against women and girls increases during these emergencies. Moreover, women are the first to respond to the emergency and the last to be resourced, despite the undeniably central role they play in fortifying communities in a crisis.

Yet even as these women and girls are experiencing great vulnerability, they continue to be the powerful healers, protectors, visionaries, strategists, and leaders that are rising to meet this moment.  

As a funding collaborative, the Collective Future Fund has the ability to fuel coordination and collective action by supporting healing and mobilization efforts to ensure the safety of women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic. A value core to our work is the conviction that resourcing women of color survivors and movement advocates can transform the future for everyone. That’s why we’re launching a $2 Million Survivor Safety and Support Fund to support survivors of gender-based violence. 

This rapid response fund, which will be implemented in phases over the course of 2020, will give increased funding support to our existing grantees, contribute to several other pooled rapid response funds that are resourcing immediate organizing and financial support for survivors and low-wage women of color and immigrant workers, and provide additional support to other critical efforts to advance safety and support the queer, trans, and cis women of color, Indigenous, and immigrant women survivors who are on the front lines of this crisis.     

Here’s what else we’re doing in this moment:

  • Entering into ongoing dialogue with colleagues in philanthropy about how to be responsive, responsible, and strategic in this unprecedented moment for our communities.
  • Engaging in a phased process over the course of 2020 to adapt its support to the field in consideration of a changing landscape and a new period of economic downturn.
  • Maintaining our funding to existing grantees even as they adjust their 2020 plans, activities, and timelines.
  • Moving forward later this year to provide multi-year general operating grants to additional women of color and survivor-centered organizations later this year.

While we are in the midst of this crisis, the Collective Future Fund understands that how we recover from COVID-19 will be dependent on how we respond at this moment. We know that every person is being affected by this situation at a personal level in different ways that might destabilize their health, mental and emotional wellbeing, physical safety, economic security, housing, or other aspects of their lives. We affirm that human lives and the well-being of our communities are of the greatest importance at this time, and we will only be able to meet the challenges ahead by caring for each other, calling upon our ancestral wisdom about survival and healing, and offering mutual aid and support to one another. 

Now more than ever, it is clear that our collective future is interdependent, and it is our choice how we turn the many challenges we are facing into an opportunity to transform our future together.

*Please note: The Survivor Safety and Support Fund will be implemented in phases over the course of 2020, and is not currently accepting applications for funding. We are currently prioritizing commitments to our existing grantees: women-of-color-led organizations that are working to meet the immediate needs of survivors and front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For updates and announcements about future grant opportunities, please sign up using the form below. We are unable to respond to every inquiry because of the volume of requests.