Ms. Foundation for Women

Steinem, Carbine, Pogrebin and Thomas wanted to foster the collective power of women and believed that women who faced discrimination and inequity in their own lives had the wisdom and expertise to advance social change that would benefit everyone. The Ms. Foundation was planned to seed and strengthen women's grassroots organizing around the country to create an inclusive movement in which everyone's voice was visible and heard. The Ms. Foundation for Women was created as a separate but related entity to Ms. magazine. The original intent was that Ms. magazine's profits would be redistributed to the national women's movement. It quickly became apparent, however, that the Ms. Foundation would have to raise funds and provide direction for itself; and that for Ms. magazine to survive, it would also have to sustain itself. Since 1987 the Ms. Foundation and Ms. Magazine have been separate entities: Ms. Magazine is published by the Feminist Majority Foundation. == Personnel ==

The founding group initially did most of the work for fund-raising for the Ms. Foundation until in 1975, a full-time executive director was hired. Sara K. Gould joined the Ms. Foundation in 1986 and created the Collaborative Fund for Women's Economic Development (CFWED). Marie Wilson became the Ms. Foundation president in 1984 and under her leadership, the foundation's annual budget increased significantly, from $400,000 to $10 million by 2004. She was appointed president in 2004 following Wilson's resignation. Anika Rahman was inducted as the president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women in February 2011. Rahman was noted for helping to update the website for the foundation, giving it a "fresher" look. Younger has stated that one of her main goals for the future of the foundation is to diversify their philanthropy. == Grants ==

The foundation has played a role in funding both women and girls in the United States through their grants. The Ms. Foundation board "fully embraces the idea that deep diversity is fundamental to effective grant making." In 2004, the foundation gave out $3.8 million in grants. == Programs ==

In 1988, it created The Institute for Women's Economic EmPOWERment, the only national training ground for economic development and justice organizers working on women's issues; in 1989, the Foundation started the Reproductive Rights Coalition and Organizing Fund; support organizations working on women's health issues at the state level. The foundation has held an annual program called the Gloria Awards (named for Ms. founder Gloria Steinem) since 1988. When the Ms. Foundation first began the awards, Wilson, the current president relates that "people said, 'No one will come out to see women leaders get an award.'" The award went on to defy critics, drawing media attention and with the event full of supporters. The first was held in 1993 In 1996, it was reported that between seven and ten million girls aged 9 to 17 participated in the day. The impetus for creating the day was based on studies which showed that girls' self-esteem and confidence dropped during those ages. While there was discussion about including boys, and in 1994 and 1995, boys were included, many women involved felt that they "dominated the event." An early initiative was the 1970s multimedia project Free to Be... You and Me. Another initiative was the Women of Honor trading cards produced by the foundation. These cards each featured around seventy different, diverse woman chosen to inspire girls and young women. The cards were used in conjunction with a Take Our Daughters to Work program in 1994. In 1996, the foundation created the Collaborative Fund for healthy girls/healthy women to assist community organizations working on cutting-edge programs to support girls' leadership; in that same year, the foundation founded the Women and AIDS Fund to support organizations created by and for women affected by HIV and AIDS and the Democracy Funding Circle to provide resources to organizations developing a progressive vision and organizing to prevent the rollback of democratic rights gained through the women's and other social justice movements. The Katrina Women's Response Fund supported low income women and women of color in order to help them rebuild their communities and homes. In 2005, the Foundation began Public Voices, Public Policy, an initiative aimed to actively support women of color who lead grassroots organizations, and get them involved in public-policy advocacy and action. ==References==