Three Key Intermediaries Ready to Move Resources for Reproductive Justice

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In a recent guest post, “How Philanthropy Can Unite in Protecting Abortion Access and Reproductive Justice,” a group of philanthropic leaders in the field highlighted three intermediaries that can, in their words, “quickly and flexibly deploy an influx of dollars where they are needed the most”: Groundswell Fund, Ms. Foundation for Women, and Third Wave Fund. 

In recent years, we’ve seen intermediary funders — sometimes called passthrough funders, pooled funds, or other terms — take center stage as more big foundations and donors seek to get closer to grantees working on the ground. An intermediary saves a large funder from having to make smaller grants to many organizations. It also offers a level of expertise and proximity to an issue, which can be highly valuable, especially when many new donors large and small are looking to engage on a particular issue. Intermediaries have become increasingly important in funding work on complicated issues being fought at the grassroots level, such as protecting democracy or working for climate justice. 

But intermediaries have been around for a long time, and all three of the grantmakers mentioned above have been working in the reproductive justice space for decades. While there are many other such groups in this space, we wanted to highlight the work of these three. IP has reported on the strategies and practices guiding their work, and you can learn more about them below and from IP’s coverage over the last several years. 

The Groundswell Fund

The Groundswell Fund is a women- and trans-people-of-color-led group that funds reproductive justice and electoral work in tandem. They’ve been around since 2003, and 90% of the money they move goes to women-of-color-led organizing, they report. Noor Al-Sibai reported in 2020 on their campaign to move $100 million in 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) dollars to reproductive rights and electoral organizations run by women and trans people of color: Women of Color Led Fund Is Breathtakingly Hopeful. Earlier coverage by Philip Rojc reported on Groundswell’s founding and growth, providing insight into how they became a key grantmaker in this space, with a focus on supporting grassroots organizing: Toward Liberation: A Staunch Social Justice Funder Puts Women of Color Up Front. 

Ms. Foundation for Women

Ms. Foundation for Women is the nation’s oldest women’s foundation. It is well into a five-year strategic plan launched in 2018 to support organizations led by and for women and girls of color. Recognizing years ago that this was and would be a critical time for protecting reproductive rights and health in the United States, they increased the number of grantees, made the South a focus area, and created a 501(c)(4) entity to support grassroots legislative action and local policy reform, among other prongs of the plan. Julia Travers covered it here: Ripple Effect: A Foundation Looks to Women and Girls of Color to Take the Lead. 

Third Wave Fund

Third Wave Fund has been around for a quarter- century and focuses on moving resources to youth-led, intersectional gender justice activism. In 2018, Philip Rojc looked at the fund’s history and evolution as “one of a vanguard of funders dedicated to resourcing grassroots movements and critiquing philanthropy’s elite-driven model of change”: “A Different America.” A Movement Funder Tries to Change Who’s Invited to the Table. 

Again, this is just a sampling of the work these and other similar organizations are doing right now. Be sure to take a deeper dive into the funding landscape for reproductive health, rights, and justice in our State of American Philanthropy paper on the topic.