The 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision marks the largest and most successful attack on abortion and reproductive rights in generations. Overturning Roe v. Wade voided the federal right to abortion, left abortion for states to decide, and immediately made abortion care inaccessible to millions of Americans living in states that banned abortion.
While the Dobbs decision was shocking, it was neither accidental nor unlikely. It was the result of a multi-decade and multi-faceted campaign that stretched from local organizing and services to state and federal regulations and laws to judicial candidates and nominations. Supporters of abortion access and reproductive rights, in contrast, were largely focused on federal legal protections and funding. Major, national, long-standing organizations had been playing crucial roles fighting for reproductive rights. Yet they had not invested heavily in building a deeper or broader movement.
In the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, many advocates for abortion access are therefore seeking to build an equally multi-faceted campaign both to restore abortion access and to advance the foundations of contraception access, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice upon which abortion access sits. They recognize that the legality of abortion itself is insufficient for individuals and families to choose their own future. The breadth, depth, and nascence of this effort makes now an especially important time for philanthropic action.
MCF therefore joined with advocates to create a Reproductive Rights Pooled Fund through which donors can uphold and enhance reproductive rights via grants to local, community-based organizations in strategic states. The fund reflects MCF’s view that making change in community makes change in society at large. Done well, local giving leads to durable changes in states and across the country. Local groups with deep ties and credibility in community know their communities’ needs and how to solve them far better than others. With donor support, they can ensure funds for abortion access, organize potential supporters, weigh in on policy, and form trusted relationships, all of which drive larger and more durable victories. Donors working together through the MCF Reproductive Rights Pooled Fund can have greater impact by making larger donations than they could individually.
To learn more about MCF’s strategic guidance for reproductive rights philanthropy and/or the MCF Reproductive Rights Pooled Fund, please contact your MCF philanthropic advisor or Lara Fox at lfox@marincf.org
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