Ms. Foundation for Women
Encyclopedia
The Ms. Foundation for Women, a non-profit organization
, was founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem
, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin
and Marlo Thomas
. Established at the height of the feminist movement, the Ms. Foundation was created to deliver funding and other strategic resources to organizations that were elevating women's voices and solutions across race and class in communities nationwide. The founders believed strongly in women's collective power to ignite change, and they also knew that women who faced discrimination and inequity in their own lives had the wisdom and expertise to advance social change that would benefit everyone. They began an organization that would seed and strengthen women's grassroots organizing around the country and strive to create a vibrant, inclusive feminist movement in which everyone's voice was visible, valued and heard.
The Ms. Foundation for Women was created as a separate but related entity to Ms. magazine
. The founders originally intended the Ms. Foundation to be a vehicle through which Ms. Magazine's profits were redistributed to the national women's movement. However, it quickly became apparent that for Ms. Magazine to survive, it had to sustain itself. If the Ms. Foundation was also to grow, it had to raise funds and provide direction for itself. The Ms. Foundation and Ms. Magazine have had no formal connection since 1987; today, Ms. Magazine is published by the Feminist Majority Foundation
.
Today the foundation works to identify and support emerging and established groups poised to act when and where change is needed. Its grants — paired with skills-building, networking and other strategic opportunities — enable organizations to advance women's grassroots solutions across race and class and to build social movements within and across four areas: Building Democracy, Economic Justice, Ending Violence and Women's Health.
Some of the foundation's early initiatives include the establishment of Take Our Daughters To Work Day
— known since 2003 as "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" — and the 1970s multimedia project Free to Be... You and Me.
The foundation has held an annual program called the Gloria Awards (named for Ms. founder Gloria Steinem
) for 23 years as of 2011.
In February 2011 Anika Rahman joined the foundation as president and CEO.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, was founded in 1973 by Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin
Letty Cottin Pogrebin is an American writer and journalist. She graduated from Brandeis University and became a writer and feminist advocate in the early 1970s. In 1971, she was one of the founding editors of Ms...
and Marlo Thomas
Marlo Thomas
Margaret Julia “Marlo” Thomas is an American actress, producer, and social activist known for her starring role on the TV series That Girl . She also serves as National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
. Established at the height of the feminist movement, the Ms. Foundation was created to deliver funding and other strategic resources to organizations that were elevating women's voices and solutions across race and class in communities nationwide. The founders believed strongly in women's collective power to ignite change, and they also knew that women who faced discrimination and inequity in their own lives had the wisdom and expertise to advance social change that would benefit everyone. They began an organization that would seed and strengthen women's grassroots organizing around the country and strive to create a vibrant, inclusive feminist movement in which everyone's voice was visible, valued and heard.
The Ms. Foundation for Women was created as a separate but related entity to Ms. magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
. The founders originally intended the Ms. Foundation to be a vehicle through which Ms. Magazine's profits were redistributed to the national women's movement. However, it quickly became apparent that for Ms. Magazine to survive, it had to sustain itself. If the Ms. Foundation was also to grow, it had to raise funds and provide direction for itself. The Ms. Foundation and Ms. Magazine have had no formal connection since 1987; today, Ms. Magazine is published by the Feminist Majority Foundation
Feminist Majority Foundation
The Feminist Majority Foundation is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to Women's Equality, Reproductive Health and Non-Violence, headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia. The name Feminist Majority comes from a 1986 Newsweek/Gallup public opinion poll in which 56 percent...
.
Today the foundation works to identify and support emerging and established groups poised to act when and where change is needed. Its grants — paired with skills-building, networking and other strategic opportunities — enable organizations to advance women's grassroots solutions across race and class and to build social movements within and across four areas: Building Democracy, Economic Justice, Ending Violence and Women's Health.
Some of the foundation's early initiatives include the establishment of Take Our Daughters To Work Day
Take our daughters and sons to work day
Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day is an educational program in the USA that revolves around parents taking their children to work for one day. It is the successor to Take Our Daughters To Work Day, which was expanded to include boys in 2003...
— known since 2003 as "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" — and the 1970s multimedia project Free to Be... You and Me.
The foundation has held an annual program called the Gloria Awards (named for Ms. founder Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
) for 23 years as of 2011.
In February 2011 Anika Rahman joined the foundation as president and CEO.
External links
- Ms. Foundation for Women official web site
- Anika Rahman biography Ms. Foundation web site