2023 Impact Highlights
As we wind down 2023 and look toward a new year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our collective impact over the past 12 months. In 2023, WDN Action granted $7.4 million in c4 funding to 62 organizations, with 96% of funding supporting BIPOC-led or co-led organizations. 81% of funding went to women-led or co-led groups, and 76% to organizations led (or co-led) by women of color.
Our focus this year was to prioritize ongoing support for our existing grantee partners, and 90% of grants moved in 2023 were renewal grants. We also continued to anchor in gender justice issues, taking a deeper look at abortion justice, trans rights and justice, and rural organizing in our existing portfolio, as well as funding new partners doing women of color pipeline work, including the Asian American Women’s Political Initiative Mobilize and Sister District.
We prioritized funding in states that will have competitive elections in the Senate and/or Presidential in 2024, including Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Our funding helped support Care in Action’s efforts to elect pro-care, pro-choice candidates and organize for the care economy; Equality Federation’s work to push back against anti-trans legislation; BISC’s ballot initiative capacity-building that helped fuel a big win in Ohio; and Alliance for Youth Action and Next Gen’s work organizing young people across multiple states—efforts that will build momentum going into 2024.
In several states, local and statewide elections had bigger implications for democracy, abortion justice, and other important issues. To support voter turnout efforts for these elections, we continued moving resources to groups like API PA, Power Interfaith, and CASA in Pennsylvania, which had a marquee state Supreme Court race that has played a big role in election-related cases in the presidential battleground state; and in Virginia, which was able to flip control of their House of Delegates thanks to the work of groups like New Virginia Majority and Care in Action. We supported critical issue organizing in states like Minnesota, where the Democratic trifecta enacted progressive policies to restore the vote, expand access to the state’s health plan, and enshrine the right to abortion. And we funded national partners working across multiple states to provide movement capacity and infrastructure, including the Asian American Power Network, Advance Native Political Leadership, and re:power.
Across the country, budget shortfalls forced many organizations to reduce their c4 programs and lay off key staff. At WDN Action, we believe there are no off years in political organizing; it is necessary and critical to continue to move resources so organizations can maintain their core staff and infrastructure as we move into a major electoral cycle. Continued funding is vitally important in helping organizations mitigate the amount of rebuilding they will have to do next year coming off an “off-cycle” year.
As we prepare for 2024, we know just how important it will be to provide early resources and mobilize support for expanded c4 work next year. Together, we are investing in infrastructure to build political power and shore up against emerging threats, in service of gender and racial justice and a healthy, reflective democracy.