Over $3 Million in Early Funding to Key States

In 2023, WDN Action is continuing to fund for the present and the future with strategic grantmaking primarily focused on renewal funding. We’re moving just over $3 million to 20 groups in key states. These early resources are critical for our grantee partners to be able to continue their work — particularly in "off years” when fundraising is often more challenging.

We continue to prioritize BIPOC and women-led organizations in the states we have been investing in now for several years, starting with two states that have important statewide races coming up: Virginia and Wisconsin. We also prioritized funding to Michigan and Pennsylvania in this cycle, where organizations are moving significant state-level issue advocacy campaigns as a result of flipped control of state legislatures.

In addition, we are proud to support national partners that are working across multiple states and providing important movement capacity and infrastructure.

The opportunity to flip the Wisconsin State Supreme Court from conservative to a more liberal balance has implications for critical issues such as abortion justice, executive authority, and gerrymandering. The Center for Racial and Gender Equity, Freedom Action Now, Leaders Igniting Transformation Action Fund, Wisconsin Working Families Power and Voces de la Frontera Action are all working to turn out the vote for this crucial election — and build momentum and community power going into 2024.

In 2023, the entire Virginia state legislature is up for election, and New Virginia Majority will play an important role in building state power for working communities of color. Their electoral program will focus on 16-18 House races and 4-5 Senate races. At the local level, NVM will focus on re-electing the reform prosecutors they helped elect in 2019 and also plan to engage in local school board and county board races, especially in Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and Arlington County.

Michigan-based organizations like Detroit Action, Michigan Liberation Action Fund and Rising Voices Action are powering important state-level issue advocacy campaigns as a result of flipped control of state legislatures. Our early funding to these groups will help them organize around issues like the economy, decarceration and cash bail reform, as well as civic engagement efforts and training programs.

In Pennsylvania, groups like Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, Make the Road PA, One PA and POWER Action Fund are working on both local and statewide initiatives — including electing the first Asian American and first woman mayor of Philadelphia, pushing for a new funding formula to give more resources to school districts, and building infrastructure and developing leaders ahead of 2024.

We’re also funding several national partners that are working across multiple states and providing important movement capacity and infrastructure including Advance Native Political Leadership, Alliance for Youth Action, Asian American Power Network, Care in Action, CASA in Action, NextGen America, and Progressive Caucus Action Fund.

We are thrilled to be able to mobilize early resources to these organizations for their critical work.