We fund Black midwives.
We are thrilled to mark the 7th annual Black Maternal Health Week by celebrating Black midwives past, present, and future. We fund Black midwives in the United States, and we want to tell you why this is a key aspect of our work at Birth Future Foundation.
We believe an investment in Black midwives is an investment in our collective liberation.
90% of our 2023 grants went to current and future Black midwives.
When we founded BFF, we knew we were up against philanthropy’s legacy of funding white leadership and marginalizing community-based organizations and leaders who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. We also knew that midwives of color have been drastically underrepresented due to a legacy of racist, misogynist oppression beginning with the medical profession’s attempts to historically exclude the Grand Midwives, Black birth work providers who had safeguarded reproductive health care for generations with their skill and care. This intersection deserves our attention, and our resources.
Midwifery care is the gold standard of maternity and reproductive care. Families deserve safe, compassionate, culturally congruent midwifery care free from racism, neglect, and abuse. To achieve a liberated birth future where Black birthing people not only survive, but thrive, we need midwives in every community, and of every community.
We have put our money where our mouths are. In 2023, we made 44 grants to Black midwives, midwifery students, and midwifery preceptors. In total, 48 of our 50 grants last year went to midwives who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.
Since we began grantmaking in 2022, BFF has granted over $100,000! We prioritize funds for changemakers, leaders, and midwives who are Black, Indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQIA+. We are just getting started. (Read about BFF’s grantees.)
As a member of our BFF community, you probably don’t need to hear the stats representing the failures of our maternal health care system. This week, we have all been bombarded with information to raise awareness of how our national maternal health care crisis is impacting Black birthing people, families, and communities. The statistics are shocking and heartbreaking because each one represents a human, a mother, an infant, a family, a community. These outcomes are not inevitable, and we know what works.
We are focusing our energy on the solutions.
We are focusing our resources on current and future Black midwives, Indigenous midwives, midwives of color, and LGBTQIA+ midwives.
Join us.
How you can get involved:
Donate to fuel more grants for midwives and changemakers!
Become a monthly donor to build sustainability.
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