A year ago, we formed the Birth Future Foundation, moved by a shared hope for liberation in birth and midwifery and belief that a new shift in grantmaking and philanthropy was necessary. We announced the birth of BFF in the midst of a pandemic and mass mobilization for racial justice across the country, and you were right there with us. Through the turmoil and trauma of the past year, we have found light and hope in our work at BFF. Our collaboration has been a treasured space of mutual joy, love, respect, and trust -- a rare thing in movements and organizations that seek to amplify birth and social justice.

It is time for midwifery and philanthropy to shift power and resources for sustainable, equitable progress. It’s time to shed old patterns of power hoarding and discrimination. We are part of a beautiful ecosystem of movement builders that *will* make the changes we need.

We are excited to share our vision and mission for BFF and update you on our work.

At BFF, we have been centering the theme of liberation since our founding less than a year ago, and recognize the resonance with this week’s theme “Claiming our Power, Resilience, and Liberation.” Liberation in birth is inextricably intertwined with liberation in all aspects of our society.

We love you.

We are already partway through February 2021, about a year into a pandemic, and a few months since launching the Birth Future Foundation. Whew! Through the ups and downs of this time, we draw inspiration and hope from our BFF community. Thank you for being with us on this journey as we make transformational change toward liberation and racial justice for birth and midwifery while reimagining the paradigm of philanthropy to shift power and build equitable partnerships.

Why is centering liberation our approach to improving maternity care? As co-founders, we came from a perspective of midwifery as an essential solution to our maternal health crisis, however, we also recognize that our birth future-- and midwifery itself-- must also be liberated. What does that mean? (View original email.)

A celebration and conversation with the founders of the Birth Future Foundation. Your new BFF is here! This summer, we announced the formation of BFF, the Birth Future Foundation. We are so excited to tell you more about this new initiative to building funding for an equitable and racially just future for birth and midwifery and invite you to watch the 1-hour video of our November 2020 launch event.

Learn more about about us by watching our 5 minute video introduction to the Birth Future Foundation.

The BFF founders made the joint decision to leave the board of an established midwifery foundation in order to form a new, liberated organization centered in equity and racial justice for midwifery and maternal health as well as philanthropy itself. We want to tell you a bit about our vision for BFF, which, while in its infancy, is building off the work we have been doing together for years.