At Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, we work to advance racial, gender and economic equity and foster a more joyful and diverse Jewish community throughout the U.S. Economic equity and opportunity are at the center of our mission – and show up prominently on the work I lead as part of our Gender and Reproductive Equity (GRE) grantmaking portfolio’s Economic Power strategy area.

In this strategy, we support an ecosystem of organizations that lead on policy solutions and their effective implementation for economic equity and advancement for women, such as equal and fair pay, paid family leave, quality childcare and a care economy that works for everyone; and invest in cross-movement power building to create a new narrative of what is possible and required for economic equity.

The GRE grantmaking portfolio really took off in late 2019, and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 illuminated for us that a focus on the care economy and care workers would be a critical component of the U.S.’s ability to come back from the crisis. When we look at who makes up the care workforce – low-income, women of color, we knew this could be a potent opportunity to make a difference, and we have been full speed ahead since then.

I am excited because it feels like the care movement is on the precipice of major changes for families in the U.S. Our grantee partners are persevering in their power-building efforts and policy advocacy efforts to build and resource a care economy that works for everyone and has been doing so since well before the pandemic.

I am particularly excited by the many wins our partners have been part of. For example, our grantee partners have played critical roles in the passage and equitable implementation of paid family and medical leave programs for 13 states and Washington DC (District of Columbia) and counting, while building towards a federal leave program as well. Our childcare focused grantee partners are building the power of parents and providers to unite for state and national campaigns around affordable and accessible childcare, resourcing childcare in New Mexico, New York, Washington state and more. Additional care grantee partners are activating unique constituencies – moms, domestic workers, union workers, and restaurant workers to turn out in the 2024 election cycle as care economy voters and fight for the policies that will improve their economic outcomes.

It is exciting to see all the components of the care agenda come together successfully, in service to economic equity for communities. And I am proud that Schusterman Family Philanthropies has been a consistent thought partner and funder in moving this work forward over the last four years, supporting the intersections and collaboration of movement groups, and centering the work in racial and gender justice throughout.

All our care economy grantee partners have been holding so much in the world as we try to navigate this new era of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have continued to lead on effective use of pandemic relief funds, and work through a polarized Congress to try to pass legislation and programs that will support care workers and families in the U.S. – all while building long-term power and mounting accountability efforts when needed.

Because of this, I often think about fatigue and burnout as a challenge in our work. I grapple with the responsibility that we have as funders to support more holistic organizational health and development, so that leaders in our movement are equipped to navigate all the demands of the moment. This support means that we can also help cultivate a deeper and more diverse bench of leaders over time. Tackling this challenge of leadership and capacity building is a big focus for the Gender and Reproductive Equity team this year, and we would love to work with other funders who are also building out “beyond the grant” supports for partners to make sure the work, leaders and staff can be sustained.

As someone who is newer in philanthropy, the EOF network and meetings have been a valuable space to broaden my understanding of economic equity – from a deeper dive into tax policy and the implications for economic equity to learning about other funders and their approaches to grantmaking related to economic equity. I always leave learning sessions and in-person meetings feeling more excited about the work and with a greater sense of community and understanding amongst my fellow funders!

One thing that has been evident during the past four years in the care economy work is that the movement has several components – individual organizations in the eco-system, coalitions and campaigns made up of these individual organizations that can supercharge or fill in the gaps and an emerging area of political, 501 (c)(4) opportunity that can accelerate progress or make the issues more politically salient in the short- and long-term. I would love to engage funder colleagues on all these components – how can we work together to stay in alignment and make sure each of these core components are funded? Are there creative opportunities – especially when it comes to 501(c)(4) funding that we can take advantage of to build power over time?

There are so many people that inspire me in this work! I most often think about care workers themselves that do the work of caring for children, older adults, and people with disabilities with love and compassion, despite the long hours and insufficient wages. I am thinking about some of the parents and providers that were featured in a documentary that I watched last year, called Through the Night. The documentary features 24-hour, in-home childcare center providers, Dolores and Patrick Hogan in New York who care for children of parents that work overnight shifts or multiple shifts. I am inspired by the commitment and genuine connection between the provider and parents. And it is a clear illustration into the compounding effects of economic inequity most deeply felt by women of color in the U.S. I encourage you to give it a watch if you have not already!