THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

As founder of Susan Fredman Design Group and Designs for Dignity, Fredman is an example of women's leadership through action.

Designs for Dignity, her nonprofit, renovates interiors for grassroots organizations that provide direct service for at-risk communities, survivors of sexual assault, as well as organizations that promote economic development in Chicago. These organizations transform lives, and Fredman transforms spaces that allow individuals to heal, grow and feel nurtured. According to the event release, "Her proactive nature and insight in providing this kind of service outside of her professional accolades, makes her a fearless leader."

The Ms. Foundation for Women has funded work on lesbian rights since the 1970s. In fact, the first LGBTQ grant was $6,000 to Custody Action for Lesbian Mothers in 1977. Since that time, an additional 60 grants totaling at least $1,100,000 have been handed out. Furthermore, Ms. was designated the first institutional funder of what was then just a project and is now the national philanthropic affinity group, Funders for LBGTQ Issues.

As referenced in Forty Years of LGBT Philanthropy 1970-2010, Funders of LGBT Issues (New York, 2012): "By 1982, foundations had invested close to $900,000 in lesbian and gay issues, most of which (76 percent) came from 11 different funders. It was in this context that a small group of individuals working in philanthropy met at the annual conference of the National Network of Grantmakers (NNG), a home for progressive and social justice funders, to discuss how the field could better support lesbian and gay issues. The group became an official part of NNG and adopted the name the Working Group on Funding Lesbian and Gay Issues."

The recollection continued: "The Ms. Foundation for Women awarded the Working Group its first grant in 1984 to research philanthropic support for lesbian issues. The following year, the Working Group published the findings and released a report to approximately 5,000 funders and nonprofit organizations. In 2001, the Working Group incorporated and became Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues, now Funders for LGBTQ Issues."

Maia Benson, Ms. Foundation for Women Advisory Board Member, took us back to the start.

"The Ms. Foundation for Women was founded by Marlo Thomas, Gloria Steinem, Pat Carbine and Letty Cottin Pogrebin 40 years ago with proceeds from the sales of Ms. Magazine. Today our institution has an endowment of $34 million—raised through individuals, corporations and foundations. It is both the largest and the oldest women's fund in the country and remains dedicated to boldly advancing women's rights."

While Benson reflects on the work that has been done over the past four decades, she reminds us, "The issues that remain important to us are—just as they were 40 years ago—women's safety, health and economic justice. We place a special emphasis in grantmaking in the South, especially in the area of reproductive health—where some of the biggest threats are being posed on State levels."

Adding, "In Chicago, we remain very proud of the work of former Board member, Jean Hardisty who led some of Ms. Foundation's early economic justice work and also helped establish Crossroads in Chicago."

Hardisty was a founding member of The Crossroads Fund in Chicago in 1979 (the first grant was awarded in 1981 to the Chicago Women's Health Center). Additional founders included Lucy and Peter Ascoli, Margaret Atterbury, Kay Berkson, Ashley Bullitt, Susan Coleman, Paul Lehman, Ronna Stamm, Nancy Meyer, Bob Weissbourd and Ben Wolf. The organization's website states: "A public foundation, Crossroads Fund pools the resources of individuals, foundations and businesses, building a broad base of support for grassroots organizations for social change."

Fast forwarding to 1993, the Ms. Foundation for Women awarded the Gloria Woman of Vision Award to Suzanne Pharr, who went on to become director of the Highlander Center and a prominent national leader in the LGBTQ movement.

In 2007, the organization held a symposium on youth, gender and violence. At the core of the aforementioned movement: an impulse to end gender violence through social change and justice. Intersex individuals were also at the center of this grassroots initiative.

Two years later in October 2009, the Ms. Foundation for Women held a symposium in New York City that lasted two days called Leadership Development and Beyond. Young women of color and young transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) leaders of color were the focus of this bridge. In all, 75 members of the philanthropic community and leaders from non-profits engaged in social justice work across the U.S. to explore the barriers to power facing young women and TGNC leaders of color, and to identify a set of strategic interventions to help transform and diversify non-profit leadership. The conference was held in conjunction with the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Third Wave Foundation, New York Women's Foundation, and the Women of Color Policy Network NYU Wagner.

In 2011, the organization co-facilitated the first national gathering of minds regarding transgender funding. This event was in association with Open Society Foundations and Wellspring Advisors.

Continuing along the steady incline, the first leader of the Ms. Foundation Advocacy and Policy program was named in 2012. With a 20-year career with the ACLU under her belt, including nearly 13 years as the executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey where she spearheaded numerous advocacy campaigns to promote civil liberties, Deborah Jacobs assumed the pioneering role as vice president.

She told us, "Starting up a brand new department in a successful 40-year-old organization presents many exciting challenges and opportunities, and the whole organization is working to realize our vision. I came to my job at Ms. with a healthy respect for an iconic organization, but now with a year on the job my respect has grown into a mad passion for an organization that has an amazing history as an innovative advocate for women's equality. I'm so proud of Ms.'s commitment to the marginalized and disadvantaged women that others leave behind. It's such a unique organization."

Jacobs would know. She tells us of her time at the ACLU: "It's been an interesting experience transitioning from the ACLU to the Ms. Foundation. While the two organizations have many differences, at the core both are wholly committed to the same humanitarian values, including equality for all."

Michelle Clarkin, Director, Leadership Gifts summed it up for us. "[The] Ms. Foundation for Women is committed to providing a safe and equitable nation for women and children. We work in collaboration with grantee partners and community members to advance and protect human rights for our constituents across the United States through a combination of grantmaking and advocacy."

For Clarkin, the power of community speaks volumes.

"My work at Ms. Foundation has only served to reinforce my belief that women's collective power—through the channels of philanthropy and advocacy—has the power to transform lives. I have seen this firsthand through our support of grantees around the prevention of child sexual abuse, maintaining and securing reproductive health choice and access, and advancing affordable and quality childcare for all families," she said.

At Smith College, Clarkin worked in Major Gifts under the leadership of President Carol Christ, supporting the organization's Women of Promise campaign. During her time at Fairfield County Community Foundation, Clarkin managed communications and events for the Foundation's Fund for Women and Girls—the largest women's fund in New England. She later went on to earn a B.A. degree in communications from Columbia College, Chicago in 1994 and an M.A. degree in documentary from the University of London, Goldsmiths' College in 1996.

Clarkin offered valued advice to young women making a fresh foray into the civil rights movement.

"Through my early work as a LGBTQ activist and writer in Chicago [including for Nightspots/Outlines], I realized early on that if you want to create change, you must speak out. One of my favorite quotes is by Audre Lorde: 'Your silence will not protect you.' My advice to young women is if you spot injustice—speak out, if you sense something is not right—well then the world needs your voice to help correct it," she said, adding: "I think social media has given young women a huge platform to create change. During the vote in the U.S. Senate on the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, our Communications Department created video admonishing the 22 Senators who voted against it. It was viewed by over 100,000 people. Ultimately, the bill passed.

"During the Steubenville rape case trial, we examined the bias in the media toward the perpetrators. We created a very simple and powerful social object around the media coverage of the Steubenville rape conviction that went viral. This post was shared 109,000 times; received over 3,000 comments, and had over 6,000 likes. The branded post was seen by 10.3 million people, many of whom took action by contacting their Senators and Representatives."

Interim Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women, Natalie Sullivan, served as a community organizer in Massachusetts, Ohio and Colorado during the 2008 presidential election. She brings more than 10 years of experience in advocacy roles at organizations across the U.S., including Planned Parenthood and the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO).

"At [AYSO and Planned Parenthood], I worked with young people on a daily basis, and what I learned from these experiences was the need for organizations working with youth to have policies and practices in place to keep children safe. At Ms. we, and our grantee organizations, are working to implement policies and practices that keep children safe so they can learn and play in environments free from sexual abuse," said Sullivan.

Sordid stories of childhood sexual abuse are not a new issue. Sullivan explained: "Ms. has funded work to stop child sexual abuse since 1978, and of course we know that many, many lives have been impacted by child sexual abuse before then. What's happening now is that we are beginning to build a culture that says abuse in unacceptable."

The media plays a vital role in the unearthing of assets regarding this oftentimes-taboo topic.

"As sad as the stories in the media are, the fact that they are in the news is an indicator of change—the silence that once completely surrounded this issue is breaking, and individuals are turning outrage into action. This media coverage presents a true opportunity to organize to prevent child sexual abuse," Sullivan added.

Benson filled us in on what we might expect during the Chicago event on June 20.

"During our 40th anniversary year, we will be celebrating women who have made a difference around the country. We are thrilled that our Chicago Committee selected Susan Fredman as our Fearless Leader honoree in Chicago," she said. "Susan is admired by many as an entrepreneur and a philanthropist and we look forward to honoring her achievements."

Sullivan seemed to agree. "Susan Fredman's work is so important to the larger movement to end violence against women and girls. Much of our work at Ms., and the work of our grantees, is focused on advocacy and policy change on child sexual abuse prevention. And, we know that families and children experiencing abuse need caring and nurturing services now. Fredman's Designs for Dignity work is helping women and families find comfort and strength when they need it most."

"We have wonderful Ms. Foundation supporters in Chicago and we're thrilled to spend a special evening with everyone and honor Susan!" said Jacobs.

The by-invitation only Ms. Foundation 40th Anniversary event is Thursday, June 20, 6-8 p.m. at the William H. Reid III House, 2013 S. Prairie Ave. Contact events@ms.foundation.org or 212-709-4456 for more info.

Amy Bloom of Amy Bloom Inc. is working with the Ms. Foundation to organize the event.