Earlier this fall, members of the Women’s Fund traveled to Washington, D.C. to take part in Feminist Funded 2025, the long-running national gathering of the Women’s Funding Network. Celebrating 40 years of feminist philanthropy, the three-day event brought together leaders, advocates, and funders committed to advancing equity for women and girls.
For our team, Feminist Funded was more than a chance to learn from peers across the country, it was an opportunity to engage with Hoosier congresswomen and men. During Policy Action Day on Capitol Hill, we met with the offices of three U.S. House representatives and both Indiana senators. These five conversations focused on shared priorities like women’s mental health and reducing Indiana’s rates of mortality for new mothers and infants.
Importantly, these conversations offered opportunities to speak to and hear from a wide array of ideological thought. When meeting with those who hold varying views on policy that effects women, we began with a simple question: Are the women and girls in your community healthy? This opened a dialogue focused on their constituents rather than their political party.
If Women’s Fund wants to get to know legislators and the women in a legislative district, it makes sense to start by introducing ourselves and our primary objective — uplifting the health and wellbeing of Hoosier women and girls. We thought of this initial process less as policy advocacy and more as “friend-raising”, building trust, familiarity, and credibility.
Last year’s State of Women in Central Indiana Report has become a powerful tool to demonstrate how Hoosier communities and regions can better gauge the overall health of women. This study also shows how our accomplishments in Central Indiana can be replicated in other parts of the state. Every region ought to have access to the kind of statistical data that we do in the Indy metro area.
Granted, our visit may not result in the immediate passage of policy; however, it has resulted in several opened doors and a mutual understanding of how Hoosier women are faring and the ways we can work together for better outcomes.
Our time at the Feminist Funded conference also provided a chance to cultivate new partnerships with other attendees. We connected with leaders from the National Women’s Law Institute, the Women’s Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, the Women’s Foundation of Cincinnati, the Women’s Foundation of Rhode Island, and colleagues from the Women’s Fund Miami-Dade. These connections can lead to more cross-regional collaboration, joint campaigns, and shared data initiatives.
As we move forward from our time in D.C., three commitments are clear:
• First, the voices and experiences of women and girls will always be at the heart of our advocacy.
• Second, we will adopt a local-first strategy, pursuing achievable wins in Central Indiana that can be adopted in (and adapted to) Hoosier communities statewide.
• Third, we will uplift what we learn from our community to guide and inform our work with powerful leaders, helping drive change that is both positive and lasting.
Feminist Funded 2025 was also a great reminder that Women’s Fund is part of a larger global network. Our work in Indiana both benefits from and contributes to a larger movement to empower women.
With renewed energy and vision, we came back home ready to act.
This article was published within the August 2025 issue of the Women’s Fund’s Diane magazine.
