She Can Win establishes giving circle to support Black woman-led orgs grappling with COVID-19

“Our voting record proves that if it’s progressive and benefits a large swath of people, Black women have already built and set the table, cooked the meal, and invited you to the party by the time you realize it,” says Erinn Corbett-Wright.

The VP and program manager of TD Charitable Foundation adds: “Every major social movement within America’s genealogy includes leadership by Black women.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is no different.

“Black women have extended themselves beyond work and home to contribute to our healing — from sewing masks for essential workers to launching a consortium of Black doctors to test our communities at no cost. Black women have not been slowed since the start of shelter-in-place restrictions.” 

Now She Can Win is helping those Black women by injecting capital into Black woman-led efforts to address the impacts of the pandemic

“Ordinarily, we focus on getting Black women elected to federal, state and local office across the Commonwealth,” Corbett-Wright told Generocity in an email, “but in response to COVID-19, we have launched a giving circle and our first slate of grants were Black woman-led organizations who applied for general operating support to address issues of their constituencies.”

L to r: Salima Pace, Dominique Goss, Jasmine Sessoms and Erinn Corbett-Wright. (Courtesy photos)

As Jasmine Sessoms, She Can Win’s founder and CEO, and the members of the organization’s powerhouse board (which includes Corbett-Wright, Dominique Goss and Salima Nicole Pace) realized that Black communities in Philadelphia were being disproportionately affected, both financially and physically by COVID-19, they sprang into action

Pooling additional dollars from She Can Win’s membership, they were able to create a foundation whose first foray into the philanthropic space was a rapid response grant opportunity for COVID-19. Combining their experience in corporate and public philanthropy, a short application was created, and one voting session later, and the giving circle unveiled its first four grantees:

• Motivating Young Moms,
• New Voices for Reproductive Justice,
• Civically
• No More Secrets

Each of the awardees is committed to She Can Win’s platform. They advance equity for Black women and families in the areas of maternal health, reproductive justice, and civic engagement (among others), and serve often-overlooked parts of our community.

To amplify the work and mission of the awardees, She Can Win also hosted a series of live conversations with the leader of each organization to encourage additional mission-based support from their larger networks. These conversations served to highlight the importance of Black women’s leadership, and the shared accountability for bettering our communities.

“When we approach the world through the lens of a Black woman it means we are doubling down on pillars such as equity, collective consciousness, service and progress,” Corbett-Wright said. “She Can Win is a prime example of the leadership that Black women organically embody. As we need each other more than ever, our goal is to support institutions providing critical services and invite others to do the same.”