First-of-its-kind report from Boston Women’s Fund highlights how philanthropy is underinvesting in BIPOC women grassroots leaders and calls on philanthropic funders, institutions, and policymakers to create more equitable funding
BOSTON, March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A first-of-its-kind report released today found that less than 0.5% of Greater Boston’s nonprofits explicitly serve women and girls of color, and only 0.02% of Greater Boston’s $112 billion nonprofit revenue went to funding those organizations.
The report, Carrying the Weight, Leading the Change, led by Boston Women’s Fund in collaboration with the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at UMass Boston (CWPPP), is the first ever to map the grassroots ecosystem for women and girls of color in Greater Boston and highlights not only how philanthropy could better resource Boston-based BIPOC women, girls, and gender-expansive people, but how systemic flaws impact grassroots organizations and their BIPOC women and gender-expansive leaders.
While traditional research methods often miss small nonprofits at the grassroots level, this report focuses on them exclusively and presents statistics about the nonprofit sector alongside voices from focus groups of women and gender-expansive grassroots leaders of color. The findings are stark: BIPOC women are consistently invested in at a lower rate than their white and male counterparts.
Key findings of the report include:
- Very few nonprofits explicitly serve women and girls of color. Despite women and girls of color making up nearly 20% of the total population, only 0.2% of Greater Boston nonprofits explicitly serve them.
- Philanthropic funding is uneven and highly concentrated. More than 60% of philanthropic support for women and girls in Greater Boston flows to just five organizations—none of which are explicitly dedicated to serving women of color.
- The City of Boston’s population of Black women is shrinking at an alarming rate. Between 2018-2023, there was a population change of -28% among Black women aged 18-24 years old and -19% aged 25-34 years old.
- Organizations led by and primarily serving women and girls of color operate with less revenue than other nonprofit organizations. Of Greater Boston’s $112 billion in total nonprofit revenue, only $1 billion went toward women- and girls-serving organizations, and only $25 million reached groups specifically focused on women and girls of color.
- Chronic underfunding impacts the physical and mental health of BIPOC grassroots leaders and organizational sustainability. Focus group leaders experienced burnout and other health issues due to overworking to fill gaps caused by persistent underfunding.
- Standard philanthropic practices hamper grassroots organizations’ efforts to address critical issues. Exclusive funding networks and prohibitive application and reporting processes sideline BIPOC-women-led grassroots organizations from key resources that could address the vital community needs they respond to, like women’s healthcare, employment equity, or support for survivors of violence.
“We are living in extraordinary times. It’s clear that carrying on with business-as-usual practices will continue to fail women and gender-expansive grassroots leaders of color. But thankfully, this flawed system can be redesigned,” said Natanja Craig Oquendo, CEO of Boston Women’s Fund. “We’re thinking differently about philanthropy, about how to be stronger partners to nonprofit leaders, and we’re asking others in the sector to join us.”
As part of the report, Boston Women’s Fund included recommendations for creating more equitable funding, which include: reducing barriers in grantmaking practices that hinder access to funding; providing multi-year grants; supporting organizations’ in-house capacity; sharing power with the community through community-led grantmaking committees; and more.
The report will be featured during CWPPP’s public convening, “In This Moment: Women of Color Driving Change for Equity,” on Tuesday, March 24, at the UMass Club in Boston. Register for the event here.
Read the full report, Carrying the Weight, Leading the Change: How Women of Color Grassroots Leaders Navigate Inequities While Driving Solutions, here.
View original content:SOURCE Boston Women’s Fund
