PBN DIVERSITY & INCLUSIONS 2020 AWARDS
Nonprofit: Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
FOR KELLY NEVINS, executive director of Providence-based Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, the organization’s mission to invest in women and girls through research, advocacy, grant-making and strategic partnerships in order to achieve equity and change is as personal to her as it is professional.
Nevins learned very early on about difficulties young mothers can face. She recalled growing up with a single mother struggling to care for three daughters in a time when men weren’t compelled to pay child support.
“I didn’t realize at the time I was also learning about strong female models who, against all odds, found a way to make things work,” Nevins said.
Nevins has chosen to help women achieve everything they have the right to achieve, and to address the societal and cultural challenges women face.
With only two employees, a dedicated board and committed volunteers, the 19-year-old organization has an ambitious portfolio: The Women’s Policy Institute and “Run As You Are” workshops teach women across the state to become grassroots advocates. Some participants have won elective offices and others have played key roles in getting progressive legislation enacted.
An annual research project presents new findings on the status of women and girls in Rhode Island. This year’s project addressing Rhode Island Women’s Well-Being Index will be released soon.
Although the index is not wholly finished, Nevins said that more women than men, both locally and nationally, are being negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of this dual economic-pandemic crisis, Nevins said the “she-cession” may set women back 10 years. “We can’t think of an austerity budget [in Rhode Island] this year; we have to focus on those most impacted by the economy and COVID,” Nevins said.
Nevins added that the organization’s research drives its advocacy. That advocacy has helped enact progressive laws in Rhode Island, including the Safe and Healthy Workplaces Act, the Reproductive Privacy Act and the Rhode Island Parentage Act.
Women’s Fund also makes grants to nonprofit organizations promoting gender equity and hosts gender-equity programming, such as the Cocktails & Conversations series and the Women’s Financial Wellness series.
Asked which initiative offers the “biggest bang for the buck,” Nevins said, “They all address systems change; it’s hard for me to pick a favorite child. Our advocacy work includes many volunteers, not just from [Women’s Fund] but from the community at large.”
Women’s Fund welcomes volunteers, whether policy wonks, event planners or anyone supporting the nonprofit’s mission.
This summer’s Black Lives Matter rallies shined a light on widespread racial injustice. In response, Women’s Fund board President Bev Wiley said the board and staff have been reviewing its policies and activities to ensure it is addressing both gender and racial inequalities.
A racial-equity coach is evaluating the Women’s Policy Institute’s curriculum and training materials, identifying more speakers of color, helping develop Women’s Fund’s racial-equality statement, and conducting racial-equity training for staff, board members and some institute alumni.
Wiley, Community College of Rhode Island’s athletic department compliance officer, noted a renewed focus on expanding the board’s diversity – of location, gender, gender identity, age, socioeconomic status – as well as ways to reduce the financial barriers for institute applicants. While it’s a tuition-free program, participants may incur child care or transportation costs or lost wages during the program’s session days.
“The biggest challenge is having enough resources to do everything we want to do,” Wiley said, “and the biggest success is seeing the results of our work being manifested throughout the state.”
“If we don’t use a gender lens, white men and boys typically rise to the top and everyone else falls through the cracks. We use a gender lens and a racial lens so we can focus on people who need help the most – women and girls of color who suffer the most inequity,” Nevins said. “If we take those barriers away and address them, we believe things will get better for everyone. I want the [Women’s Fund] to continue to work until we achieve equity for everyone. Our job is not yet done.”
