By Susan Wright, Co-Chair of the Together Women Rise Advocacy Group with RESULTS and leader of our CA, Berkeley-2 chapter

The women and girls our grantees serve cannot thrive without access to basic health and education programs and other services, including vaccines and reproductive health supplies. Advocacy to obtain adequate funds for these broader programs is necessary to achieve Together Women Rise’s mission to achieve global gender equality.

To magnify our effectiveness, we partner with RESULTS, which advocates for global and domestic anti-poverty programs. Our joint advocacy group works to ensure that the U.S. Congress funds foreign assistance programs of significant importance to women and girls worldwide, despite current strong resistance to any such global effort within the House, even though non-military foreign assistance amounts to less than 1% of the national budget. U.S. lawmakers need to hear from their constituents and be reminded frequently that many of us care deeply about these programs. More people across the U.S. also need to understand why this type of assistance is vital to us all.

Earlier this year, our advocacy group worked to get robust funding for these programs in the U.S. budgets for 2024 and 2025 through meetings, calls, letters, and emails with elected officials across the U.S., complemented by letters to the editor in numerous publications. In May and June, we focused on obtaining increased U.S. support for the Global Vaccine Alliance, GAVI, ahead of the international conference to determine funding levels on June 20.

Please join us for our monthly advocacy webinar on July 18 at 8:30 PM EDT/ 5:30 pm PT by using this link. We will discuss the current funding climate for foreign assistance, priority actions for the coming period, and critical deadlines for congressional action. We will hear from a special guest, Colton Roughen, a staff member of Congressman Mike Levin, about why direct connection with our elected officials is essential. Our August webinar will be at the same time on August 16, using the same link.

We welcome all Rise members to get involved in advocacy at whatever level of effort they may be able to give. We have many practical tools to make it easier and more productive for you, as well as mentoring and other support. It is a great way to support our grantees and magnify our impact!

For those interested in learning more about joining our group, we will hold an Advocacy Orientation webinar on September 17. Stay tuned for details!