Feminist News and Information
WEEKLY NEWS // JANUARY 29, 2026
// FROM THE DESK OF SARA KEILHOLTZ, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DATA AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS, WOMEN'S FUNDING NETWORK
Data Privacy is Collective
Dear Colleagues,
On Data Privacy Day, we’re marking the launch of California’s DELETE Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP)—a first-of-its-kind tool that allows residents to delete their data from every registered data broker in one place. DROP shifts the burden from individuals to companies and reflects a basic truth: data privacy is collective. It cannot be protected one request at a time.
As of 2026, 19 states have passed comprehensive privacy laws, but California is the only state moving toward this kind of one-click action. For the rest of us, deleting our data is a full-time job. Using the Oregon Consumer Data Privacy Act, I recently requested my own data from several brokers. What I received were multiple 40-60 page reports. There were some concrete facts—my address, census tract, IP address—but most were probabilities.
The reports estimated low levels of sleep. Two kids at home. Impulse shopper. Whether I pay cash. What I eat. What I watch. Political affiliation. Engagement with content about reproductive rights, racial justice, and immigrant rights. My stress. My sadness. My attempts to cope.
This kind of inference isn’t new. In 2012, Target famously predicted a teenager’s pregnancy before her family knew. What was once a scandal is now infrastructure. Similar systems shape immigration enforcement, predatory lending, pregnancy surveillance, and the disproportionate policing of Black communities. Inference makes discrimination scalable, enabling population-level targeting without notice or due process. The underlying data may be regulated, but the inference is treated as a proprietary commercial insight.
This power imbalance is why we cannot simply opt-out our way to safety. It’s also why WFN and our members co-created DataWoven, a public, consent-based tool built on the Demographics via Candid dataset that demonstrates a different approach: data shared voluntarily, with clear governance, used for accountability rather than extraction.
Protecting privacy is an act of community care. If you live in California, use DROP. If you live elsewhere, request similar legislation. We invite you to join us in rethinking what data privacy requires—and what’s possible.
Sincerely,
Sara Keilholtz
Women's Funding Network
Senior Director of Data and Strategic Insights
News from WFN
WFN NEW MEMBER & 2026 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
Our network thrives on the strength and diversity of our members. Please join us in welcoming to the network new WFN member, Women4Progress. Please also join us in appreciating WFN members who have renewed 2026 membership since our last newsletter:
- Cities for CEDAW History and Futures Project
- How Women Lead
- Sarah Vaill
- The Women's Foundation
- The Women's Fund of Central Ohio
- Women's Foundation for the State of Arizona
- Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga
- Women's Fund of Greater Fort Wayne
If you are interested in joining as a new member or renewing your current membership, please let us know.
Join United Philanthropy Forum for a conversation about how philanthropy can organize and prepare for potential federal actions in local communities. Drawing on real-time experience from Minnesota and other states, this session will surface key lessons learned and field-informed recommendations for supporting communities affected by federal enforcement surges. Gain insights to strengthen preparedness, respond strategically, and deepen philanthropic engagement where it is most needed. WFN is co-hosting this event, along with other Forum members.
February 5, 2026 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. EST | Register here
Don't Forget to Renew Your 2026 WFN Membership
Don't forget to renew your annual membership by January 31, 2026. As part of WFN, you belong to the largest global community of gender justice funders and changemakers. Collectively, we’re advancing leadership, shifting resources, and amplifying the power of women, girls, and gender-expansive people around the world. WFN is excited about this year’s programming including an in-person regional member convening, a WFN delegation at Women Deliver, our Member Spotlight campaign, the relaunching of our peer communities, and monthly webinars on timely topics and more. Learn more about member benefit highlights here.
Why Renew?
- Stay connected to a powerful global network driving systemic change.
- Access cutting-edge research, advocacy tools, and funding collaborations.
- Strengthen the movement for gender equity with your leadership and vision.
All current members should have received a renewal email with instructions on how to renew. If you don’t see it, please check your spam or junk folder. Still can’t find it? Reach out to Julie Montgomery, Director of Membership Strategy and Engagement, for assistance.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership in transforming philanthropy for gender justice. Our network is only as strong as the people and organizations who are a part of it. Learn more about our members here.
Not a member yet? Join us to be a part of a feminist movement transforming philanthropy for good.
WFN MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
WFN is excited to launch our new Member Spotlight Campaign, a monthly feature celebrating the diversity and impact of our network while building stronger connections across our community.
To kick off the campaign, we’re proud to welcome Heirs To Our Ocean (H2OO) of Redwood City, California. H2OO mobilizes youth under 25 to become skilled leaders addressing urgent climate, ocean, and community challenges. By investing deeply in leadership development, H2OO creates lasting, compounding impact—empowering young leaders who go on to shape policy, innovation, and solutions that reach millions.
News from WFN Members
MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join us in welcoming Emily Berglund, Executive Director of Heirs to Our Ocean, a new WFN member. Since joining the H2OO team in 2019, Emily has supported hundreds of young leaders as they navigate their unique advocacy journeys and connect deeper with themselves, others, and our Blue Planet. Emily has furthered H2OO’s mission by coordinating its global programs that allow youth advocates to reach their full potential. In 2020, she helped to develop and launch the U.S. Youth Action Council for the UN Ocean Decade and has coordinated several of H2OO’s global leadership summits.
I Be Black Girl's (IBBG) Building Local Alignment and Community (BLAC) Fund is officially open, supporting Black women-led work across Nebraska that is rooted in care, healing, and real impact. IBBG is currently accepting applications for the BLAC Fund General Grant and BLAC Fund Childcare Grant. Both opportunities include funding, technical assistance, and capacity-building support - because sustainability matters. Applications close on February 28, 2026.
The Women’s Fund SouthCoast’s FY25 Impact Report highlights a year of strategic growth, community-led investment, and deepened commitment to gender, racial, and economic justice in Massachusetts’ SouthCoast region. The report lifts up their participatory grantmaking, youth leadership and advocacy through the Young Women’s Initiative, and their expanding role as a regional thought leader grounded in data, lived experience, and systems change. It reflects outcomes and financial stewardship, butwell as their evolution as a women’s fund, building long-term power, partnerships, and pathways for women, girls, and gender-expansive people—especially those most impacted by inequity.
MEMBER EVENTS
The Iowa Women's Foundation, in partnership with the Iowa Child Care Coalition, will be at the Iowa State Capitol for Child Care Day on the Hill. Join them, child care providers, and businesses to discuss policies, child care assistance, public-private partnerships, workforce solutions, and other related topics with Iowa lawmakers.
February 10, 2026 | 7:00 - 11:00 a.m. CST | Learn more here
Elluminate hosts a monthly webcast to highlight members of The Collective, their signature leadership advancement program for Jewish women leaders who focus on today’s intractable issues and innovative solutions. The webinars feature women who are part of Cohort 6 of The Collective, Elluminate's Leadership Advancement experience. Elluminate is a network of transformational Jewish women leaders—visionary philanthropists and global change makers—who accelerate the impact entrepreneurs make in the world through social change, smart risks, and bold ideas.
Various Dates | Register here
Register for G4GC's first in-person convening, which will create intentional space for funders and philanthropic leaders to ground ourselves in what matters most—the leadership, joy, and brilliance of young people. Celebrate, connect, and amplify vision alongside community organizers and youth advocates from across the U.S.
May 12-15, 2026 | Register here
Opportunities and Resources
Across the country, people are uniting to keep their immigrant family members, neighbors, and friends safe. A number of organizations have come together to co-sign this tool, 8 Narrative Strategies to Message This Moment.
Aya Chebbi has completed season one of the new vodcast with Deutsche Welle, AfricaLink. Watch the sit-downs with African thinkers and thought leaders as they talk about power, purpose, and the future of the continent.
- H.E Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s First Elected Female President
- Kennedy Odede, Kenyan Social Entrepreneur and Founder of SHOFCO
- Rose Wachuka Macharia, Chief of Staff to the Chief Justice of Kenya
- Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone
- Deborah Akech, Undersecretary at South Sudan's Ministry of Youth and Sports
What We're Reading
Black women’s unemployment has skyrocketed. Here’s what happened. — The 19th News
‘I was violated and put in extreme danger’: women denied abortions sue over Arkansas ban — The Guardian
What We're Watching
Anti-ICE activists are planning a national shutdown on Friday, Jan. 30 in hopes the federal government will scale down ICE operations.
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