Women’s Fund of Hawaii grants offset effects of pandemic

The Women’s Fund of Hawaii recently bestowed over $60,000 in special grants to several nonprofits that support the social welfare of women and girls, who research has shown suffered more adverse effects from COVID-19’s impact on the economy.

The Women’s Fund formed a new Relief, Recovery & Reimagining Grants program to address issues such as financial and food insecurity, domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, access to education, mental and reproductive health and other issues affecting females, who make up just over 50% of Hawaii’s population.

The special funds were distributed in August along with the group’s annual spring and fall grants.

Leela Bilmes Goldstein, executive director of the Women’s Fund of Hawaii, said a report, soon to be published on its website, outlines the gender impact of COVID-19. The report was supported by partners that include the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women.

Research shows “women in Hawaii experienced the highest rate of unemployment in the U.S. from August 2020 until March 2021,” she said.

In addition, when health care services were curtailed, many women did not have the same access to their doctors due to hospital or office restrictions, and the mental and psychological toll was quite heavy as well, she said.

The report showed that women giving birth suffered increased rates of high blood pressure, abnormal placentas, increased bleeding, post- partum hemorrhages and other issues. There were also higher incidences of domestic violence and lower rates of vaccination due to long-standing health inequities in the Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian communities, which have the highest rates of COVID-19.

For these reasons, the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawai‘i received $23,000 of the special funds for its Mana Mama program, which strives to provide equal access to health care to pregnant women and during the baby’s first year and beyond.

Mana Mama’s mobile clinic is especially convenient for those who don’t have cars or don’t live near bus routes, “communities that have gone unseen, unheard and neglected in health care, a situation that has been exacerbated by the pandemic,” Goldstein said.

Wahine Coder received the second-largest grant of $20,000.

The Women’s Fund values building skills for girls and women as a springboard to higher-paying employment and economic security, she said, explaining in part why the organization was selected.

The group’s Wahine WordPress and Digital Freelancer Academy provides training in creating computer software, e-commerce merchandising and product development, pathways for remote freelance work and self-employment opportunities, Goldstein said.

Other nonprofits that received $5,000 or less include the Adult Friends for Youth, Hana Arts (supporting women in the arts through technology education), Hana Retreat/Ala Kukui (Wahine Po‘ai, a cultural leadership and peer support program) and the Samaritan Counseling Center Hawaii.

Goldstein said her group also raised about $33,000 in emergency funds distributed in spring 2020 to address needs exacerbated by the pandemic.

A donation of $50,000 came in last fall from the Women’s Funding Network, the largest philanthropy group in the world for gender justice, through its Response, Recovery, Resilience Collaborative Fund, specifically to offset the pandemic’s impact. If it weren’t for the network’s grant, the Women’s Fund would not have been able to pay its rent or continue operations, Goldstein said.

In June the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation gave the Hawaii group another shot in the arm with a $100,000 donation, she said.

By the end of the year, once the Women’s Fund of Hawaii’s regular fall grants are released in December, her organization will have distributed at least $175,000 to about 30 grassroots groups, according to Goldstein.

The reason the Women’s Fund tag line is “When Women Thrive, Communities Prosper” is simple, she said. “Healthy, safe and economically secure moms tend to raise families in the same mold. … We believe that our return on investment in girls and women is high because they pay it forward to their children and communities. Data indicate that women invest a higher portion of their earnings back into the community than men.”