Thank you!

THANK YOU ELEPHANT CIRCLE COMMUNITY!

We asked and you gave so generously.

We set our sights on raising $5000 and, thanks to your generous support, WE DID IT!

We raised more than $5K and funded 10 Birthworkers of Color all over the United States.  Three applicants received $600, four applicants received $300 and - in the spirit of meeting immediate needs - we gave $400 to a birthworker who went to extraordinary lengths to support a family and found themselves stuck, without the funds to travel back to their own family. 

Folks donated from $5 to $500, with 5 individuals giving more than $400 and two organizations, The Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition and the Queer and Transgender Midwives Association, supporting birthworkers generously at $1200 and $500 apiece.

Thank you! 

We plan to move from a rolling application process to two-three rounds of funding per year.  Please keep an eye out this spring for information about the next round of applications!  Open to all who identify as a person of color and a birthworker.  Awards generally range from $200-$500 each.

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History of Elephant Circle’s Birthworkers of Color Fund

Since 2009, Elephant Circle has funded Birthworkers of Color on their journey to serve parents and families.  Until recently, applying for these funds had been primarily word of mouth and we funded about 6-12 people a year.  Though exact amounts have varied across the years, we have consistently met our organizational priority that the money we spend supporting Birthworkers of Color is the second biggest line item in our budget (the first is paying the folks who work directly for Elephant Circle).  This practice both represents and feeds what this priority means to us in the work we do as a birth justice organization - this fund is one of our ongoing, long-term, grassroots contributions to equity in birth in the US.

In the fall of 2018, a single Facebook post about our scholarship generated nearly 200 requests for applications in 36 hours.  The need was real and urgent!  We received nearly 100 completed applications.  We funded 10 birthworkers this time and we plan to open applications a few times a year to fund as many folx as possible.  Stay tuned for the next round!