There are big changes coming to Funders for Birth Justice and Equity. Before we look ahead, let’s look back.

A Look Back: The Origins of Our Work

In the early 2010s, a small group of funders came together around a shared concern: the U.S. maternity care system was failing families—especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Driven by both increasingly poor outcomes and deep disparities, this network believed that birth could and should be better.

By 2014, this informal group had grown from four to a dozen and became the Midwifery Funders Group, united by a common strategy: elevate midwifery as a powerful, community-rooted solution to improving maternal health. Through four convenings between 2014 and 2018, we strengthened connections and grew awareness. We didn’t yet have a formal structure or a name that captured our full vision—but we were building the groundwork.

We became a trusted source for funders seeking to understand the issues with the U.S. Maternity Care system. We built a space where the lived wisdom of movement leaders met the data-driven inquiries of philanthropy. At the heart of this growing network was a shared belief: those closest to the problem hold the keys to the solution.

A New Era. A New Name.

In 2020, a convergence of crises—COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd, and increasing national awareness of racial injustice—reshaped our collective consciousness. Suddenly, the hospital was not seen as the safest place to give birth. Demand surged for midwives, doulas, and community-based models of care. Philanthropic interest in the root causes of disparities in birth outcomes exploded.

We were ready. We had built the relationships. We had a strong foundation. But the name “Midwifery Funders Group” no longer captured our full scope or values. So we rebranded.

Funders for Birth Justice and Equity (FBJE) emerged to reflect our deeper, broader mission: not just to fund midwifery, but to organize philanthropy in pursuit of birth justice and equity.

Our Mission

Now more than 225 funders strong, Funders for Birth Justice and Equity exists to see the full realization of Birth Justice.
We organize the relationships between philanthropy, movements, and community-based organizations to:

• Immediately resource CBOs for just birth outcomes.
• Transform the systems, ideologies, and culture of philanthropy to align with birth justice.