Rachel Foster | Brooklyn, NY
Why is it important to you to focus your philanthropic giving on women and girls? Have you always known that this is where you wanted to have an impact, or did you have an ‘ah-ha’ moment that led you to this sector?
I’ve always known I wanted to have an impact on the lives of women in need, particularly those facing sexual and domestic violence. I became an attorney to be a more effective advocate for my clients, whether they were the elderly women I worked with as a community organizer who were being forced out of tenement buildings by slumlords or women being abused by their intimate partners who I assisted as a crisis counselor or those individuals I represented as a Legal Services attorney who were living with HIV/AIDS and were primarily women facing poverty, health crises, eviction with young children, and immense additional stressors. Over the years, I moved into the policy space to have more systemic impact. What’s clear is that organizations focused on women and girls are dramatically underfunded and understaffed. Through collaboration amongst women at WMMs in the gender based violence arena, we can have greater impact.
Who is your biggest feminist mentor, and what was the best advice she ever gave you, or, if a historical figure, is there a quote or story that has stuck with you?
My biggest feminist mentor was my mother Zelda Foster, who pioneered hospice in America. She was a visionary and a trailblazer who challenged entrenched systems in male dominated spheres. She was my greatest role model and her unwavering values and use of her power shaped my own perspectives and commitments throughout my life. In a final letter she wrote to my young children as she was dying, she shared: “As a child and throughout, I have felt the pain and vulnerability of other people. It is why I became a social worker, out of conviction that I can help build a better world or at least the part that I can impact. People who have less, who don’t have power, who are left behind in our fast moving, success-oriented lives always concerned me and I embrace them. How important it is to enable them, to not reduce their involvement in change and the deepening of their own strength and will.”
What is your north star in your philanthropy? In your life?
I am guided by the core values that I was raised with in my liberal Brooklyn Jewish family and through my Quaker education. Doing one’s part to repair the world has always been a key value that I’ve honored. For almost 15 years, I have chosen to focus my advocacy and philanthropy on women who have been exploited, traumatized, and silenced in the sex trade. I primarily fund organizations – and social impact projects – that I am closely involved with and where I have deep trust in the leader at the helm of the organization as I do with my World Without Exploitation (WorldWE) co-founder and our national director Lauren Hersh.
Can you describe the work and impact of one of your grantee partners that really meant something to you? Is there a story or moment that stands out that really crystalizes the reason you wanted to support them?
World Without Exploitation, the largest anti sex trafficking coalition in the country, is the connective tissue between our 175 member organizations, many survivor led. A few years ago, there was a bill before the DC City Council that would decriminalize pimping, brothel keeping, and sex buying in the District. In addition to mobilizing advocates, we brought over 100 survivors to DC to testify about why they believed this bill was inherently harmful. After almost 17 hours of testimony, because of these powerful survivor voices, the bill did not move forward. This experience was a testament to the importance of having a trusted organization able to convene and coordinate partners at a moment’s notice and uplift survivors to share their crucial experiences and policy expertise. It is incredible to see our youth coalition on fire as advocates and educators. They know that harmful cultural norms impact them and want to shift the false narrative that markets the sex trade to them as empowering and about free choice and sexual positivity.
I do not believe that we will have true equality for women and girls when those most vulnerable to predation and exploitation because of multi-factored vulnerabilities are ensnared in the sex trade and the men who fuel the demand for and facilitate this exploitation operate with impunity. Collectively, as we strive for gender equality, we should not accept that it’s okay for a segment of our population to be relegated to being bought and sold by those with greater privilege and power. This is a gender justice issue and WorldWE is impacting laws and policy, meaningfully engaging sex trade survivors, and educating on the issues, thereby reducing harm to women, youth, and other vulnerable individuals. Looking through a gender lens, we can connect the dots between various systems of marginalization and oppression women and girls face and understand avenues for creating meaningful societal change.
When you think about WMM, what words come to mind? What does it mean to you to be a part of this community? What impact has being a WMM member had on your philanthropy?
Women Moving Millions is comprised of members who are committed to having significant impact and are knowledgeable and, importantly, knowledge seeking. Conversations within the WMMs network about how to effect change are multi-layered and action-oriented and members embrace the different ways we each show up as funders. WMM’s Philanthropic Leadership Program (PLP) provides opportunities for connection and collaboration. Participating in the PLP has created a sisterhood within a sisterhood where we can learn about each other’s work and vision. It’s been inspiring to be a part of a collective of women devoted to making a difference in the lives of vulnerable women and girls across the globe.
Last June, WorldWE hosted a national conference in DC for 225 people in the gender based violence arena. Thanks to my PLP cohort’s generous support, over 70 sex trafficking survivors were able to attend with many sitting on panels and running breakout sessions. This year, at our DC annual conference we will honor one of our own, the amazing Emily Nielsen Jones, whose work in the anti-trafficking arena has been significant.
I’m so excited that Jen Risher and Sara Hinkle have become key supporters of WorldWE and our STAND (Survivor Training, Advocacy, Networking, and Development) Program, which works with sex trafficking survivors to become trainers and advocates and supports them in developing professional skills and opportunities. It’s an innovative program that has had an impact and we hope to continue to expand its reach. Jen and Sara are making this possible.
