Join Us in Building a Nationwide Reproductive Well-Being Movement
Currently, more than 19.5 million women live in contraceptive deserts, counties without reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive methods. And shockingly, an estimated 11.2 million women age 19-64 lack access to any form of health insurance, and therefore cannot receive no- or low-cost birth control. These factors make it extremely difficult for women to have the power to decide their futures and to have control over their reproductive well-being.
What is Reproductive Well-Being?
Reproductive well-being means that all people have the information, services, and support they need to have control over their bodies and to make their own decisions related to sexuality and reproduction throughout their lives. We envision a culture and system of support that makes it possible for every person—no matter who they are or where they live—to achieve the reproductive outcomes they want, whether or not they have children; and for those who do want a child, ensure healthy outcomes for themselves and their families. To achieve this, we have been working with more than 40 national, state, and local organizations to build a nationwide Reproductive Well-Being Movement (RWBM).
How can I join the movement?
As the next chapter of this ongoing work, and with generous funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, we are convening a shared learning collaborative of 10 place-based teams with cross-sectoral representation (e.g., women’s and men’s health, education, economic development, etc.). We want teams committed to building a system of support for reproductive well-being in their regions or communities. And we’ll provide each selected team with a $10,000 award each year of the project, ongoing and customized coaching, and travel support to attend capacity building and collective impact training throughout the 3-year project period.
Teams will work to establish a collaborative approach to implementing a portfolio of evidence-informed interventions that support reproductive well-being; foster and catalyze innovation through participation in a learning community; and share learnings, stories, and innovations to seed and inform collective impact work in additional locations around the nation.
We encourage you to consider applying! The application is attached to this blog and can also be found here. We have also created an FAQ document for your convenience. Completed applications should be submitted via email to rfp@powertodecide.org and are due no later than 5:00 pm ET on Friday, November 1, 2019.