News
Announcing the Winners of the 2020 Catalyst Award
Rachel’s Network today announced the awardees and finalists of its second annual Catalyst Award. The award provides women leaders of color support and recognition for their commitment to a healthy planet, along with a $10,000 prize, networking opportunities, and national recognition for their work.
Rachel’s Network Supports Emergency Charity Stimulus Legislation
Rachel’s Network has joined other philanthropic donors in urging Congress to support an Emergency Charity Stimulus that would release $200 billion to frontline nonprofits and community organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.
Rachel’s Network Provides Grant to Student PIRGs’ New Voter Project
Young people continue to be underrepresented in our democracy, and COVID-19 has severely curtailed traditional youth voter registration efforts. As a result, Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project is using digital tools to reach potential voters and providing the information they need to navigate the 2020 election and beyond. Rachel’s Network is providing Student PIRGs a grant to help enable this work.
Green Finance with Clean Energy Credit Union
Public demand for clean energy is growing rapidly, but because clean energy products typically require a large upfront cost, there is a growing need for affordable financing. That’s why a passionate group of volunteers started Clean Energy Credit Union, a new financial institution that focuses solely on providing loans that help people afford clean energy products and services such as solar electric systems, electric vehicles, geothermal heat pumps, electric bicycles, high efficiency HVAC systems, and other green home improvements.
Rachel’s Network Joins Amicus Brief Demanding Equal Rights Amendment be Enshrined in Constitution
In January 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), but the federal government refuses to enshrine it in the US Constitution. Rachel’s Network, along with founder Winsome McIntosh’s McIntosh Foundation, have filed a legal brief supporting three states in their lawsuit against the federal government for failing to uphold the ERA.
2019 Annual Report
For 20 years, the women in our network have used their voices and resources to uplift other women and contribute to solutions. It’s gratifying to see what’s possible when we work together for positive change. Read our 2019 Annual Report here.
More Evidence that Women’s Political Representation is Good for the Environment
Are women more likely to support and champion environmental legislation? Rachel’s Network has been seeking answers to that question in our When Women Lead report. Previous iterations of the report analyzed the voting records of federal legislators going back to 1983 using League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Environmental Scorecard data. This year, we’ve extended our data to 1972, the year that LCV first began keeping records of Congress’ votes on the environment.
Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen Joins Rachel’s Network as Liaison
Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen, one of the country’s leading environmental lawyers, has joined Rachel’s Network as a liaison. As head of the nation’s premier public interest environmental law organization, Abigail leads a staff of over 400, with more than 130 lawyers, in fourteen offices across the country. She has litigated many precedent-setting cases that have held polluters accountable and cleared the way for clean energy nationally.
Q&A with Member Mary Bookwalter on Removing Dams in Indiana
Member Mary Bookwalter is funding a number of dam removals in her home state of Indiana both as an individual and through the Indiana Forest Alliance as a donor and volunteer. Most recently, she helped decommission the Collamer Dam on the Eel River. Mary spoke with us about how she got involved in these projects and what’s next.
Rachel’s Network Partners with Coalition Fighting Petrochemical Development in the Ohio River Valley
The American Chemistry Council has identified $36 billion in potential petrochemical and plastic manufacturing investments in the Ohio River Valley and corporations have already begun building ethane cracker plants, pipelines, storage facilities, and other dirty infrastructure. Rachel’s Network is partnering with the People Over Petro Coalition to fight back.