At Mary’s Pence, we have vowed to address not just the symptoms of current issues but the root causes by funding grassroots organizations dedicated to changing unjust systems.
Charities are practical in their operations; they deliver services that offer immediate relief in dire situations. An example is food banks, which give out free food to those struggling with food insecurity. While food banks provide an invaluable response to an urgent need, they are a symptom of a bigger problem, and they do not address the underlying issue: poverty.
The necessity for food banks in the wealthiest nation in the world highlights deep inequalities, which are only getting worse. According to the St. Louis Fed’s Institute for Economic Equity, in the first quarter of 2024, the top 10% of households by wealth had an average of $6.9 million and held 67% of total household wealth. The bottom 50% of households by wealth had an average of $51,000 and only 2.5% of total household wealth.
Why We Chose Social Justice and Examples
One of the main differences between charity and social justice and justice is that charity focuses on immediate individual needs while justice looks for long-term solutions. These solutions not only benefit an individual but impact a community of people or even an entire nation.
Another important difference is that while charity looks for immediate solutions and doesn’t require change in social structures, social justice requires changes in social structures, which often take much longer. Although both are equally important in keeping communities safe and helping them thrive, the social justice focus brings lasting collective solutions.
Here are some examples of Charity and Justice
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POWER: Community Organizing
Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (POWER), based in Olympia, Washington, is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a solid social safety net. They consider poverty a systemic problem and not an individual failing. They work to fight poverty, honor caregiving, and create a sense of belonging within the community.
POWER‘s primary strategy is community organizing, which they effectively use to create social change by directly engaging with low-income families. By building relationships, members truly become part of a community, and by giving them a space to feel heard and seen, POWER is helping to change their experience in society. They have fostered a strong, supportive community through outreach efforts at places like local food banks and the Department of Social and Health Services office. One notable achievement is their Sock Monkey Workshop and Gallery, which educates the public by dispelling myths about poverty and empowers participants by sharing their narratives and stories about their lives in poverty.
Their consistent, informal outreach has increased engagement, particularly among mothers who benefit from the organization’s resources and support. They want to be accessible to the community, so whenever they schedule a meeting, they consider time, transportation, and childcare for parents.
They have a childcare room that allows parents to work on important paperwork while their kids play. One mom, in particular, has been in every other week to work on Department of Developmental Disabilities paperwork for her child with a disability, schedule doctor appointments, and sometimes just relax while her child plays.
Through these efforts, POWER is not only addressing poverty but also helping their systematically marginalized community to be seen, feel seen, and be part of a collective effort to change their circumstances.
Tight Lipped: Education and Policy Change
Tight Lipped is a grassroots organization by and for people with chronic vulvovaginal and pelvic pain. It advocates for correct diagnosis, effective treatment, compassionate care, and, most importantly, policy change in medical institutions.
Education is its primary strategy for creating social change. Their main goal is to educate patients so they feel empowered to seek the care they need while also educating medical providers who will deliver that care. Starting as a podcast to raise awareness, Tight Lipped has grown into a patient-led campaign advocating for mandatory training in OB/GYN residency programs across the U.S.
By centering patient stories and building meaningful relationships with medical providers, Tight Lipped has successfully expanded its community and taken significant steps toward transforming OB/GYN education. A key achievement is the establishment of a Medical Advisory Board composed of diverse experts who guide their advocacy work.
Another notable accomplishment is their collaboration with Yale School of Medicine to implement a new curriculum on chronic pain care, which started in January 2024. This partnership marks a significant step forward in transforming medical education, addressing gaps in OB/GYN training, and, ultimately, improving care for patients experiencing chronic pain.
Institute for Research on Male Supremacism: Research and Documentation
The Institute for Research on Male Supremacism (IRMS) is dedicated to fighting male supremacy. It convenes experts who research supremacist ideologies and movements, shares the data and its findings, and educates the public about this issue.
IRMS employs research and documentation as its primary strategy to combat male supremacism. Through fellowships, webinars, publications, and consulting, IRMS connects rigorous research to actionable change. One of their major achievements is the publication of the first-ever edited volume on male supremacism by Routledge (a British publisher that specializes in academic books and online resources in the fields of the humanities, education, law, and social science). The book is being used to shape curricula and deepen understanding of this pervasive social structure. IRMS has also launched a media resources project, collaborating with journalists and editors from major outlets like NPR and The New York Times to improve coverage of supremacist organizing. As a woman and nonbinary-led organization, IRMS approaches its work with a feminist and intersectional lens, ensuring that its research not only informs but actively contributes to changing narratives, culture, and structures around male supremacism.
In conclusion, while charity provides crucial relief in moments of crisis, we must also focus on creating long-term solutions to the deep-rooted issues of inequality and injustice. At Mary’s Pence, we believe that true change comes from addressing the underlying causes.
By supporting grassroots organizations dedicated to social justice, we’re helping to change discriminatory and harmful narratives at the community level and setting the stage for welcoming much-needed social change. Here are some of the additional ways our grantees are creating social change – empowering women and families to break cycles of violence and poverty; registering new voters; supporting women and nonbinary people in their journeys through and after incarceration