Azariah Baker, (left), Youth Leader, A Long Walk Home, at Chhicago Foundation For Women Awards with Felicia Davis Blakley, CFW president and CEO.

The first Chicago Foundation For Women award went to Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2005, at the age of 72, when she was a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Since then, 125 women leaders have been honored, and this year, 17-year-old Azariah Baker, Youth Leader of A Long Walk Home, won the Vanguard Award.

“I have been encouraged by so many women in my life and am so thankful,” says Baker, an artist and activist, senior at George Washington College Prep High School, who is attending Spelman College in the fall. “You see women here doing everything in their fullness. My work is an ode to my Black experience.”

““I have been encouraged by so many women in my life and am so thankful,” says 17-year-old Baker, youth leader of @ALongWalkHome and winner of the 2023 @ChiFdn4Women Vanguard Award. “You see women here doing everything in their fullness. My work is an ode to my Black experience.” #blackwomenlead”

A national arts organization based in Chicago, A Long Walk Home has a mission to “empower young people to end violence against girls and women.” Through programs of art and activism, A Long Walk Home works toward social change since its founding in 2003 by sisters Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet.

Generational inclusive activism is indeed a trend, particularly since COVID.

“Through programs of art and activism, @ALongWalkHome works toward social change since its founding in 2003 by sisters @Salamishah and @Shertillet. #blackwomenlead #womensrights”

“Gen Z activists and their older peers are united in their concern over the same issues – climate destruction, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights – but their voices appear louder and more urgent because they have more ways to source inspiration, disseminate information and mobilise. While older generations set the precedent for grassroots activism and in-person demonstrations, Gen Zers have brought this activity into where they are most comfortable: digital spaces,” BBC reports.

“Global data from public-relations and research firm Edelman shows 70% of Gen Zers are involved in a social or political cause. And although not all the 10,000 people surveyed said they would call themselves fully fledged activists, they’re still highly socially involved, advocating for causes they believe in through how they spend and earn. They’re the most likely generation to boycott a product, company, country or state because of a political, social or environmental stance, which extends to how they pick employers, too. Just one in five would work for a company that fails to share their values,” BBC reports..

At the recent annual Impact Awards, Felicia Davis Blakley, president and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, said this year they are honoring “activists, storytellers and changemakers lifting up women and girls.”

“At the recent annual #ImpactAwards, @SouthSideGrl312, president and CEO of @ChiFdn4Women, said this year they are honoring “activists, storytellers and changemakers lifting up women and girls.” #womensleadership”

The foundation has awarded more than 4,750 grants totaling $45 million since 1985 to organizations and programs that improve the lives of women and girls. “CFW envisions a world in which all women and girls can thrive in safe, just and healthy communities.”

The new honorees represent women just launching into nonprofit activism and founders who are in their third and fourth decades of work on gender equity, violence prevention and reproductive rights.

Erika Allen, founder and CEO of Strategic Development and Programs at Urban Growers Collective, addressed the urgency to acknowledge the historic need for activism. “It’s been a challenging time for all of us as women to see what our grandmothers and mothers fought for to erode.” She adds, “There is still so much resilience.”

“@Erae, founder and CEO of Strategic Development and Programs at @Ugrowcollective, addressed the urgency to acknowledge the historic need for #activism. “It’s been a challenging time for all of us as women to see what our grandmothers and mothers fought for to erode.” She adds, “There is still so much #resilience.””

Working for more than 36 years as an advocate for women and children dealing with domestic violence, Beatris Burgos, Greenhouse Shelter Director at Connections for Abused Women and Their Children, was honored for her continued service and dedication..

“I am a mountain woman; I come from people who think about helping people.” Burgos adds, “It is easy for me to be in work that I don’t consider work. If I’m thinking about my story, they are my story. I am in your stories.“

Gender and racial equity in the workplace are missions for Cherita Ellens, president and CEO of Women Employed. Honored for her efforts to expand the economic security of women, Ellens says she is “an advocate for the no salary history law. I believe my purpose is to help those who have been marginalized to have access, choice, abundance, health and wellbeing.”

None of those opportunities “should be predetermined because of your zipcode and the family you are born into,” Ellens says. “I get to change how we do things and make sure that they are at the table. I get to have the voice my grandmother, mother, aunts and neighbors did not have.”

Author, journalist and playwright Natalie Moore won the Beacon Award. A reporter at WBEZ, the Chicago affiliate of NPR, Moore turned her recent book, “The Billboard,” into a lauded stage production.

“My work lives at the intersection of race and gender,” Moore says. “I often think about my ancestors and foremothers who didn’t have the opportunities I have.”

““My work lives at the intersection of race and gender,” @Natalieymooresays. “I often think about my ancestors and foremothers who didn’t have the opportunities I have.” #womensrights ”

The Outstanding Corporate Citizen Impact Award was given to CNG, Charter Next Generation, and Kathy Bolhous, chairman and CEO, who said the company’s goal is “shrinking the wealth gap.”

Bolhous says, “I spent my career being a woman working with mostly men. Finding a way to rise to the top of a mostly male-dominated industry has made me who I am. That’s why I call myself a trailblazer.”

Marcie Love, one of the founding mothers of CFW, and founder and chair emerita of Personal PAC, which she founded in 1989, received the Sophia Award.

“I believe women cannot reach their full potential if they cannot control their body,” Love says.

“Don’t take no for an answer. Find a way to get around that to work and find your passion within a whole spectrum of women’s issues and work on it.”

“Marcie Love, one of the founding mothers of @ChiFdn4Women and founder and chair emerita of @PersonalPAC which she founded in 1989, received the Sophia Award. “I believe women cannot reach their full potential if they cannot control their body,” Love says. #prochoice #mybodymychoice”

The multi-generational representation of award winners reflects the legacy of nonprofit leadership and the growing diversity and inclusion of nonprofit leadership and board membership. Many organizations are dealing with the narrowness of board representation and are working to change those numbers.

In Nonprofit Quarterly, Aracely Munoz, chair of the XIX Society at Texas Women’s Foundation writes, “A 2021 BoardSource study, Leading with Intent: Reviewing the State of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Nonprofit Boards, asked nonprofit CEOs whether they had the right individuals on their board. Nearly half—49 percent—stated they did not have the right board members to “establish trust with the communities they serve.”

Munoz writes, “To be sure, the sector is making some progress—particularly with respect to gender and age. In a recent study, The Lilly School of Philanthropy, Johnson Grossnickle & Associates, and BoardSource noted that the gender gap is closing, with more women-identified leaders serving on boards. In 2018, women made up 48 percent of nonprofit boards. The number increased to 53 percent in the 2021 Leading with Intent BoardSource study.”

This comes at a time, post-pandemic, when COVID dramatically increased the need for the services of nonprofits in this country.

“The trend of greater #genderdiversity on #nonprofit boards comes at a time, post-pandemic, when COVID dramatically increased the need for the services of nonprofits in this country. ”

Munoz in NonProfit Quarterly also reports, “Government, philanthropy, and community members all relied on nonprofits during the COVID pandemic. Among survey respondents, 71 percent saw an increase in service demand during the pandemic. Nonprofits organized food drives and distributed other necessities to people who were sick or at risk or had lost jobs due to the pandemic.”

Munoz continues, “Thanks to such infusions of cash, many nonprofits not only survived the pandemic, but emerged in a relative position of financial strength. That said, not all nonprofits have benefitted equally from this unexpected gain in financial stability, and racial disparities remain significant.”

Take The Lead Leadership Takeaway:

“I believe my purpose is to help those who have been marginalized to have access, choice, abundance, health and wellbeing.”-- Cherita Ellens, president and CEO of Women Employed

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About the Author

Michele Weldon is editorial director of Take The Lead, an award-winning author, journalist, emerita faculty in journalism at Northwestern University and a senior leader with The OpEd Project. @micheleweldon www.micheleweldon.com