Partners in Diversity is proud to spotlight one of our community partners, the Women’s Foundation of Oregon (WFO). Read about them below!
Picture a cotton field. A sea of white against the blue sky as far as the eye can see. Among the hundreds of enslaved laborers, a Black woman with a baby on her back, the heat beating down on them, dreaming of a Libra Forde.
She knew she may not live to see her dreams come to fruition, but she pushed past the limitations of her reality and dared to dream.
Thousands of miles away, that dream was sprouting its roots as the very first all-women’s volunteer organization in Oregon with a simple mission: “to forward and uphold the ideals and advancement of American womanhood.” The wives of prominent businessmen who could hold a select few titles, coming together to create the Portland Women’s Union in 1887.
More than 135 years and many evolutions later, that organization is known as the Women’s Foundation of Oregon (WFO). And that dream stands tall, providing others space to dream where their visions take shape, requiring rest where seeds of innovation and justice are planted.
At the helm, Executive Director Libra Forde has shaped WFO into a vital force for gender equity in Oregon by amplifying the issues through research, shaping policy, and funding grassroots organizations across the state.
Through their signature Advancing Women Experience (AWE), WFO provides philanthropic, mission-driven experiences designed to breathe, reflect, and dream boldly to nonprofit leaders across the state. As a collective, their newly-launched Abundance for All framework provides a roadmap to Oregon becoming the first state in the nation to reach equity for women across every layer of life: economic, political, social, and cultural.
Together, these pillars dare women and girls to dream while rooted in the organization’s original values: to ensure Oregon as a place where all women and girls can thrive. But we cannot do it alone.
Oregon women, especially those from rural and historically excluded communities, continue to face housing insecurity, economic barriers, and gaps in healthcare and education. The COVID-19 pandemic setting progress back decades.
Organizations like WFO work to address these systemic inequalities — not just through grants, but through leadership development, research, and advocacy that center the voices of those most affected.
WFO’s mission remains steadfast.
We must invest in women’s shelters, transitional housing, and women-led organizations as critical infrastructure. We must fund them accordingly — not as charity, but as investments in the health and resilience of our communities. And we must all dare to dream of a Libra Forde.
