Strategy
The Gender Equity Action Fund (GEAF) succeeds by funding leaders and organizations at the state level, building durable state power through electoral gains and policy wins, and winning key state supreme court seats and state constitutional efforts. We invest in lasting progress by ensuring that communities are listened to, resourced, and financially supported.
GEAF organizes its work around two core strategies:
Campaign for Gender Equity in State Courts
Educates the public around the importance of state judiciaries that uphold and protect reproductive rights and access, protect our democracy, and expand gender equity. Grantee partners engage in nonpartisan education and mobilization of the electorate in state Supreme Court elections, defend against legislative attacks on the judiciary, and develop a pipeline of individuals who might someday be interested in becoming judges and/or government-appointed nominees.
State Strategies for Power
Strengthens the 501(c)(4) capacity and stability of state-based organizations to secure transformative policy wins, protect and grow state legislative majorities supportive of gender and reproductive rights, and strengthen cross-issue alliances among organizations in states to advance and sustain power.
In addition to our two core strategies, The Opportunity Fund provides limited rapid response funding for unexpected and time sensitive defensive or proactive efforts that may have an outsized impact on gender and reproductive equity priorities.
WINNING ACROSS THE COUNTRY
This map reflects some of the states in which GEAF invested resources from 2020 to 2025.
Since 2020, GEAF has invested over $52 million in organizations across 15 states, funded a wide range of tactics, from canvassing and research to communications, youth engagement, capacity building, and beyond, using a trust-based process that empowers local groups to pursue the strategies they know will work and innovate to meet the moment.
WHAT COMES NEXT
In this critical moment, GEAF and our partners are fighting back to protect democracy, mobilizing the communities who are most affected to secure their rights, and advancing a long-term vision for a country in which gender equity and reproductive justice are fully protected. Each time our partners win, they send a powerful message that these attacks are an electoral dead-end, and build momentum towards future victories.
GEAF funds before, during, and after the wins. We also stay engaged when there are setbacks, taking a long-term perspective on building durable power.
Our ultimate goal is for state leaders to have the power to continue winning these fights for years to come. We recognize that, depending on the state context, partners may be building, wielding, or growing power or, in most contexts, a combination of all three. Based on learnings from the first five years of work, we will support partners within their specific power contexts, and help them meet critical milestones so that they are able to shape policy today and in the future.