Womens Voices Now, Inc.
Films by Women, about Women, for All.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Women’s Voices Now (WVN) long-term goal is to create a culture shift advancing women's rights. Gender equality is still far from being realized: a 2020 UN study showed that roughly 90% of the world population holds negative biases against women (particularly on political representation, economic opportunities and physical integrity). As long as these biases persist, progress towards gender equality will stagnate or even regress. The film industry still tends to perpetuate gender and racial stereotypes rather than combat them, because of its own lack of diversity. Yet, we believe film is part of the solution. It is a powerful tool with unique abilities: easy access and wide reach; it can shape and normalize representations, raise awareness, and generate empathy.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Women's Voices Now Film Festival
The Women's Voices Now Film Festival support female documentary filmmakers amplifying women's and girls' rights everywhere. We support them with cash prizes, awards, visibility, community building and networking opportunities.
Contributing to a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive film industry, we challenge gender-based stereotypes both on and off the screen. To support this vision, we provide:
- visibility
Emerging filmmakers have access to a global platform where they can share essential, authentic stories with global audiences. The film winning the Grand Prize is screened during an in-person event in Los Angeles.
- financial support
Filmmakers enter to win one of seven awards and a cash prize (totaling 10,000 USD) to invest in their next film project.
- access to networks
We create a space and opportunities for filmmakers to connect with one another and attend multiple panels with film industry industry professionals.
Voices For Change, A Film Collection Advocating Women's Rights
Voices for Change is a free online collection of films advocating for women's rights. This unique collection showcases authentic, relatable stories that empower audiences to question their own gender-based stereotypes, and invite them to take action.
We promote this content for individual online viewers through marketing campaigns and to schools, and to non-profit organizations and international organizations to incorporate into their programming. To date, we have co-facilitated and curated over 100 screening and discussion programs with partners in 15+ countries on six continents, including with the World Bank, UN Women, and smaller on-the-ground organizations such as WADI which combats female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Middle East and North Africa.
The collection currently hosts 200+ films from 65 countries and in 44 different languages.
Girls' Voices Now, youth development through filmmaking and activism
Girls’ Voices Now empowers girls ages 14-18 from under-resourced communities of Los Angeles County to find, develop, and use their voice for social change through filmmaking.
Using a holistic approach that combines technical filmmaking training, confidence building and community building, Girls' Voices Now works to empower the next generation of changemakes and filmmakers. Locally, it strives to advance gender and racial equity in the film industry and beyond.
Where we work
Awards
Special Consultative Status 2018
United Nations ECOSOC
Special Consultative Status 2017
United Nations ECOSOC
Special Consulative Status 2023
United Nations ECOSOC
Certificate of Recognition 2023
City of West Hollywood
Affiliations & memberships
Conscious Ambassador Trauma-Informed Care Training 2023
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of Los Angeles youth served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adolescents, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
Girls' Voices Now, youth development through filmmaking and activism
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Women’s Voices Now sees media as both the problem and the solution. Our goal is to promote women’s and girls’ rights by bringing important conversations about gender and culture that are inclusive of everyone, ensuring that we are all part of the solution. We carry these conversations online and on the ground, to raise awareness about specific topics, with a focus on local issues, and create lasting change.
Our model revolves around the promotion, distribution and production of impactful films that have the power and potential to educate, inspire and engage audiences in the realm of women’s rights.
We provide:
- Social-change (or social impact) films shedding lights on women's and girls' rights issues, challenges and triumphs in every continent;
- Safe spaces to carry on conversations about the topics addressed in the films we showcase, and contextualize them;
- Tools and resources to analyze, deconstruct, discuss these topics, with the help of experts and guest speakers
- Opportunities to get involved through clear calls to action, in part supported by strategic partnerships.
We believe in the power of social impact film to address complex issues and move people from empathy to action in support of women's rights.
Additionally, two of our programs are centered not just on the films being made or highlighted, but primarily on the people making them: with our Online Film Festival, we focus on supporting emerging filmmakers making social-change films holistically and in the long-term, so that they can continue their important work.
With Girls' Voices Now, we reach girls and femme-identifying youth from low-income and untapped communities of Los Angeles County and provide long-term personal, academic and professional development on top of the summer filmmaking training program. Our goals are to empower the next generation of filmmakers and changemakers; build pathways to the film industry (contributing to increase its diversity); and to produce powerful content relevant for all.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We believe that to ensure a deep, sustainable change, we need everyone to be part of the conversation and of the solution. To that end, we work with different groups who have the potential of being agents of change or allies, to empower and educate them.
Filmmakers & media creators
We help conscientious filmmakers and media creators tell important stories by
- Providing free tools and online resources to encourage them to create content that is representative of women’s issues
- Supporting them with funding and visibility through our Online Film festival’s cash prizes and fiscal sponsorship program
General audiences
We educate, inspire and empower audience members on local and global women’s rights issue through
- Educational screenings that engage community audiences with curated film selections and expert speakers. These events elevate the conversation on specific women’s rights issues that are local and urgent to the community.
- An exclusive and unique Film Archive of 200+ films from around the world. By providing alternative films produced by citizen journalists, activists, and professional filmmakers, the archive educates audiences on global women’s rights issues not found in mainstream media outlets, as well as stories that often face censorship.
Underrepresented communities
We work towards increasing the access of young women from underrepresented communities to the film and media industry, and thus achieving greater gender parity and diversity. We do this by
- Offering a free five-week media training for adolescent girls and young women from underrepresented communities of Los Angeles during which they produce their first short documentary. They benefit from a comprehensive curriculum combing not only concrete media literacy skills but also critical thinking, leadership and collaboration skills that they will apply to their future academic and professional prospects.
- Establishing mentor/mentees relationships with professional women from the film and media industry, for a minimum of one year
Marginalized groups
We help women experiencing homelessness develop their voice and find a sense of community through free creative workshops using social-change films and creative writing
Young and adult men
In the post #MeToo world, we are working with young and adult male-identifying individuals who are interested in learning he effect of patriarchy on their lives, and addressing and remedying the harmful views and treatment of women by becoming allies by
- Providing a free 6-week online self-paced course providing them with the tools to take action and make change. This online workshop uses film, articles, and facilitated discussion to give concrete modes of action for all participants.
- Offering tailored on-site workshops to fraternity houses of the greater LA area universities, based on the online class curriculum.
For most of our programs, we join forces with other local organizations to deliver the strongest impact possible.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Women’s Voices Now’s team collectively brings a large set of skills and experience needed to carry out our mission.
Heidi Basch-Harod, Executive Director,
Heidi is responsible for the vision, strategy, and international fundraising efforts locally and globally. Heidi brings her experience in international human rights advocacy from her work with Tibetan Nuns Project and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress. A scholar of the modern history of the MENA region specializing in women’s rights, Heidi’s works has been published in many outlets (The Huffington Post, Open Democracy, Palestine -Israel Journal, etc.) She is a producer of the award-winning documentary Honor Diaries, and the highly-acclaimed short film, In Search of America, Inshallah.
Chelsea Byers, Partnerships and Programs Manager
Chelsea is responsible for managing WVN programs, and leads partnership development and community outreach efforts both locally and internationally, on behalf of WVN. Chelsea comes to WVN with a background in creative change making, organizing, and advocacy. A passionate activist on issues regarding gender and sexual-based violence, Chelsea successfully campaigned to overturn California’s statute of limitations on rape and sexual assault in 2017 and co-organized the first #MeToo Survivors March in Los Angeles. Chelsea is part of the Beautiful Trouble collective, where she facilitates resources development and content creation for an online toolbox that supports organizers and activists around the globe. She has organized countless campaigns and demonstrations for social justice, held vigils for political prisoners and whistleblowers, and earned media for stunts, pranks, and creative disruptions, alongside some of the most innovative and strategic nonviolent activists working in social movements.
Soizic Pelladeau, Development Director
Soizic is in charge of program development & evaluation, grant writing and reporting. While completing her International Relations Master’s in France, Soizic worked for W4, a non-profit supporting women and girls’ access to education & healthcare globally. Upon graduation, she worked in the Division for Gender Equality at UNESCO for 2 years, where was responsible for the monitoring & evaluation and gender-mainstreaming. From 2016 to 2018, Soizic worked as a Program Officer for the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Los Angeles, where she managed budgets, grantmaking, grantseeking, fundraising and reporting activities. Soizic occasionally consults for UN Women as evaluation specialist.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 2010, we have:
- Hosted 6 editions of our annual online film festival.
- Curated a free, online streaming archive of international women’s rights-based films featuring over 200 films.
- Received 965+ film submissions to our Film Festival from 85+ countries and awarded $118,000 in cash prizes to filmmakers.
- Facilitated 100+ public screening events, educational programs, and creative workshops in 11 countries.
- Served 80 girls from under- resourced communities and produced 21 youth-made short films seen by over 1.5 million online viewers - and won a Daytime Emmy!
- Engaged 20+ million viewers in 178 countries.
In 2011, 2013, and 2014, Women's Voices Now traveled to Europe and the Middle East in order to screen films from our festival archives and facilitate community dialogue (Lebanon, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Morocco, Turkey, Palestine, United Kingdom). In addition, WVN staff and volunteers have screened WVN films and facilitated dialogue in Turkey, Croatia, Norway, Morocco, Israel, West Bank, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States.
Since 2017, we hold special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) our work is internationally recognized as impacting six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs): Good health and well-being (SDG 3); Quality education (SDG 4); Gender equality (SDG 5); Reduced inequalities (SDG 10); Peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16); Partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).
Also in 2017, we launched our workshop, Films & Poetry, which was offered at no cost to homeless men and women in Los Angeles County at the Turning Point Shelter (Santa Monica) and in March-May 2018, at the Downtown Women's Center (Skid Row).
In 2018 alone, WVN’s team have gathered a total of 635 attendees to our events, and worked with 21 partnering organizations, including 15 new ones. That same year, we also successfully co-facilitated our Summer Youth Media Training for the first time.
In 2019, we launched our Be A Male Ally program (online) and its “on the ground” version tailored for fraternity houses, “Walk It Like I Talk It”.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Womens Voices Now, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/24/2024
Gina Brourman-Sacks
Gina Brourman-Sacks
Caron Bielski
Tali Bielski
Filipe Nogueira
Candice Nakagawa
Diana Means
Snehal Chitalia
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/31/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.