MOMENTUM:

The MomsRising
IMPACT IN 2023

MomsRising is a movement of more than a million people working to increase family economic security, stop discrimination, and build a nation where everyone can thrive.

EXECUTIVE LETTER

2023 was a year when many people thought big wins weren’t possible, but together we brought forward powerful victories – often against the odds. Throughout this 2023 MomsRising Impact Report you’ll see that the million members of MomsRising, who live in every state in the nation and are taking action on the ground and online, often worked to make the impossible possible.

Together, we won critically important legislative and policy changes on the state and federal levels – and stopped harmful legislation, too. We’ve shifted the national narrative as we built MOMentum for care policies, pushed back on the right-wing “parental rights” movement, won at the ballot box, engaged mom voters for reproductive rights (and won there as well), and built an even stronger, deeper, more powerful movement of local mom leaders and over a million people.

The strength of MomsRising in 2023 is evident in our successes. Specifically, Mom Power played a major role in catalyzing a historic Executive Order on Care, securing a resounding victory for abortion access in Ohio, generating MOMentum for paid family and medical leave in Congress, garnering unprecedented support for affordable child care, thwarting hateful book bans and censorship in schools and libraries, achieving multiple state legislative and budget successes, expanding our corps of well-trained local volunteer mom leaders, and more.

We’re in awe of the commitment and persistence demonstrated by MomsRising volunteers and supporters in these triumphs and are profoundly grateful to work with our members across the nation. Mom Power forever!

Of course, our work is far, far from over as we fight for the transformational policy changes everyone needs to thrive and work for our democracy to remain strong and vital. And, as we march forward, we recognize that 2024 is a pivotal year. We remain focused on the future we know is possible, and we are excited to continue our collective efforts toward achieving our vision.

Thank you for being a big part of the MomsRising movement and wins!

In gratitude,

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner
Executive Director & Co-Founder

Donna Norton
Deputy Executive Director & a Founding Member

Monifa Bandele
Chief Strategy Officer

Gloria Pan
Senior Vice President, Member Engagement, Campaign Innovations, Gun Control

Nate White
Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Technology

Ruth Martin
Senior Vice President & Chief Workplace Justice Officer

Xochitl Oseguera
Vice President, MamásConPoder

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2023 MOMSRISING BY THE NUMBERS

A Massively Active Movement

The MomsRising community surged with power in 2023. Our members averaged more than 2,300 on-the-ground and online actions per day, urging leaders at every level, along with Mom Voters across the nation, to step forward and act.

TOTAL MEMBER ACTIONS

STORIES SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS

PHONE CALLS TO ELECTED LEADERS

JOINED THE MOMSRISING COMMUNITY

Shaping Public Discourse & Changing the Narrative

When media outlets need insights into the challenges faced by moms and families, as well as the solutions we all need, they turn to MomsRising and our Spanish language community, MamásConPoder. Throughout 2023, our dedicated staff and volunteers shared their personal stories and policy expertise with the media – generating powerful media coverage across many outlets and playing a major role in shaping the public narrative.

1,602

TOTAL CLIPS FEATURING MOMSRISING WITH A REACH OF 2.1+ BILLION

$
114 of those clips were Spanish-language outlets with a reach of 100+ million

501

ADDITIONAL CLIPS FEATURING MEMBERS SHARING THEIR OWN STORIES WITH A REACH OF 1+ BILLION

2,833

LOCAL LETTER-TO-THE EDITOR SUBMISSIONS BY MOMSRISING VOLUNTEERS

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LEGISLATIVE & POLICY WINS

MomsRising’s E.D., Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, (right) was invited to join President Biden as he signed the Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers, recognizing the advocacy of MomsRising.

In 2023, MomsRising achieved a remarkable array of national, state, and local legislative and other policy triumphs, fueled by years of dedicated efforts on the ground and online by our over one million members and strategic advocacy work along with our diverse coalition of organizational partners.

OUR TOP 2023 WINS INCLUDE:

Making History With Biden/Harris Executive Order on Care

President Biden signed an Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers with MomsRising’s Executive Director by his side. With 50 key actions, it is the most sweeping Executive Order to improve care in our nation’s history. This victory is in no small part due to the powerful, persistent activism of our over one million MomsRising members.

Advancing the Rights of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Workers

The MomsRising community joined with allies to help ensure equitable implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which MomsRising helped pass and went into effect in 2023. We generated thousands of comments to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ran public outreach campaigns so more people know about their new rights, and joined partners in Times Square to launch the #NewRights4Parents educational campaign to tell workers who are pregnant, nursing, and/or in postpartum recovery how to access the new protections.

MomsRising co-sponsored the #NewRights4Parents campaign, including this ad in Times Square, to help educate people about two new laws that MomsRising volunteers advocated for that have dramatically expanded protections for workers who are pregnant, nursing, and/or in postpartum recovery.

At the beginning of 2023, MomsRising held a Welcome To Congress event inside the U.S. Capitol for members of Congress and their staff. At the event, dozens of members of Congress joined us as we shared stories from moms and awarded special MomsRising superhero capes to our champions within the halls of Congress, U.S. Speaker of the House Emeritus Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the original “Super Mom in Tennis Shoes.”

Children and moms using their crayons and creativity for health care.

Expanding Access to Health Care

MomsRising led a campaign that resulted in a monumental victory when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reinforced that states must provide 12 months of continuous coverage for children under Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), ensuring uninterrupted care for millions.

Making Opill Available Over-The-Counter
Following years of advocacy by MomsRising leaders, members and our allies, the FDA approved Opill, the first-ever over-the-counter birth control drug for all. This victory is a landmark achievement for reproductive health made possible by nearly two decades of work by our partners in the Free the Pill coalition, along with grassroots pressure, powerful testimony including from MomsRising, and more.

MomsRising Chief Strategy Officer Monifa Bandele testified before an FDA Advisory Committee about reproductive health care.

Enlisting Powerful Support for Gun Safety
In response to and in solidarity with moms and caregivers across the country who are demanding safety from gun violence, the Biden/Harris administration established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Defeating Book Bans and Censorship

MomsRising helped defeat the extremist, harmful, misnamed “Parents Bill of Rights” – the federal legislative framework to advance book bans and censorship that extremist Republicans were pushing. We also helped moms protect local school boards and push back against hard-right parent groups across the nation. In Florida, we successfully defended a Duval County health program serving over 11,000 families from right-wing attacks.

A Groundbreaking Advance for Youth Justice
MomsRising members took action to help pass California’s SAFE Children Act, which Gov. Newsom signed into law in October. This bill is a groundbreaking advancement for youth justice and safety, effectively making California the first state to end the practice of transferring children into the adult criminal justice system for violent offenses committed against the child’s trafficker or abuser. We hope and expect many more states will follow California’s lead because this essential policy will help protect child victims from further trauma in adult court and adult prison, and instead provide them the opportunity to heal with services and treatment the juvenile court system can provide.
Over 100 mom volunteers from around the nation attended the MomsRising “Honor Moms Every Day” Mother’s Day activation. More than 20 members of Congress attended – including Rep. Jimmy Gomez, chair of the Congressional Dad’s Caucus (pictured here at the event holding his son, Hodge) – and spoke about the importance of the entire Congress taking action on child care and paid family and medical leave, along with other urgent needs of moms, caregivers, care workers, and families. Shortly after, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee announced and held its first-ever hearing on paid family and medical leave, with MomsRising members’ stories shared in testimony.

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BUILDING STATE POWER

New Hampshire super volunteer Amber MacQuarrie shares her story on the impact that the expanded child tax credit would have on her family at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

In 2023, MomsRising achieved a remarkable array of national, state, and local legislative and other policy triumphs, fueled by years of dedicated efforts on the ground and online by our over one million members and strategic advocacy work along with our diverse coalition of organizational partners.

STATE WINS INCLUDE:

New Hampshire Secures Investments and Protections for Families
MomsRising New Hampshire secured big wins for Granite State families, including a historic $60.5 million investment in child care (including an additional $15 million for workforce recruitment and retention); full funding for the New Hampshire MOMnibus, which provides increased access to maternal health coverage; Medicaid expansion for 7 years, which will help thousands of state residents access health coverage; and defeat of the harmful New Hampshire parent bill of wrongs” (SB 272), a direct attack against our LGBTQIA+ kids.
Washington State Delivers Child Care, Early Learning, Caregiver, and Immigrant Victories
The Washington State MomsRising team helped secure major state budget wins, including unemployment insurance for caregivers (SB 5225), allowing caregivers to receive unemployment if they lose their job due to child care or care for a vulnerable adult becomes inaccessible; free and low-cost child care access for child care workers, immigrant families and families in therapeutic courts (SB 5225); expanded access to the Working Families Tax Credit (HB 1477); and investments in paid family and medical leave.

Organized by Washington fellow Kristen Marsh (right), the Washington State team joined volunteers and their families in November to celebrate our wins, build community connections with art marking, and generate grassroots power for our 2024 legislative agenda.

MomsRising Florida distributed banned books like Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb,” to families at various events to help uplift the importance of historically accurate education.

Florida Saves Health Care Program from Right-Wing Attacks
Florida MomsRising successfully rallied parent leaders to stop a right-wing attempt to defund Duval County’s Hazel Health, an opt-in program that provides quality, no-cost health care services for over 11,000 families in the county. We also partnered with local organizations such as Families for Strong Public Schools and Public School Defenders to successfully counter far-right attacks on public schools and LGBTQ+ youth and families.
West Virginia Stabilizes Child Care Funding
West Virginia MomsRising and partner Rattle the Windows organized seven town hall meetings on child care and successfully urged the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services to extend, not stop as planned, a pay-by-enrollment funding model instituted during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The pay-by-enrollment methodology provides better financial stability to child care providers and continued assurance of available child care for West Virginia families.
Pennsylvania Powers Up Parents
Pennsylvania continues to be of extreme importance, and we were thrilled to engage and train thousands of volunteers across the state in 2023. We championed the reintroduction of the state paid leave bill, hosting a legislative breakfast in the state capitol and an art exhibit highlighting stories from Pennsylvania parents. Members also spoke out about the urgent need to invest in early learning, delivering storybooks with over 70 stories from every region of the commonwealth to every state legislator. Our fellows organized on-the-ground events, met with their state and federal elected officials, and hosted two parent expos in Pittsburgh engaging hundreds of community members and dozens of local and regional leaders.

MomsRising fellows, State Representative La’Tasha Mayes, and Blayre Holmes Davis (Second Lady of Pennsylvania and Director of Community Relations for the Pittsburgh Steelers) at our Parent Power celebration in Pittsburgh.

Gov. Roy Cooper with MomsRising’s Sheila Arias (left) and Felicia Burnett (right) at the bill signing for North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion.

North Carolina Wins Medicaid Expansion, Paid Leave, and Free School Meals for All

After many years of advocacy, North Carolina MomsRising members won Medicaid expansion, providing health care coverage to 600,000 North Carolinians. We also played a pivotal role in the passage of the Family First Paid Leave Policy, which expands paid leave policies for Durham County employees. And in partnership with Schools Meals FOR ALL NC, we secured funding in the state budget aimed at making free meals accessible to students in schools across the state.

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TRAINING POWERFUL LOCAL MOM LEADERS

Our 2023 Mom Power Bootcamp brought together local mom leaders, advocates, fellows, and other engaged volunteers interested in leadership development and advocacy opportunities for child care and other issues that impact families with young children. This MOMentum-building meetup included a visit to the White House to highlight the real stories of moms and the critical need for investments in care policies for families.

A remarkable 139 local moms leaders of directly impacted communities dedicated their time, expertise, and talents to completing a MomsRising leadership training program in 2023. Devoting months to mastering power-building, organizing strategies, and advocacy tools, these mom leaders are now well-equipped to organize their communities in partnership with MomsRising for years to come.

RISING LOCAL MOM LEADERS INCLUDE:

IVONNE LIMONGI
Ivonne is a Latina mom who organizes in her community and shares her experiences in English and Spanish. Ivonne is a fierce advocate for paid leave in her home state of Virginia. She’s met with her elected leaders and the Department of Labor to share her experience as a mother who had to take unpaid time off to take care of her son during his cancer treatments and more.

I think the RISERS program has been a great way to develop and master advocacy skills and a perfect way to come together as parents and caregivers.

Mom leader Ivonne Limongi (center) with (from left to right) Rep. Lauren Underwood, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Sec. of Health & Human Services Xavier Becerra, and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.

Mom leader Alana Griffin (second from right) with (left to right) MomsRising’s Ashley Comans, mom leader Kate Ledford, and MomsRising’s Karen Showalter.

ALANA GRIFFIN
Alana is a mom to three boys and a passionate advocate for early learning. She learned through fostering her youngest son that the education system is not equitable. As a Pittsburgh Parent Power Fellow and now Beacon Hub Leader, she has pushed lawmakers to step up and invest in early learning so that kids have a more equal playing field.

Our leaders should ask moms about quality and affordable child care. The importance of having that in place, and being able to work and thrive and take care of your family. And if moms and parents don’t have affordable child care, how hurtful it is for our kids, how it sets us back financially.

DANIELLE WILSON

Danielle is a mom of three from Queens, NY. She became an advocate for Black moms’ maternal health after a traumatic experience giving birth to her daughter, Zoie. Danielle is a storyteller and a RISER who has spoken to elected officials, shared her story with numerous media outlets, and encouraged others to raise their voices and do what they can to get involved.

We can’t just wait for the bigger elections, we have to flex a bit and show out every day.

Mom leader Danielle Wilson (center) and family met with Rep. Ayanna Pressley during our Mom Power Bootcamp.

MomsRising Hunger and Food Insecurity North Carolina Campaign Director Jessica Burroughs and Mom leader Eshawney Gaston.

ESHAWNEY GASTON
Eshawney is the mother of two young children and an antihunger advocacy fellow with MomsRising North Carolina. She’s met with members of Congress and urged them to protect and expand SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and spoke at numerous public events about the importance of free school meals for all. In 2023, she was featured in an NPR Marketplace report on the challenges of finding child care with an unpredictable work schedule.

Put yourself in other people’s shoes so you can really see and understand what it feels like, especially if you have children.

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SHIFTING THE NARRATIVE

MomsRising is a leader in educating the public, media, and policymakers about the policy changes that moms, families, and caregivers need to thrive. In 2023, we were a leading voice shaping the narrative on care, bringing the need for a comprehensive care infrastructure to the forefront.

An Earned Media Powerhouse

MomsRising sparked MOMentum for change by skillfully steering the national discourse in favor of policies that lift families and our economy. Generating over 2,100 earned media moments in 2023, we seamlessly interwove stories highlighting mothers, families, and caregivers into both national and local media coverage. Our placements achieved expansive reach, surpassing a record-setting 2.1 billion in one year.

We also empowered members by providing dedicated media training and placements for members who want to make an impact by sharing their stories in the media. In 2023, we facilitated over 500 member media moments, with a cumulative reach of over 1 billion.

EARNED MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

House GOP Passes Bill with Major Cuts In Order to Raise Debt Ceiling

MSNBC, 4-29-2023
With MomsRising Executive Director Kristin
Rowe-Finkbeiner

On the 50th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, Republicans and Democrats are fighting in the state legislatures to impose their positions on abortion

UNIVISION, 1-22-2023
With MamásConPoder Vice President Xochitl Oseguera

NEWSWEEK, 5-14-2023
With MomsRising Executive Director
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4-22-2023
With MomsRising Early Learning National Director Nina Perez

THE GUARDIAN, 7-23-2023
With MomsRising Chief Strategy Officer Monifa Bandele and member Danielle Wilson

MARKETWATCH, 3-17-2023
With MomsRising North Carolina Campaign Director Jessica Burroughs and members Torie Miesko and Jasmine Wooten

THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11-12-2023
With member Daphne Alsiyao
Moms Take Kids To Congress To Push Paid Leave, Child Care Bills

ABC NEWS, 5-18-2023
With MomsRising Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and members Danielle Wilson and Amber MacQuarrie

El Servicio De Inmigración Anuncia Cambios En La Política De Carga Pública

UNIVISION (DESPIERTA AMERICA), 7-24-2023
With MomsRising Immigration Campaign Director Claudia Tristán

Raising Our Voices & Sharing Stories Directly with Elected Leaders is POWERFUL

In 2023, MomsRising members passionately shared thousands of personal stories with one another, with elected officials, with the media and more; letting members know they’re not alone in the barriers moms face, and illustrating the need for policy change in ways that datasets of numbers cannot. We empowered over 6,723 people to proactively and effectively share their personal stories about their priority policies and included many of these stories in five powerful storybooks sent to the White House, members of Congress, members of state legislatures, and more. We also trained and supported members to share their stories at hearings and other live events with lawmakers and the media, contributing directly to shaping public policy and the national narrative.

HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

MomsRising brought moms from 20 states to share their child care stories with top leaders at the White House. Our volunteers were thrilled when subsequently, the White House asked Congress for the $16 billion in child care stabilization funds we requested!

New York MomsRising member Mansie (center) spoke at a Congressional Dads Caucus roundtable on care policies like child care, paid family and medical leave, and the expanded Child Tax Credit.

Our Ohio member Melissa testified at a Senate Finance Committee hearing in support of an expanded Child Tax Credit.

Educating. Engaging. Mobilizing.

MomsRising’s robust online presence is a key vehicle for narrative change, helping people learn, act, and unite for a brighter future. On our social media channels and through our weekly radio program that’s broadcast in many major media outlets as well as distributed via podcast, we disrupt narratives that stand in the way of progress, reimagine solutions, and open avenues for the voices of moms, caregivers, and families to be heard by the leaders who have the power to make the change we seek.

The Breaking Through show airs on many terrestrial broadcast outlets across the nation, with the home station of 1150 AM in Seattle, as well as WCPT in Chicago and KTNF in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and more. The show also airs online on all major podcast outlets, including the Progressive Voices Channel of TuneIn which alone has over 500,000 listeners.

Our series of Barbie-themed social posts seized a trending moment to reach beyond our base and drive support for legislative priorities such as the Paycheck Fairness Act and Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act. Collectively, these Barbie posts reached over 273,000 users across MomsRising and MamásConPoder platforms.

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MOBILIZING MOM VOTERS

MomsRising was honored to be part of the historic victory to pass Ohio’s Issue 1 in 2023, the ballot initiative that protects the right to abortion in the Ohio state constitution.

Through our voter outreach programs, we engaged MomsRising Ohio members and coordinated with the Ohio Ballot Initiative Committee to reach 75,000 infrequent Ohio mom voters who were likely supporters of the ballot initiative to encourage them to vote. Our outreach included postcards, texts, phone calls, and digital ads.

This win was critical for moms – 6 in 10 people who need and get abortion care are moms. Access to full reproductive services is a key part of the maternal health, health care, and overall care infrastructure that MomsRising champions.

This campaign also showed once again that abortion care is a winning electoral issue – and recent polls also show that voters across the political spectrum respond even more positively when BOTH care infrastructure policies (child care, paid family and medical leave, elder and disability care, fair pay, maternal health) and abortion care are combined in messaging.

Our get-out-the-vote program successfully mobilized Ohio moms to vote to protect their rights to abortion in the state constitution.

We march because 6 in 10 women who have abortions are already moms

#BiggerThanRoe

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VISION FOR 2024 AND BEYOND

At MomsRising, we know that building a nation where everyone can thrive is about winning policy change and more. It’s also about instigating profound societal shifts that acknowledge and champion the invaluable contributions and needs of moms, families, caregivers, and care workers across our communities, businesses, and economy.

In 2024, with unwavering MOMentum, we remain dedicated to driving the transformational change we need and know is possible. Our commitment involves powerfully calling for comprehensive care infrastructure policies, including child care, paid family and medical leave, home- and community-based services, fair pay, rights for immigrants, many of whom are care workers, and maternal justice solutions. We will persist in shaping the national narrative, advocating for the modernization of public policies that uplift families and our economy. We will empower wave after wave of mom leaders and build Mom Power on the national, state, and local levels.

And we will spark massive voter engagement to get out the mom vote in the consequential 2024 elections. Moms and the people who love them are unstoppable.

Join us in continuing to ignite big MOMentum in 2024.

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