For nearly half a century, Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) has provided 24-hour counseling and advocacy to rape and incest survivors, including support throughout medical and judicial processes. In addition to working to educate the community, BAWAR supports survivors dealing with the ongoing trauma of sexual assault. The organization’s goal is to form a partnership with survivors to help them regain a sense of control in their lives, and thus begin to heal.

Global Fund for Women is one of the world’s leading foundations for gender equality, standing up for the human rights of women and girls. It campaigns for zero violence, economic and political empowerment, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. In accordance with its vision that every woman and girl is strong, safe, powerful and heard, the foundation funds and partners with women-led groups fighting for justice in their own communities. Its rights-based approach gets to the root of gender inequality and is seen as the most effective way to create permanent social change.

Mujeres Unidas y Actives (MUA) is a grassroots organization with a dual mission of promoting personal transformation and building community power as a means of achieving social and economic justice. MUA’s innovative leadership development model trains its Latina immigrant members to advocate on their own behalf and is a national model for immigrant empowerment. The organization has launched a variety of local, state and national coalitions and alliances, all focused on improving the lives of immigrants in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) provides pro bono attorneys to represent unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in their deportation proceedings. It also offers legal screenings and “Know Your Rights” presentations. KIND works to ensure that unaccompanied children receive fair and appropriate treatment from the U.S. immigration system. In addition to protecting children’s rights and safety before, during and after migration, KIND also helps children returning to their home countries to reintegrate back into their communities.

Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) is a family resource center dedicated to breaking the cycle of childhood poverty. HPP assists clients with housing, prenatal and parenting support, domestic violence, substance abuse, family unification, access to technology, and financial issues, including emergency support of basic needs. Thousands of families turn to HPP each year; as a result, over 90 percent of the infants born to clients are healthy and drug-free, hundreds of families escape homelessness and many others have seen their incomes climb after participating in the organization’s financial stability programs. More than half of all HPP staff members are former clients, offering newcomers proof that investments made in parents can break the cycle of childhood poverty.

Women's Recovery Services (WRS) provides a haven for women struggling with substance abuse. Its mission is to break the cycle of addiction in a safe setting, allowing women to live at the center with their young children as they learn life skills that will enable them to become strong, responsible contributors to their communities. WRS has been providing substance abuse treatment for women for almost 40 years; services include a 12-month treatment and support program that offers a 120-day residential stay.

The only global legal advocacy organization dedicated to reproductive rights, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has used the law for more than 20 years to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect. CRR envisions a world where women are free to decide whether and when to have children, have access to the best reproductive healthcare available and can exercise their choices without coercion or discrimination.

Family Services Agency of Marin (FSA) uses counseling, education and advocacy to strengthen the many forms of family life, promote the health and self-sufficiency of family members of all ages and cultures, and champion freedom from abuse, violence and poverty. In addition to offering Marin County’s most comprehensive child and family trauma services, FSA specializes in addiction recovery and operates the county’s only 24/7 suicide prevention and crisis hotline.

MILES Chile began as a citizen movement in 2010 and was consolidated as a non-governmental organization just a few years later. Dedicated to promoting sexual and reproductive rights, the nonprofit works to influence public policy, enact legislative changes and coordinate networks. MILES Chile’s efforts are conducted in the framework of human rights; it promotes respect for people independent of race, creed, ethnicity, political ideology, gender, ability, sexual orientation and age.

As anti-choice groups work overtime to limit women’s reproductive rights nationwide, NARAL fights back by using the political process to protect and expand reproductive freedom. To that end, it lobbies members of Congress, urging them to support the right to choose legal abortion; organizes to ensure that lawmakers hear from the pro-choice people they represent; and works to educate the public on how what happens in Congress and state legislatures affects reproductive freedom.

Legal Services for Children's(LSC) provides free representation to children and youth who require legal assistance to stabilize their lives and realize their full potential. Relying on a holistic team approach that utilizes legal advocacy and social work services, the organization’s goal is to empower clients and actively involve them in the critical decisions that impact their lives. LSC uses this model to achieve safety, stability and educational success, as well as freedom from detention and deportation for its clients.

Chile-based Fondo Alquimia is dedicated to advancing the human rights of women and girls by promoting reproductive rights and cultural and social transformation. Fondo Alquimia’s fund provides resources, support and visibility to activists and other groups representing a wide spectrum of women and girls: indigenous, migrant, rural, lesbian, transgender, domestic workers and sex workers. The organization uses a Feminist Philanthropy model to mobilize and distribute resources to grassroots women’s organizations.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a human rights organization renowned for fact-finding, impartial reporting and effective use of media and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups. Each year, the nonprofit, non-governmental organization publishes more than 100 reports and briefings on human rights conditions in some 90 countries, documents that generate extensive press in local and international media. The leverage such coverage brings facilitates access to government officials, the United Nations, regional groups such as the African Union and the European Union, financial institutions and corporations—access the organization uses to press for policy changes that promote human rights and justice around the world.

For more than 30 years, the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) has offered support and legal services to those escaping war, political persecution, intolerance, exploitation and other expressions of violence. From its basement office in a church in Berkeley, Calif., EBSC, which recently celebrated its 3,000th asylum success, advocates on behalf of low-income and indigent refugees and immigrants. An asylum grant allows individuals to stay in the United States, helps them to petition for family members, and provides a path for residency and naturalization.

Thistle Farms is a sanctuary for female survivors of abuse, addiction, prostitution and trafficking. Founded in 1997 by Rev. Becca Stevens, Thistle Farms’ residential program provides housing for up to 32 women and serves hundreds more with advocacy and referral services. Its social enterprises employ 45 current and former residents who produce natural bath and body products and operate the Thistle Stop Cafe and the Studios Workshop. An additional 1,000 women worldwide are employed through the Thistle Farms Global Marketplace.