By Allison Lewis, IWPR Development Coordinator

Tuesday, November 28, is #GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to recognizing the amazing work nonprofits do through your generosity. With dedicated support from our donors and followers, IWPR has been able to release more than 100 reports, fact sheets, and briefing papers so far this year. Our experts and research findings have been cited more than 2,000 times in local, state, and national media.

As information speeds through news cycles at a dizzying pace, you turn to the sources that have consistently produced reliable content over the years. It is because of your continued support that IWPR has been able to produce needed research and shape policy conversations in a year when facts and credible analysis are more important than ever.

In the recent wave of headlines on sexual harassment, IWPR’s experts and research have informed coverage of this issue from many angles: what Hollywood can learn from Wall Street, the connection between campus sexual assault and workplace sexual harassment, and how the pay gap and sexual harassment are two sides of the same coin.

Even on topics that may otherwise go overlooked during busy news cycles, such as the number of single mothers in college, IWPR’s research calls attention to important trends. While the number of single mothers in college has doubled over a decade, the availability of on-campus child care—a key support that can help student parents complete their degrees—has declined. In May, the Trump Administration released their budget proposal, which eliminated funding for CCAMPIS, the only federal program that helps low-income student parents access child care. IWPR experts and partners raised awareness about the critical importance of the CCAMPIS program in The Washington Post, Pacific Standard, and Marketplace radio. In response to an in-depth look at the impact of the program, a White House official told Refinery29 in September, “We are working on ways to preserve the program.”

IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative highlighted another trend in September: single mothers are three times more likely to enroll in for-profit colleges than their peers without children. MarketWatch, Slate, and the popular podcast, “Death, Sex & Money,” featured the troubling rise of single mothers at for-profits and the recent efforts of the Department of Education to roll back regulations on for-profit colleges.

While #GivingTuesday is a day focused on giving financial support, we know not everyone is able to give in that way. You can support IWPR not only by donating to one of our general or program support funds, but by donating your time and enthusiasm for IWPR and the work that we do.

You can:

  • Make a one-time donation or set up a recurring donation to IWPR by visiting our donation page. (Need inspiration? Any gift helps, but consider donating $21 to recognize the 21 years IWPR has released state-level data on the Status of Women in the States or $30 in honor of IWPR’s upcoming 30th)
  • Create a fundraiser on Facebook for IWPR. Facebook will match $1 million in donations to U.S. nonprofits—up to $50,000 per nonprofit and $1,000 per fundraiser or donate button—and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will also kick in $1 million.
  • Post your own #Unselfie on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, letting your friends and followers know why IWPR’s research is important to YOU. Please click here to download your own #Unselfie template. (Print out, write your reason, and post a selfie online tagging @IWPResearch and using the #Unselfie hashtag.)
  • Like, retweet, and share our social media posts so that more people see the credible, fact-based information our researchers produce.
  • Talk to your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, social media followers, dog walkers (I better stop there, but you know what I mean) about IWPR and its work, letting them know the reason you support us and how they can find out more about our work.
  • Join our Information Network to receive our emails that feature the latest research on women, student parents, and economic security for survivors. Our Research News Roundup compiles the best publicly available research on gender released in the last month.

With your support, IWPR is able to look toward the future and find more ways our research can help women and their families. Please consider donating this #GivingTuesday in whatever capacity you can. We appreciate the continued and growing support over the past 30 years from each person who reads our publications, emails, press coverage, social media updates, and blog posts like this one. We thank you for assisting in IWPR’s ability to remain the leading women-focused think tank in the United States.