The National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice advances reproductive freedom for Latinas and their communities across New York, Florida, Texas, and Virginia. Through grassroots organizing, policy advocacy, and leadership development, the organization builds power within Latina communities to secure reproductive health, rights, and justice.
With two consecutive grants from Progressive Multiplier, the Latina Institute built and refined a digital fundraising program to diversify revenue beyond traditional institutional grants. The project focused on donor acquisition, campaign-based fundraising, and developing sustainable systems for individual giving. Working with digital consultant Wingo, the organization tested messaging, refined audience segmentation, and created a communications calendar that integrated fundraising with their broader mission work.
The work took place during a particularly challenging period for reproductive justice organizing. Privacy concerns prevented the organization from using photos of activists and community members in their communications. Leadership transitions created additional complexity. Despite these obstacles, the Latina Institute demonstrated that consistent investment in digital fundraising pays off when paired with willingness to pivot strategy based on what the data revealed.
Communications Calendar and Narrative Strategy: The team developed a comprehensive calendar connecting fundraising campaigns to key moments including Latina Heritage Month, Giving Tuesday, International Women's Day, and the anniversary of the Dobbs decision.
CivicShout Lead Generation: After pulling back from paid advertising due to privacy concerns, the organization shifted to CivicShout for lead acquisition. These supporters proved more engaged than paid acquisition leads, regularly responding to calls to action and converting to donors with larger gift sizes.
Targeted Digital Campaigns: Rather than broad appeals, the organization created campaigns focused on specific Latina Institute activities, training programs, and policy connections. This targeted approach performed better than general reproductive justice messaging.
Refined Audience Segmentation: The team narrowed their paid advertising focus to reach a more specific audience of women over 40 with high net worth, using lookalike audiences based on existing subscribers and social media followers.
Privacy Shapes Strategy: When safety concerns prevented featuring grassroots activists in communications, the organization successfully pivoted to highlighting their training methodologies and policy work. This constraint led to more specific, mission-focused content that drove strong engagement.
Lead Quality Matters More Than Quantity: CivicShout leads who regularly engaged with petitions and event invitations converted to donors with better retention and larger gifts than leads from other sources. The organization brought in fewer new donors overall but generated more revenue through higher individual gift values.
Strategic Check-Ins Create Space for Evaluation: Regular meetings with Progressive Multiplier provided structured opportunities to step back from production work and evaluate strategy effectiveness. This prevented the team from getting stuck in patterns that were not working.
Integration Amplifies Impact: Coordination between communications and development teams strengthened all engagement activities. The 500 new SMS contacts acquired monthly through fundraising campaigns expanded reach for program invitations and organizing work.
The Latina Institute's experience demonstrates that movement groups can build sustainable individual giving programs even when facing significant external challenges. The political landscape shifted dramatically during the grant period, requiring multiple strategic pivots. Privacy concerns eliminated storytelling approaches the organization had relied on. A leadership transition created additional complexity.
Rather than viewing these obstacles as reasons to pull back, the team used each challenge as an opportunity to refine their approach. When they could no longer feature community members in communications, they discovered that content about their training programs and policy work resonated strongly with supporters. When paid advertising became uncomfortable, CivicShout provided an alternative that actually generated higher-quality leads.
The investment in digital fundraising infrastructure created benefits beyond revenue. The monthly newsletters and targeted campaigns kept supporters engaged with the organization's mission. The CivicShout leads who signed petitions and attended events expanded the organization's organizing capacity. The systems built during the grant period positioned the team to set more ambitious goals and replicate successful campaigns.
For reproductive justice organizations navigating an increasingly hostile political environment, the Latina Institute's work offers a template. With dedicated focus, willingness to test and adjust, and support for strategic thinking, movement groups can build the financial independence that allows them to maintain momentum when traditional funding sources contract.