We envision a future deeply rooted in human dignity, worth, joy, love, compassion, and bodily autonomy. Our framework is built on intersectionality, with liberation as its ultimate goal.Aurea Bolaños Perea
Strategic Communications Director
Transforming Tomorrow: Building Latinx Civic Power to Achieve Reproductive Justice
Welcome to the second part of our three-part mini-series highlighting Groundswell’s long-term grantee organizations that have been instrumental in advancing reproductive justice solutions. The first edition was released in May 2024 and titled Transforming Tomorrow: Investing in Black Women for the Long Term.
Our second edition highlights a 17-year grantee, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). Since its inception in 1998, COLOR has worked to enable Latinx individuals and their families to lead safe, healthy, self-determined lives by building a base of Latina advocates who are committed to reproductive justice in Colorado. In 2017, the organization launched its c4 arm, COLOR Action Fund, as part of Groundswell Action Fund’s inaugural grantees.
COLOR stands out from other organizations as a Latinx-led organization centering intersectionality. They understand the connection between reproductive justice, environmental justice, immigrant rights, and LGBTQIA2S+ liberation to protect our democracy and realize a society where we all thrive.
As we continue to chart a path forward in unprecedented times, we urge philanthropy to support people of color-led movements and provide long-term investment to organizations like COLOR. These investments are crucial for building and sustaining the power of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities as they work to defend our bodily autonomies through community-led solutions across generations.
Hear from COLOR’s Strategic Communications Director, Aurea Bolaños Perea, to learn more about the power of long-term funding and COLOR’s wins, challenges, and insights on the ground.
Q: How has Groundswell’s support helped shape your organization?
Groundswell has been a pivotal force in our journey at COLOR, serving as an anchor funder, supporter, and partner. Our mission to integrate civic engagement into our work began in 2006. Still, it was through our participation in the Integrated Voter Engagement program, facilitated by Groundswell, that our team received the necessary context, support, learnings, and training to accelerate our growth in the civic engagement space.
Today, COLOR’s community relies on us for information and resources in every election cycle, and we take pride in our role as a conduit for civic engagement, power building, and systems change.
The impact of our work over the past seven years can be seen in the thousands of door knocks, phone calls, and pieces of mail we’ve shared with the community. Our relationships with decision-makers and elected officials have also been shaped and strengthened due to our organizing and have led to successful efforts in passing proactive policies and stopping harmful policies at both the ballot box and the legislature.
Q: What are some significant wins COLOR has accomplished over the last decade?
We have achieved many victories in the last decade to defend bodily autonomy, fight for reproductive rights, and protect working parents, including:
- Winning the passage of Colorado’s 12-Month Contraception Bill, HB 17-1186, in 2017, requiring health benefit plans to cover costs for a year’s worth of prescription contraceptives.
- Winning the passage of the Colorado Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2018, providing accommodations for pregnant people at work.
Defeating Proposition 115, a ballot initiative that would have banned abortions after 22 weeks, and passing the groundbreaking Proposition 118, which establishes state-paid medical and family leave programs for up to 12 weeks after birth delivery (16 weeks in some instances).
Q: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the term reproductive justice (RJ). What is your vision for RJ in the next 30 years?
Our commitment to reproductive justice over the next 30 years is unwavering. We envision a future deeply rooted in human dignity, worth, joy, love, compassion, and bodily autonomy. Our framework is built on intersectionality, with liberation as its ultimate goal.
For us, liberation means ensuring healthy and supported pregnancy options; comprehensive prenatal, birth, and postpartum care; and the freedom to choose our families and care for ourselves and our community. It also means advocating for the rights and well-being of our community members in detention centers, who are subjected to continuous harm and family separation.
Every one of us deserves a future where reproductive justice is not just a hope but a reality. In this collective effort, we will continue to create safe communities and protect a future where everyone can lead safe, healthy, self-determined lives.
Q: What major struggle or roadblock have you faced during the past year that is important for donors and funders to understand?
In the current political climate, we see both blatant and subtle attacks on immigrants, trans youth, and abortion access. Colorado has made strides in protecting these rights, but there’s a gap between the urgency of these threats and decision-makers’ perceptions. COLOR has been critical in identifying when seemingly good ideas risk these protections. Despite our warnings, legislators and partners often dismiss our concerns as hypothetical and not worth the effort.
We understand that attacks on immigrants, trans people, and abortion access are interconnected and all tied to bodily autonomy and the freedom to live joyful, self-determined lives.
Over the last year, the political climate has made us invest energy in threats from “allies” and partners. Now, more than ever, our expertise and strategic analysis should not be taken for granted.
As an intermediary, Groundswell is a leader in strategically moving resources to grassroots organizations within the Reproductive Justice Movement and other major social movements across the U.S. We act as a bridge between donors, foundations, and grassroots organizations, bringing alignment around issues.
In case you missed it, check out our first edition of Transforming Tomorrow, published in May 2024, featuring ten-year grantee Black Women for Wellness and their work to support Black women and girls through policy advocacy, political education, community organizing, and voter engagement across California. In November, we will share our final spotlight of the series. Stay tuned!