5 Impactful Organizations Centered Around Mothers

The experience of motherhood is uniquely rewarding and challenging, and many mothers are drawn to communities with other parents to support each other and bring awareness to issues that affect them and their children. This list, presented in no particular order, shares some groups that organize and uplift moms.

The #1 entry on our list is Mothers In Charge. Dorothy Johnson-Speight founded it as a community advocacy and support organization for families affected by violence after her 24-year-old son was murdered over a parking space in December of 2001.

Mothers In Charge advocates for families affected by violence and provides counseling and grief support services when a loved one has been murdered. While its headquarters are in New Jersey, it has chapters in various cities across the U.S., such as San Francisco and Kansas City.

Next up, at #2, we have the Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association. This nonprofit's goal is to have a national impact on reducing racial disparities in breastfeeding success for black families. It is located in Detroit, Michigan, and offers childbirth education at community baby showers, health fairs, and other family-friendly events.

Every year, BMBA hosts a conference with scheduled lectures, plenaries, panels, masterclasses, and workshop sessions from a diverse group of field builders and maternal-child-health experts. Participants can learn about direct service, advocacy, research, community programs, and public health.

Coming in at #3, we have Mothering Justice, a nonprofit that works to raise mothers' voices and help them become policymakers through advocacy and leadership development. This organization's overall goal is to empower mothers to lobby lawmakers around a variety of issues that affect working families.

Some of the issues the organization is focused on include affordable child care, women's health, and paid time off. Mothering Justice is a member of the Michigan Safety Net Coalition; this consortium offers cash and in-kind transfers targeted to poor and vulnerable households, intending to protect families from the impact of economic shocks, natural disasters, and other crises.

Next up, at #4, we present Make Mothers Matter, an international NGO established in 1947 at the UNESCO in Paris. This organization believes in the power of maternity to make the world a better place and works towards global solutions, such as laws and policies, that benefit mothers and families.

MMM has several different poles of action in issues such as the economy and healthcare. It fights for world peace, aiming to show how mothers can act for social justice, the protection of human rights, and the implementation of practical solutions by building bridges, mobilizing, and educating others.

Rounding out our list at #5 is Moms Clean Air Force. Its mission is to protect children from air pollution and climate change. The organization manages a network of state-based community organizers to work on national and local policy issues.

Members meet with lawmakers at every level of government and on both sides of the political aisle to build support for equitable, just, and healthy solutions to pollution. The group's Justice in Every Breath initiative is meant to tackle the unique climate inequities and environmental injustices communities of color face.