As a member, friend, and ally of the Women's Spirituality community, you are familiar with the work we do and its relevance to the creation of a post-patriarchal world. Movements such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #BlackLivesMatter, #IdleNoMore, and #NeverAgain are creating profound global change. Grassroots communities continue to develop and practice systems of cooperation and spirit-based activism, and to share their innovations and audacious dreams for transforming cultures.

As ever, women are at the forefront of these movements. And, as ever, women need your support to continue to rise up and be heard.

To amplify the voices of women, we are asking you to help fund Women Rising! New Visions for a Post-Patriarchal World, a dynamic 2.5-day conference sponsored by the Women’s Spirituality Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), now proudly commemorating its 25th year. From October 12-14 at CIIS, Women Rising! will gather together more than 200 visionaries, educators, artists, practitioners, care workers, and social justice activists, including keynote speaker Sherri Mitchell, indigenous rights lawyer, activist, and author. The conference will also feature Women’s Spirituality trailblazers such as Charlene Spretnak, Starhawk, Arisika Razak, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Genevieve Vaughan, and Heide Goettner-Abendroth. With 40 breakout sessions and workshops, live performances, networking opportunities, film screenings, the inaugural Women’s Spirituality Book Awards, an evening concert with Jennifer Berezan & Friends, the one-woman play of AmyJo Mattheis, From Eve to Me, and a special Once and Future Goddess Art Exhibition, the weekend will be full of exciting and inspiring events. Women Rising! will center and celebrate a plurality of voices that raise up, advocate for, and honor the groundbreaking work that women do, including that of Women Spirituality scholar Eahr Joan, whose ReGenesis Encyclopedia chronicles three million years of sacred female iconography.

But we need your support to make herstory—and our first-ever Women Rising! conference— happen. Will you please consider making a tax-deductible gift of $25, $125, $250, $2,500 or more to ignite and empower women? Your gift will not only support Women Rising!, but it will also help fund scholarships and the future home for the Re-Genesis Encyclopedia, as well as conference documentation and proceedings. As our thank you, we will feature your name in the Women Rising! program and select promotional materials, acknowledging your solidarity with the Women’s Spirituality community.

Like so many change-making communities, Women’s Spirituality relies largely on grassroots donations and labor, and we greatly appreciate your gift in support of our shared commitment to advancing social justice for women, for humans, and for all living beings. With your help, we can make Women Rising! a biennial event that connects us and creates solidarity not only in this landmark moment, but also for generations to come, as we dream, together, a post-patriarchal world into being.

In gratitude,

Annette Williams, Ph.D.
Department Chair, WS Program

Mara Keller, Ph.D.
Professor, WS Program

Kris Malone Grossman, MFA
Ph.D. Student, WS Program