Congratulations to the 2024 CAN mini-grant recipients! The mini-grants were awarded to six BIPOC grassroots organizations whose work supports the mission of the CAN.

• Breastfeeding Empowerment and Awareness (BAE)

  • BAE Culture weaves together principles of reproductive justice, trauma-informed care, and perinatal mental health delivering a multi-pronged approach to support Black families and advance health equity. BAE offers dynamic community programming for families, consulting and training for professionals, & more.  By protecting, promoting, and uplifting Black breastfeeding, BAE seeks to eliminate health disparities and promote a lasting, multigenerational culture of health.

• BIPOC Birth Work Circle

  • The BIPOC Birth Work Circle and Scholarship Fund is designed to support more Women of Color (WOC) in becoming certified doulas and educators who can provide services within their community to improve birth outcomes. In addition to supporting WOC in becoming certified birth workers, BIPOC Birth Work Circle strives to provide affordable access to these birth workers.

• Coco Life Foundation

  • Coco Life Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) who's mission is to celebrate Black motherhood and influence favorable outcomes in Black Maternal Health by promoting a community-empowered model of care through Mombassadors. By providing gifts, edutainment programming, and events, and simplifying access to necessary and trusted resources like birth workers, mental health professionals, business strategists, and more, Coco Life is creating an ecosystem for Black moms as they navigate this journey.

• Reclaim Black Motherhood

  • Reclaim Black Motherhood (RBM) is an LLC based in Philadelphia, dedicated to seeing service and care models in place that value, honor, and protect black pregnant, birthing people and parents. The mission of Reclaim Black Motherhood is to 1) Educate, guide, and aid black families through their pregnancy, birth, and parenting journey; 2) Challenge, resource, and support black birth workers and maternal health advocates as they explore, get established, and grow their practice; 3) Enlighten, coach, and prepare community, corporate, and government organizations to best connect to and provide perinatal services to black families.

• Mommy and Me Healthcare LLC

  • Mommy & Me Home Health is an organization dedicated to providing education and nursing services to minority and low income women with comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes during the antepartum and postpartum periods of pregnancy. Mommy & Me's goal is to provide skilled nursing services including blood pressure monitoring/education, postpartum assessments as well as assistance with administrating commonly prescribed medications such as anticoagulant injections and progesterone. Our goal is to help reduce the need of hospital admissions during and after pregnancy and decrease mortality rates in high-risk individuals by providing skilled nursing services in the patient's home in coordination with the patient’s obstetrician.

• Phoenix Rising Birth Works

  • The new mission of Phoenix Rising Birth Works is to support Indigenous women (particularly those of us known in the current socio-political paradigm as Black and/or African-American) in their journeys of pregnancy, birth, postpartum transition & mothering through wholistic wellness and healing arts.

The 2023 mini-grants were awarded to seven Black, indigenous, people of color-led, grassroots organizations whose work supports the mission of the CAN. Each group is either enhancing current services or creating a new pilot that will provide services reducing infant mortality and decreasing racial disparities in infant and maternal health.

• Maternal Wellness Village is a village of birth workers that include Therapists, Doulas, Lactation Consultants, Holistic Healers, Infertility warriors, and Nurses. Combined, they have multiple levels of education and life experiences.

• The Philly Birth Fund (PBF) provides funds to support access to homebirth midwifery care and other pregnancy-related services for Black women, Black birthing people, and their families in Philadelphia in an effort to reduce Black maternal mortality and morbidity.

• Reclaim Black Motherhood is committed to ensuring programs and care for Black pregnant, birthing, lactating, and postpartum mothers are accessible, honor cultural values, and protect their rights and bodies. 

• Birth with Purpose provides compassionate, trauma informed, individualized support during pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

• Once Upon A Preemie Inc. leads pioneering health and racial equity education, advocacy, and family empowerment solutions for perinatal and neonatal healthcare professionals by centering the lived experiences of Black Preemie families. OUAP advocates for equitable and family centered care throughout the birthing and neonatal journey.

• Daddy University’s Doula 4 Dads is an all-male doula program specifically designed to assist fathers and families. The postpartum doulas program educates fathers on newborn care, nurturing, development, health and more.

• Chosen Kin: a circle honoring Black, queer + trans parenthood supports a pilot where virtual and in-person healing offerings would be provided to Black Queer + Trans parents (including, but not limited to gestational and non-gestational parents, lactating parents, adoptive parents, co-parents, and folks trying to conceive.