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Mothers On the Move

Website:

mothersonthemove.org/
Type:

Organizing group
Parent Organization:

Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center
Formation:

1992
Executive Director:

Wanda Salaman
Budget (2023):

Revenue: $13,122
Expenses: $258,567
Net Assets: N/A

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Mothers On the Move (also known by its name in Spanish, Madres en Movimiento) is a left-of-center community organizing and activist group in the South Bronx area of New York City. The group previously held non-profit status, but this was automatically revoked in 2010 by the IRS for failure to file the requisite tax forms for three years. It is now fiscally sponsored by the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center. The group focuses on left-of-center housing, economic, and environmental activism and opposes gentrification. Its activists work to form tenant associations to resist evictions and to prevent development. It also advocates for the formation of worker-owned cooperative businesses, claiming these will provide economic security and prevent gentrification. 1 2 3 4

Background

Mothers on the Move was founded in 1992 in the South Bronx of New York City with a focus on education issues. Its portfolio of issue areas gradually increased over the years to include environmental issues, housing issues, and health care. At one point the group was registered as an independent charity, however, in 2010, after three consecutive years of failing to fire a nonprofit tax return with the IRS, its independent tax-exempt status was automatically revoked. Mothers on the Move then became a fiscally sponsored program of the Mary Mitchell Family And Youth Center. In 2023, to commemorate the group’s 30th anniversary, a street in the South Bronx was renamed Mothers on the Move/MOM Way. 5 6 2

Finances

As a fiscally sponsored organization, Mothers on the Move does not have its own tax filing. Rather, its finances are aggregated with those of its fiscal sponsor, the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center. For 2023 the center reported that MOM had $13,122 in revenue and $258,567 in expenses. 7

Activism

Mothers on the Move uses left-of-center buzzwords when stating its vision and priorities. It claims to be working towards economic justice and generally portrays an attitude that the inhabitants of the South Bronx, especially immigrants, are the victims of oppression and discrimination. 8 6

Activities

Mothers on the Move undertakes left-of-center activist campaigns. The group promotes the formation of tenant associations for renters in the South Bronx, with the goal of stopping evictions and opposing gentrification. It also works to facilitate the creation of worker-owned cooperative businesses, claiming that such a structure is best for the economic development of the area and will prevent gentrification. 8 3 4

MOM is involved in various health-related campaigns, such as concerns about air quality and the quality of housing. During the COVID-19 pandemic the group worked to distribute food in the neighborhood. It also claimed that health issues from the pandemic were compounded on generations of trauma that had been inflicted on the South Bronx’s inhabitants due to issues like poverty and violence. 9 10

Leadership

Wanda Salaman is the executive director of Mothers on the Move. She previously worked at the North West Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition where she trained organizers. She joined MOM in 2002 as a tenant association organizer. 11

References

  1. [1] “Mothers on the Move (MOM).” Women’s Leadership In Community Development. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.womenbuildcommunity.org/case/mothers-on-the-move-mom/.
  2. “Tax Exempt Organization Search Details.” IRS.gov. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
  3. “Tenant Associations.” Mothers on the Move. Archived from the original November 30, 2023.   Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130134621/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/tenant-associations/.
  4. “Worker Owned Cooperatives.” Mothers on the Move. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130140625/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/worker-owned-cooperatives/.
  5. Hirsch, Joe. “Mothers on the Move Is Honored with a Street Renaming.” Hunts Point Express. October 2, 2023. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://huntspointexpress.com/2023/10/02/mothers-on-the-move-is-honored-with-its-own-street-sign/.
  6. “Mothers on the Move (MOM).” Women’s Leadership In Community Development. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://www.womenbuildcommunity.org/case/mothers-on-the-move-mom/.
  7. Mary Mitchell Family And Youth Center. Return of an organization exempt from taxation (Form 990). 2023 Part III.
  8. “Who We Are.” Mothers on the Move. Archived from the original November 30, 2023.  Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130145452/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/who-we-are/
  9. [1] “Environmental Justice.” Mothers on the Move. Archived from the original November 30, 2023.  Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130134334/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/environmental-justice/.
  10. “Holistic Health.” Mothers on the Move. Archived from the original November 30, 2023. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130142415/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/holistic-health/.
  11. “Our Team.” Mothers on the Move. Archived from the original November 30, 2023. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130134830/https://mothersonthemove.org/wp/our-team/.
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