Supermajority Education Fund is a left-of-center advocacy group focusing on social issues such as abortion and male-female pay equity. The organization is fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund, a funding and fiscal sponsorship vehicle managed by Arabella Advisors.

It was founded by prominent leftwing activists including Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Alicia Garza, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. ¹

Background

Supermajority Education Fund is fiscally sponsored by the New Venture Fund, a funding and fiscal sponsorship vehicle managed by the philanthropic advisory group Arabella Advisors that has been criticized as a “dark money” network. ² Supermajority Education Fund is affiliated with Supermajority, a political action committee. ³

The organization describes itself as “gender expansive, anti-racist, and accessible.” It claims to “fight alongside trans and cisgender women, gender nonbinary people, trans men, and anyone who has been marginalized due to their gender.” ⁴

Both Supermajority Education Fund and Supermajority were founded in 2019 by Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Alicia Garza, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation; Ai-jen Poo, the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Deirdre Schifeling, former executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund; Jess Morales Rocketto of the National Domestic Workers Alliance;  and Katherine Grainger of Civitas Public Affairs Group. ⁵

The organizations set out six rules that it calls “Majority Rules”: lives are safe; bodies are respected, which includes abortion; work is valued, which includes equal pay; families are supported; government represents us; and the “Super rule,” which is “The lives and experiences of women—particularly women of color—are front and center in addressing all of our nation’s challenges. From climate change to immigration to criminal justice reform, the people most impacted must be at the forefront of the solutions.” ⁶

Programs and Advocacy

After the 2019 launch, Supermajority and Supermajority Education Fund sponsored a bus tour traveling to 14 states and Washington, D.C. The tour began in Atlanta, Georgia and concluded in Las Vegas, Nevada. ⁷

In 2020, the education fund launched Majority Leaders, a program to “train young, racially diverse women leaders who are committed to achieving gender equity.” The group had 1,500 women in the program. ⁸

In July 2022, the Supermajority Education Fund teamed with the State Innovation Exchange to publish an analysis titled “Making The Majority Rules Real Through State Legislation,” which examined state legislation affecting women on issues of women of color, abortion, and women in the workforce. ⁹

Leadership

Alicia Garza is a co-founder of Supermajority Education Fund. She founded the Black Futures Lab, which conducted the Black Census Project in 2018. She is a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation. ¹⁰

Cecile Richards is a co-founder of the Supermajority Education Fund. She was the former president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund for 12 years. ¹¹

Katherine Grainger is a co-founder of the Supermajority Education Fund. She is with Civitas Public Affairs Group. She was formerly an assistant counsel in civil rights to then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). She is also a former vice president for public policy and political initiatives at NARAL Pro-Choice NY. Before that she was the director of state policy at the national Center for Reproductive Rights. ¹²

Ai-jen Poo is a co-founder of the Supermajority Education Fund. She is executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. She was granted a 2014 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award. ¹³

Jess Morales Rocketto is a co-founder of the Supermajority Education Fund. She is the executive director of Care in Action. She has also been a chair of the Families Belong Together campaign. She is the political director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. ¹⁴

Deirdre Schifeling is a co-founder of Supermajority Education Fund. She works for Fight Back Table.  She is a former executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes. She is now a senior adviser to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She was previously an organizer of the Working Families Party in New York,  and co-founded the Center for Working Families. ¹⁵

Amanda Brown Lierman is the executive director of Supermajority Education Fund. She was previously an organizing director for the Democratic National Committee during the 2018 midterm elections. She is a former national political director for Rock the Vote. ¹⁶

Taylor Salditch is the managing director and chief of staff for Supermajority Education Fund. She led the organization’s efforts to establish a four-year strategic plan in the aftermath of the 2020 election cycle. ¹⁷

Paloma Arroyo is the regional organizing director of the Supermajority Education Fund. She previously worked on the public policy team at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. ¹⁸

Liz Erickson is head of learning and development at Supermajority Education Fund. She previously worked for Organizing for Action. ¹⁹

1. “Our Story.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/our-story/
2. Press Release. “Supermajority’s Lessons for Building a Multi-Racial Coalition of Women.” New Venture Fund. April 7, 2021. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://newventurefund.org/2021/04/07/supermajoritys-lessons-for-building-a-multi-racial-coalition-of-women/
3. Wu, Nicholas. “New political group aims to mobilize 2 million women for the 2020 election.” USA Today. April 29, 2019. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/29/cecile-richards-ai-jen-poo-and-alicia-garza-start-womens-organization/3614376002/
4. “Our Values.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/our-values/
5. “Our Story.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/our-story/
6. “Majority Rules Pledge.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/majority-rules-pledge/
7. Richards, Cecile; Poo Aljen; and Garza, Alicia. “In 2020, Women Will Write the Rules.” Refinery 29. September 15, 2019. Accessed March 17, 2023.https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/09/8408474/supermajority-announcement-education-fund-gender-equity
8. Press Release. “Supermajority’s Lessons for Building a Multi-Racial Coalition of Women.” New Venture Fund. April 7, 2021. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://newventurefund.org/2021/04/07/supermajoritys-lessons-for-building-a-multi-racial-coalition-of-women/
9. Press Release. “Supermajority Education Fund and State Innovation Exchange Evaluate States on ‘Majority Rules.’” July 20, 2022. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://stateinnovation.org/press_release/supermajority-education-fund-and-state-innovation-exchange-evaluate-states-on-majority-rules/
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11. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
12. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
13. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
14. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
15. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
16. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
17. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
18. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/
19. “Team.” Supermajority Education Fund. Accessed March 17, 2023. https://supermajorityedfund.com/team/