The Motherful Collective
Motherful is a Black, Indigenous, Mothers of Color-led, multiracial grassroots collective of single mothers in Columbus, Ohio.
Project Description
Dear Friend:
When Motherful was founded four years ago, our goal was to have a place where single mother families could come and feel cared for, to be nurtured emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We wanted single mothers to feel seen, heard, understood, and valued. We wanted to provide them a safe place to come and not be judged or maligned. We wanted their children to have a place where they could come and be children, where they could run, play, laugh, and not worry about the world outside for a little while. We wanted our families to feel like they had a family that they could rely on at any time, that there was a support system that was always going to be there for them and have their back.
Motherful has accomplished that, and more. In the last four years, we’ve opened our Food Pantry, Community Garden, Resource Garage, and have given over $100,000 in cash to single mothers. We’ve established our Emergency Fund Grant Program which provides single mothers with cash payments to take care of emergency expenses, such as utility disconnections, car repairs, prescription/medical expenses, and preventing evictions. We are also starting to plan for the development of our Motherful Co-Housing village, where we will give our families the opportunity to live together in community in sustainable and energy efficient homes and have everything they need on-site to manage their lives better, such as a laundromat, community center, cafeteria, and a day care center. Single Mothers deserve to pursue their dreams and goals outside of raising their children, and our co-housing village will allow them to do just that.
All of these wins would not be possible without the support of generous people like you. With the support of donors, supporters, sponsors, partners, and friends, Motherful has been able to achieve some amazing and miraculous things. We are launching our Care Like A Mother campaign to raise $100,000 so we can continue to honor our mission of nurturing and supporting single mother families and helping our collective flourish and thrive. $50,000 will go directly to single mothers in the form of emergency fund grants, and the other $50,000 will be used for operating our programming.
Please join us in our campaign by donating here: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTgwMTc1. If you are also interested in starting a donation campaign of your own for Motherful, please email [email protected].
Mothers move the world. They are the beginning of all life. Without mothers, none of us would be here. They are the very cradle of civilization. Join us in uplifting the selfless, tireless work of mothers who are doing it by themselves. They deserve to know that they truly are not alone. They deserve to know that they are loved. They deserve to know that we care about them. Please, Care Like A Mother and donate to Motherful today.
With Love and Gratitude,
The Motherful Collective
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
Organization Narrative:
At Motherful, we are a soulful collective. A maternal force of nature, urging you to pull from every corner of who you are. Fully empowering you to be unapologetically you — and everything you’re destined to be.
Motherful serves as a source of power.
A home away from home.
Where respect lives and love flourishes.
Where you and yours are in your element — embracing vulnerability, sharing strength, and celebrating play.
We are single moms, but many women. Badass warriors and gentle nurturers. Passionate fighters and proud matriarchs, all.
All at once, fortifying bonds and fulfilling the health and happiness of our families.
Fighting selflessly and selfishly for the ones we love.
Facing uncomfortable truths and saying “fuck you” to the stigmas thrust upon us.
And when things get tough, we give more of ourselves and dig even deeper.
Bringing every piece and every part of who we are. Because when we do, the world gets better.
That’s why we care. We create. We fight. Like a mother.
Who We Are
Motherful is a Black, Indigenous, Mothers of Color-led, multiracial grassroots collective of single mothers in Columbus, Ohio whose mission is to support, empower, and nurture single mother families through community, education, resources, arts and wellness. Founded in 2018 by single mothers for single mothers, Motherful is a living, breathing, radical vision of the collective future of motherhood. Our Collective currently has 400 members and is growing.
Our Founding Story:
Founded in 2018 by three single mothers, Motherful (Mothers In Arms) seeks to bridge the gaps experienced by single mothers and their children in Columbus, Ohio. The co-founders recognized the great need for the fellowship and community of other single mothers in their own lives. They also recognized that often the resources and support that they needed as single mothers were hard to come by and not available in one place or location. Motherful was born from a desire to create an organization that would provide a respite of community for single mothers and their children where they would be understood and supported both emotionally and physically.
Core Values Statement:
We believe all single mothers are sacred and worthy of support.
We believe in valuing the work of mothers.
We believe in an inclusive, representative democracy, which includes:
- Acknowledging the damages inflicted on Black Americans through enslavement and post-emancipation exclusionary policies
- Acknowledging the damages inflicted on Indigenous people through colonialism
- Protecting and upholding voting rights
- Championing and fighting for Civil rights
- Support for reparations
We believe in healthcare for all.
We believe in reparative justice.
We believe in reproductive justice.
We believe in justice reform and rehabilitation.
We believe in LGBTQIA rights.
We believe in strong public education.
We believe in religious and spiritual freedom.
We believe in equitable economic prosperity for all, which includes:
- Paid family leave
- Equal pay for women and femmes, particularly women of color
- Acknowledging and addressing racial inequity
- Access to affordable housing and childcare
- Food security
- Workforce policies & labor force equity
We believe in humanitarian crisis support, which includes:
- Supporting immigrant & refugee neighbors
- Volunteering for local humanitarian aid requests
We believe in safe communities and healthy relationships, which includes:
- Stronger common sense gun laws
- Support for survivors of domestic & gun violence
- Support for survivors of sexual assault and abuse
We believe in upholding disability rights, which includes:
- Equitable transportation
- Equal opportunity to employment and education
- Access to affordable health care
- Workforce development
We believe in a thriving and sustainable environment, which includes:
- Clean air, water, and parks
- Access to outdoor community spaces
- Homes free of toxins and poisonous chemicals
- Access to affordable and sustainable energy sources
We are a Reproductive Justice, anti-oppression organization with an abolitionist lens.
Mission:
Motherful supports, empowers, and nurtures single mothers and their families in Columbus, Ohio with resources, community and education, arts and wellness.
Vision:
Our vision is to create a Motherful world in which all mothers and their children are valued, nurtured, supported, and cared for, and where single mothers never again feel alone, abandoned, cast aside, stigmatized or marginalized systemically or personally. We seek to build a safe, intentional community where single mothers joyfully and peacefully work together, uplift each other, and share an abundance of resources in a collaborative, equitable collective.
Organizational Goals:
1) To substantially improve the material conditions and financial security of single mother families from barely surviving to thriving
2) To substantially improve the health and wellness of single mothers and their families
3) To substantially improve the communal care of single mothers and their families
4) To promote and substantially impact justice for single mother families through racial, gender, environmental, economic, and maternal justice initiatives.
5) To amplify the voices and stories of single mothers, building power for single mothers
Just Because I Care
Rewards
Just Because I Care