Ensuring People with Disabilities to Have Equality

Hi Friends,  

Thank you for your previous support of RespectAbility and our mission to fight stigmas and advance opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. In this letter, I’d like to update you on key progress that you helped make possible!

Here are some of the great outcomes we have recently achieved:

• Policy and Civic Engagement: We have been fighting for the voting rights of people with disabilities, including pushing for accessibility at the ballot box. No one should lose their right to vote due to inaccessible polling practices. 
• Faith Inclusion and Belonging: We have published a new toolkit for Christian congregations addressing ableism in practices and policies, launched Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month 2024, and facilitated community conversations with various stakeholders to assess faith inclusion across faith communities. 
• Entertainment and News Media: Our team was busy this year training major companies in the entertainment industry to be more accessible and inclusive in their work, as well as in supporting disabled creatives to move the needle on more authentic storytelling.
• Leadership and Workforce Development: We are building a pipeline of career-ready, emerging leaders through targeted skills-training and development opportunities.

Additionally, RespectAbility has been awarded MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call grant to advance the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means in the United States! Of the nearly 6,500 applicants, RespectAbility was among the 4% top-rated organizations. So far, the award has been mentioned in CNNBusiness, Associated Press, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Forbes, and more.

This major investment in our work marks an inflection point for RespectAbility as it will not only support our current programs but will allow for growth in the future. With this award, we are even more well-positioned to create systemic change in how society views and values people with disabilities. Our supporters’ belief in our work has helped RespectAbility get to this point. As we embark on this exciting new phase of our journey, your continued involvement is invaluable to us!

You have been an important supporter of RespectAbility, and we are grateful for your engagement. Thank you for helping make our impact possible, but RespectAbility is not stopping now! As we look to the future, we plan to foster new growth and opportunities, uniting under one banner to serve more than 61 million youth and adults with disabilities.

Finally, consider joinging us for our third annual Disability Impact Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on July 11th, 2024! This special event will highlight important individuals who are making strides in fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities. This year’s recipients of the Ben Spangenberg and Justin Chappell Memorial Award and the Steve Bartlett Award will give their acceptance speeches in front of a crowd of prominent leaders in the disability community.

If you would like to support us in our mission, please consider contributing to RespectAbility. To learn more, visit RespectAbility.org, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or sign up for one our newsletters.

Sincerely,

Ariel Simms

President and CEO, RespectAbility