Case Study
Free Root Operation
Fundraising & Communications
Photo byJose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
How Women Unite! Got Connected
One of WU!’s collaborators, writer L’Oreal Thompson Payton, first interviewed Eva Maria Lewis in an article for our blog about self care, artistry and activism, and her organization, Free Root Operation (FRO). WU! and FRO continued to cross paths and in July 2021, WU! began providing support on grant writing and other communications projects.
About Free Root Operation
Started in 2015 by then-high schooler Eva Maria, FRO is a grassroots organization created to intercept poverty-induced gun violence. Eva Maria was always very active in direct response to the community. As people asked how they could provide support for her work, a larger nonprofit organization took shape.
FRO’s initial efforts were focused on Eva Maria’s home community of the South Shore. The organization now serves the south and west sides of Chicago. One of FRO’s first ongoing programs was the Chicago Food Pairing Program (CFPP) which delivered groceries and household supplies to 500 families in need.
During the CFPP’s tenure, Eva Maria and her team recognized the families supported were overwhelmingly run by Black and Brown single mothers. These women shared that they were incredibly disempowered with no resources or time for themselves.
In hearing that these women were not being set up for success in their own lives or as parents, FRO’s mission shifted to support them more directly, thanks in some part to the partnership with WU!
How We Worked Together
Eva Maria has been doing this work since she was 16. But in a flash, the organization found itself with over $100,000 operating budget. While a lawyer helped them draft their 501c3 paperwork—amid the protests after George Floyd’s murder—Eva Maria needed more support. She was a full-time college student pursuing her degree while supporting FRO’s mission and seeking sustainable funding paths.
Eva Maria wanted to build out all the things a nonprofit typically has, like an annual report, grant applications, and website copy. She wanted FRO to be well-positioned for resources (though she says organizations shouldn’t have to compete with one another!).
In 2021, WU! stepped in to help the organization go after grants while at the same time giving Eva Maria space to evolve FRO.
“It wouldn't make sense for me to continue doing things the way I started when I was 16,” Eva Maria shares. Working with WU!, she continues, “Our mission and what we do and my niche has become more defined. WU! has been flexible with those findings, adjusting language, grant templates, and boilerplates, working hand in hand with me.”
Photo courtesy of FRO
The Impact
Since the start of our collaboration, FRO has been awarded a Chicago Foundation for Women grant, funding from the Polk Brothers Foundation, a Crossroads Fund grant, and the Gucci Changemakers Award. Beyond the institutional funding, partnership with WU! can lead to some organic, unexpected wins. Over $50,000 of support came in after a tweet Eva Maria sent on Juneteenth was boosted by WU!
Additionally, Eva Maria points to the Impact Report as particularly helpful, allowing people to see and know what FRO is doing. She shares, “They helped us create numbers where I didn’t see them so that we could tell people this is what we’re doing in the community … There was a huge veil between people who wanted to support us and us. Now there is a lot more detail.”
“I like what WU! stands for. I like that it’s women-driven and in tune with the community. They are inviting us to have hard conversations as community leaders. I’m committed to being in community with WU! They understand where I’m coming from. They got me.”
—Eva Maria Lewis, Founder and Executive Director, Free Root Operation
The Future
WU!’s strategic insights on Eva Maria’s talents led to discussions about her personal role, what she was trying to do now, and how to position herself as a leader for the future. She says, “The team has definitely entered the dream space with me. I need people to help me make these dreams happen. WU! has done that.”
The partnership became a fruitful place for Eva Maria to process the evolving mission of FRO and her own call to service. FRO’s newest program is the BLOOM Cohort, inspired by the single mothers served by the CFPP and her own lived experiences as the daughter of a single mother.
This cohort of 10 Black women that are being, as Eva Maria frames it, “rehabilitated into the people who have always been inside of them. Beautiful, confident, empowered leaders with access to leisure and luxury.” The program has grown from six planned events over six months to sixteen events. To graduate in December, each participant will accomplish a goal they’ve set with a goal coordinator. The graduates will then enter a two-year ambassador program under development to help the women become changemakers and leaders who positively impact their communities.
“We want to cultivate that leadership inside them,” Eva Maria shares. “When I brought this to WU!, they strategized to paint a picture of how that Chicago Food Pairing Program went into BLOOM. The language they wrote for grants and awards allowed us to make a transition with ease. In the nonprofit realm, not everyone can prioritize changing the mission to meet the needs of the people you serve. It can be difficult when people have expectations for your mission and where the funds should be going. As a result of our collaboration, the transition was easy, and we were able to illustrate it in a way that made sense and was successful.”
Photo courtesy of FRO
Eva Maria and the team are now collecting narratives through data, tracking how everyone is coming into the workshops, and meeting them where they're at to measure impact. Eva Maria knows having data to assess and share success is imperative because this kind of program hasn't existed before. “We can prove this is something worth investing in. WU! didn’t see that as a hindrance. They saw it as a gift,” she shares.