(CNN) Founders of the Women's March are leaving the organization's board after facing allegations of anti-Semitism, which they deny, that threatened to overshadow the work of grassroots activists.

The Women's March announced Monday that Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland and Linda Sarsour will transition off of the board and focus on other advocacy projects. The group's leadership has faced criticism for their association with the leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan.

The Nation of Islam is a designated hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Farrakhan is known for hyperbolic hate speech aimed at the Jewish community.

"The organization has not cut ties with the three departing board members; their terms have ended," the Women's March said in a statement to CNN, adding Mallory, Sarsour and Bland have been "instrumental" to the group's accomplishments.

"Our inbound board members represent a truly diverse swath of women who have fought and will continue to fight tirelessly for women's equal rights," the statement added.