Women's Involvement in Philanthropy
In the past thirty years women’s philanthropy has
emerged as a distinct movement using innovative and creative ideas to improve
local, national and global communities. Women are engaged in philanthropy from many perspectives – as
donors, as professionals, as fundraisers, as nonprofit leaders – in both
formal and informal networks. This
glossary identifies the kaleidoscope of approaches - audiences, methods,
process, and purpose – and celebrates the characteristic common to all
approaches within the women’s philanthropic movement – many women
working across the globe to improve the lives of others and to make a
difference in their communities.
Women’s Roles in Philanthropy
Women have long served as volunteers in the community,
sharing their time and talent to improve their community and/or the world.
Exceptional women in 17th-19th century American life
contributed financial resources for specific projects. Notable among them are Lady Anne Mowlson
(Anne Radcliffe), Mary Lyon, Mary Garrett, Mrs. Russell Sage and others who saw
a need and met it with boundless energy and enthusiasm. (For related
information visit www.learningtogive.org and click on Briefing papers in the Resource section.)
Today as women make strides in business, government and the
nonprofit sector, they have created multiple, overlapping opportunities to be
involved with philanthropy, giving time, talent and treasure for the common
good. Women are:
- Volunteers
- Professionals
- In
corporations driving corporate philanthropy
- In
nonprofits directing change
- In
foundations setting policy and serving as executives
- Fundraisers
- Members of family foundations
- Donors
- Individual
donors
- Members
of formal collectives
- Members
of informal collectives
And, sometimes they are all of these at once.
The Work Women Do in Philanthropy
Evaluations from the 2005 symposium “Women and
Philanthropy: Gaining Momentum” sponsored by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
drew attention to perceived tension between women funding women and
girls’ programs and women funding all causes. Attendees posed the questions: Which do women and which should women
do? What is the way to maximize impact? If we don’t fund
women and girls’ programs, who will? Is there one right
approach for women’s philanthropy?
A strength of the women’s philanthropy movement is its multi-faceted, kaleidoscopic approach to changing how women actualize philanthropy. The myriad ways for women to be engaged
in philanthropy expands exponentially the number of women across generations
who seek the niche best suited to them to put their values into action. In the case of the women’s
philanthropy movement, one size does not fit all nor are there absolutely pure
models to follow.
Models and Examples
Click on the links below for EXAMPLES of the range of
programs in which women are actively involved in raising and allocating money
to meet community needs.
Women funding women and girls’ programs
Women funding all causes
Women’s program in higher education
Women’s programs in local United Way Organizations
Giving Circles
Women funding women and girls’ programs
In this model the focus is programs for women and
girls. Some organizations strongly
emphasize social justice and/or equity issues in their grantmaking; some focus
directly on grassroots programs for women and girls. These organized grantmaking agencies,
all with charitable organization status (501(c)3) may fund programs that are
local, regional, national, or international in scope.
created in 1972 with an emphasis on supporting the efforts of women and
girls to govern their own lives and influence the world around them. The Ms. Foundation is a
fundraising and grantmaking organization.
In this model women raise funds and/or allocate resources
for all causes, regardless of gender.
Women’s philanthropic initiatives in higher education
are generally housed in the advancement office and staffed by a development
officer. Program emphasis ranges
from strictly fundraising to financial literacy, leadership, and networking and
more. Some programs direct funds
for scholarships (
University
of
Mississippi) or other
specific projects. In some cases,
the women’s philanthropy initiative takes the form of a giving circle in
which participating members contribute a designated amount and then decide
collectively how to allocate those dollars (
Ball
State
University, Southern Illinois University
at Edwardsville).
The emphasis of this initiative is to raise new or
additional dollars from women donors to improve the lives of individuals in
local communities. More than 90 of
the 1350 local
United Way
agencies around the country sponsor some form of a women’s leadership
council. For more information,
visit: http://national.unitedway.org/about/wlc.cfm
Giving circles are one of the fastest growing and most
varied of the women’s giving models. Giving circles can range from extremely informal settings such as four
or five women seated around a kitchen table deciding how to allocate their
“coupon money” to extremely sophisticated, structured and formal
programs such as the Women Donors Network.
The concept behind giving circles, no matter what the
composition or disposition, is that pooled giving has greater impact on making
a difference in the community. For
more information about giving circles visit http://www.givingforum.org/givingcircles/index.html. New Ventures in Philanthropy, a program
of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, has developed a
comprehensive web site on initiating and managing a giving circle.
Impact 100 groups are another model of giving circles in
which donors raise major funds ($100,000 or greater) from $1,000 or larger
contributions. Each donor has one
vote in determining how the collected funds will be distributed. For example,
visit the web site of Impact 100 Cincinnati: http://www.impact100.org/. As of mid-June 2006, Impact 100 groups
operate in Pensacola Bay area, FL; Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; Indianapolis, IN, Cincinnati, OH, and
Oklahoma City, OK.
