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.
- Examples:
- Ms. Foundation for Women
was 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.
- Women’s Funding Network was founded in 1985 WFN
is an international organization with over 100 member funds dedicated to
improving the status of women and girls around the world.
- Global Fund for Women was founded in 1987 with an emphasis on equality and social justice for
women and girls around the world. Since then, the Global Fund for Women has granted more than $47
million to 3,000 women's groups in 162 countries, enabling each
organization to apply the funds to best address the specific needs of
women in their communities.
-
New York Women’s Foundation was founded by Helen LaKelly Hunt and
several other women as a 501(c)3 organization in 1987, the foundation is a voice for
women and a force for change. The foundation combines hands-on
philanthropy with community-driven projects to change the lives of
low-income women and girls. They offer funding in five issue areas:
community organizing and advocacy, economic security, girls' positive
development, violence against women and girls, and women's health and
reproductive rights.
- Women’s Funds at Community
Foundations may fund only
women and girls’ programs. The Women’s Fund of
Central Indiana, a special interest fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation,
raises money from women in the community and allocates grants to local
nonprofits that support programs for women and girls. Grantmaking at A Fund for Women at the Madison
(WI) Community Foundation focuses on education, employment, and
self-esteem.
- Some foundations
- Nokomis Foundation – founded by Twink Frey,
Nokomis provides grants to programs supporting women and girls in
central
Michigan
- The Sister Fund – founded by Helen LaKelly
Hunt in 1993, The Sister Fund provides grants to support women of faith
and their organizations
Women funding all causes
In this model women raise funds and/or allocate resources
for all causes, regardless of gender.
- Examples:
-
Washington Women’s Foundation
began in 1995 with 116 women committed to address the broad philanthropic
needs of their community. With more than 420 members in 2006, WWF functions as an organized,
sophisticated giving circle in which each member has a vote on how the
pooled funds will be allocated.
- Women Donors Network
was founded in 1991 and now has more than 100 women philanthropists who
each donate $25K or more a year to progressive social justice
causes. WDN functions as an
organized, sophisticated giving circle with emphasis on strategic
philanthropy, education, and information sharing.
- Some
women’s initiatives at local
United Way organizations
- Some
initiatives at community foundations
- Some
women’s initiatives in higher education
- Some private foundations founded by women
Women’s programs in higher education
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).
Long-standing women’s initiatives and their focus
areas include:
Women’s programs in local United Way organizations
At
United Way
of
America
,
the
United Way’s
Women’s Leadership Council seeks to improve people’s lives by
mobilizing the caring power of women in our communities. The council has worked
since 2004 to energize and inspire women to make a difference – by
advocating for issues important to them, taking a leadership role in advancing
the
United Way’s
work, and making a personal financial commitment. The Women’s Leadership
Council’s national goals are “to develop a powerful voice for women
in philanthropy and to become an engine for growth by raising $100 million
nationally by 2008.”
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
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.
Please contact wpiinfo@iupui.edu to share additional
examples of how women in YOUR community are Energizing women and Encouraging philanthropy
