Philanthropy Women

Women’s Philanthropy Via the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Lens

Women’s Philanthropy thought leader, Kathleen Loehr, is retiring. In a truly unique model of legacy, she is leaving her papers and research to the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at Indiana University. And, she’s leaving her exclusive methods, treasured insights and archive to me and seven other hand-selected women she has chosen to continue living out her legacy and growing Women’s Philanthropy: The Women’s Philanthropy Alliance.

Yolanda F. Johnson shares a bullet point list of strategies to make sure your women’s philanthropy has a DEI lens. (Image credit: YFJ Consulting)

I am honored to be a part of this elite group of industry experts and thought leaders on Women’s Philanthropy, and I will do my best each and every day to make Kathleen proud. My journey thus far is a personal one, which led me to understand how, even as an expert in DEI for Philanthropy and a philanthropist myself, I had somehow compartmentalized gender along the way. The danger here is that if I can do it, anyone can, and so I vowed to craft my work in Women’s Philanthropy in the most impactful way as possible.

Top 10 Feminist Giving Moves for March 2023 and Bargain on Book

Well, hello my lovely feminist giving friends! I hope you are all getting on fine. It’s time for another update on some of the gender lens philanthropic and investing activity in the world. Before we start, I want to alert readers that we have a limited number of copies of Feminist Giving available at a reduced rate for sale on Ebay. So if you don’t already have your copy of the book, now is your chance to pick one up at a great price, either for yourself, a friend, or even your local library if you so choose. Our book is particularly suited to libraries that are aiming to be a resource for marginalized groups.

ESOMAR has released new information for best practices regarding gender for multi-country work. (Image credit: ESOMAR)

What’s Going On in the World of Feminist Giving?

1. Our Partners at Alliance are Doing it Up for Women’s History Month

Now that I have had to step back a bit from my writing to pursue a top secret second career (it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell situation, so I appreciate your cooperation!) our partners at Alliance Magazine have taken on a much stronger agenda to serve the feminist giving community with news and views on this more essential form of philanthropy. There’s lots of great content there, including a piece from the Women’s Funding Network on the importance of Black giving. They are also dedicating a whole webinar to the topic of women’s funding which will take place on March 14. Register here to participate.

What Makes An Idea Valuable? Feminist Giving Explores

Have you ever wondered why, if we care so much about gender equality in the US, we make no progress on basic indicators like wage equality, which has been at a virtual standstill since 1994?

*Feminist Giving* explores the terrain of how we give for gender equality.

One of the themes that my book, Feminist Giving, explores is the question of what makes certain ideas valuable, so valuable that they enter the mainstream of culture and become practiced in significant behavior changes.

The book demonstrates that what philanthropy does to change its behavior is very much a mirror of the rest of society. Sadly, the book concludes that it’s still a man’s world, and philanthropy remains a part of that problem.

We Are Changed By the People We Love, and Other Feminist News

Greetings, my dear friends in the feminist giving community and beyond. I’m here to talk to you today about a very serious problem: editors and publishers who will not allow women to have their own voice.

The Everyday Feminist, by Latanya Mapp Frett, will be released for publication on March 8,2023. (Image credit: Wiley Books)

I think part of the issue comes down to the fact that we are changed by the people we love. Along with being changed by the people we love, I also believe we are changed by writing that impacts us emotionally. In the editorial world, that translates into being changed by a piece of writing because it is written in a new way and does not adhere to outdated concepts. Margaret Atwood is famous for saying something to the effect of, “if your writing is not making anyone angry, you’re not really writing,” and I tend to agree. Real writing makes both friends and enemies because real writing can change the game. It can cause people to think differently, to make new connections in how their thoughts align with their behaviors day-to-day.

What’s New for Feminist Giving in February 2023

Greetings friends and feminist giving peeps! Welcome to February of 2023, which promises some big new things for gender equality funding.

Before we get into the top happenings in philanthropic giving for women, I want to call attention to a new gender lens investing product. We all know philanthropic giving matters, but there is also a great deal of progress that can be made by bringing gender lens thinking to the realms of business and finance.

A New gender lens ETF is available from Hypatia Capital. (Image credit Hypatia Capital)

New Gender Lens ETF: WCEO

On that topic, I’d like to share about Hypatia Capital’s new exchange-traded fund (ETF), WCEO. This ETF is specifically designed to generate revenue from companies led by women. The fund and its founder, Patricia Lizarraga, recently had a feature in Fox Business discussing the ETF and its potential to impact gender equality. “You can’t change the world, but you can reach gender equality in your domestic equity allocation today,” Lizarraga said in the article. In its first month, WCEO outperformed the S&P 500.

WPI’s Newest Research Shows a Rise in Funding For Employment

The question of how women’s funding is growing – or not growing – is the focus of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, which produces its Women and Girls Index every year, to analyze the philanthropic giving for women and girls and see where it is going. One of the benefits of having this research is that it can quickly dispel any notions that gender equality has already been achieved and doesn’t need to be a priority for funders.

women's giving — (Image credit: WPI Research Brief, October 2022)

“It’s so important to have the data. Numbers don’t lie,” said Jeannie Infante Sager, Director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. In a recent conversation with Philanthropy Women, Sager spoke in detail about the new data coming out about women and giving, and how it reveals important trends in philanthropy.

A Book is a Social Change Tool. Use This Tool.

Greetings, everyone in the Philanthropy Women community, and welcome to a New Year! 2023 promises to offer some very special events, including more readings and discussions of Feminist Giving. The book is doing well on sales and Lauren Brathwaite of Candid wrote a very comprehensive review of the book, which is a wonderful read if you are thinking of picking up the book. You can read the review here.

Ozzy the cat peruses the new copies of Feminist Giving: Creating New Frontiers in Social Change. He thinks they are taking up a perfectly good box space that he would like to play in.

One of my favorite things about Lauren’s review is that she referred to Feminist Giving as a “tome” and got into the big arguments that I make in the book. As she suspects in her review, I am very interested indeed in how MacKenzie Scott is beginning to go more public about her giving. However, I notice on her website she says that they currently “don’t participate” in media stories about their work. That gave me pause to think. It seems to me that it’s a sign of a certain level of privilege to be able to decide not to participate in media stories about oneself. As a social worker who has been public facing and accountable for her behavior and practice as a professional, I cannot fathom taking such a position. But obviously, she has her reasons.

Get Your Copy of Feminist Giving, and Send in Your Reviews!

It’s official! Feminist Giving: Creating New Frontiers in Social Change is now available as a hardcover book! Grab your copy on Lulu to give the biggest resource boost to Philanthropy Women!

Feminist Giving is out! Get your copy today!

You can also buy the book on Kobo, or Amazon. This book is packed with the latest and greatest information from the feminist giving sphere. Loaded with interviews and insights from some of philanthropy’s top voices, Feminist Giving is a comprehensive look at modern feminist philanthropy and the themes, campaigns, and people leading the charge in transforming our world.

Review the Book on Amazon, Kobo, and Lulu

At this time, we’re also asking for your reviews! We want to hear everything you thought about Feminist Giving. You can add a review wherever you buy the book: Amazon, Kobo, and Lulu. You can also give us a shout-out on sites like Goodreads to help spread the word about this unique and groundbreaking book.

Feminist Giving Holiday Vibes, Plus THE HARDCOVER BOOK IS OUT!

Hello again my feminist giving allies! I have some very good news: the hardcover edition of Feminist Giving: Creating New Frontiers in Social Change is now available! Please buy the book on Lulu as we get three times the percentage of revenue if you buy the book on Lulu as opposed to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other major distribution outlet.

There is lots of other feminist giving news to get to, but before we go there, let’s just take a moment to pause, reflect, and be thankful. We are so thankful for our subscribers, especially those who hung on this past year while we produced less internet content and created our first real world physical product, a 405 page book with over 240 citations, in order to bring more awareness about feminist giving to the world. So thank you, subscribers! Without your help, we couldn’t have done it.

New Funding for Mature Women, Native Women, and Women in Sales

Well, hello my feminist giving friends! I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday and it gave you a chance to reflect on some of the things you are thankful for. That was my focus this Thanksgiving, as my family and I went for a hike at Stoppleworth Conservation Area in Tolland, Connecticut.

Land at Stoppleworth Conservation area in Tolland, Connecticut has unique geological features believed to date back to the dividing of the continents between North America and Africa. (Image credit: Kiersten Marek)

This conservation area was created by my mother in 2004, by selling a 55 acre parcel of land that my father bought in the 1970’s and used to harvest wood for the wood-burning stoves of our house. It was a bold decision for my mother to move this land into open space, and I was proud to be the daughter helping facilitate the deal. Every year around Thanksgiving, we try to visit the land and appreciate its supreme beauty and the amazing strength of my mother to part with this precious land and put it into the public trust.