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A Dangerous Education Continued: Prudence Crandall at her Finest

I’m continuing to share excerpts from my novel draft, A Dangerous Education: The Story of Julia Williams Garnet, with the goal of sharing six sections in total from the beginning of the book.

Prudence Crandall (1803-1890), from a portrait in Uris Library at Cornell University. (Image source: Prudence Crandall: a Biography by Marvis Olive Welch)

These upcoming scenes feature Prudence Crandall, the teacher and founder of the first school that Julia Williams attends in the book, Canterbury Female Boarding School. Prudence Crandall is another woman leader in our history who deserves a whole novel about her life, as well as a film drama made about her. At a time when slavery was still in effect, the early 1800’s, Prudence Crandall was breaking all the rules by not only starting a boarding school for girls, but then populating that school with girls of color.

Remembering Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem: Who Will Preserve Our Feminist History?

I have been feeling an unexpected amount of grief over the deaths, just days apart, of Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan.

Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem. (Image Credit: Robin Morgan on Facebook)

Perhaps the grief is partly generational. These women’s voices were part of the landscape of my young adulthood. They helped create the feminist movement that shaped the way I came to understand myself, my work, and the world.

But my grief for Robin Morgan is especially personal. When I was in my twenties, I read Going Too Far: The Personal Chronicle of a Feminist. I don’t remember every argument in the book now, but I remember what it felt like to read it. Morgan was giving language to experiences and ideas I was only beginning to understand. She wasn’t asking permission or making feminism comfortable. She was challenging assumptions about all sorts of things — women’s lives, sexuality, power, anger, work, all the ways women, and men, had been taught to see themselves.

Read A Dangerous Education in Progress and Give Feedback

I’ve spent the past year writing a novel about Julia Williams, a young Black woman whose determination to become educated carried her through three schools in the 1830s, two of which were destroyed by racist mobs. Before deciding what to do with the novel, I’d like to share the first several chapters with Philanthropy Women readers and hear what you think. Does Julia’s story draw you in? What makes you want to keep reading? Where do you want to know more?

For context, here is a draft of an email to potential agents, so you can get a sense of the backstory for the manuscript:

I am seeking representation for A Dangerous Education, a work of historical YA fiction about Julia Williams Garnet, a young Black woman whose determination to become educated carried her through three schools, two of which were destroyed by racist mobs.

In a Time of Escalation, Philanthropy Has a Choice: Invest in Peace

As tensions rise in the Middle East, many in philanthropy are watching closely and asking what, if anything, they can do in a moment shaped so heavily by state power and military force.

Philanthropy has never been irrelevant in times of conflict. In fact, it plays a critical role in shaping what comes next.

Because while governments fund war, peacebuilding remains chronically underfunded.

This imbalance is not new. Globally, vast sums are directed toward military capacity, while only a fraction supports the long, complex work of preventing violence, strengthening civil society, and rebuilding trust across fractured communities. The result is a persistent gap: we invest heavily in the machinery of conflict, and far less in the infrastructure of peace.

Global Power Still Belongs to Men: Where is the Funding for Women’s Leadership?

Only 2% of philanthropic dollars go to women and girls and a small fraction of that goes toward improving women’s political leadership. No wonder we’re stuck in neutral, if not going in reverse, with the battle for women’s autonomy and equality.

In 2026, only 28 countries are led by a woman head of state or government. More than 100 countries have never had a woman leader. Women hold just 22.4% of cabinet positions and 27.5% of parliamentary seats worldwide.

For decades, philanthropy has talked about women’s empowerment. But the global leadership numbers suggest that political power — the place where laws and budgets are decided — remains dramatically underfunded territory for gender equality philanthropy.

Too Vulnerable? The Unaddressed Flaws in Women’s Organizing

I can’t say I’ve seen it all, but I’ve seen enough over the past 10 years in feminist movements to make some comments that might prove useful to big picture thinkers and organizational leaders in the sector. I’ve seen:

movements diluted by demands to serve everyone, causing them to lose sight of the core constituency of women
organizations with a lack of fiscal planning and/or oversight
reactive, fear-driven decision-making from women’s rights leadership
mission drift
underprepared boards
exhausted women leaders
funders who like the idea of feminist work but won’t invest in infrastructure
unsophisticated or non-existent budgets

We all know it’s not pretty out there for women looking for a better tomorrow. We are currently facing severe political and social backlash. On top of that, many women’s organizations struggle mightily with internal issues.

Beyond Philanthropy: Mobilizing Feminism in an Authoritarian Age

Editor’s Note: The following Op-Ed by Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE, helps to shine a light on the setbacks being faced by feminism in today’s authoritarian world, and offers some key insights on how feminist movements might become more self-sufficient and remain powerful in today’s hostile political environment.

Yifat Susskind, Executive Director of MADRE, offers timely and relevant thought leadership for funding and sustaining women’s rights organizations. (Image credit: MADRE)

2025 will be remembered as the year that transformed both philanthropy and the global women’s movement as we know it. All around the world, women’s rights organizations are caught between an increasingly emboldened right-wing opposition and an unprecedented funding shortfall. Until recently, these gathering threats were treated as separate problems. But democratic backsliding and donor retreat are not merely trending together: they are twin symptoms of the same malady, which has reached epidemic proportions with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

In the Midst of Political Disarray, Fund Anti Pay-Discrimination Work

In these times of extreme political turmoil, it might make sense for donors to go back to basics and focus on the ongoing battle to close the gender pay gap. According to US News & World Report, the typical American man earns $12,000 more per year than the typical woman. Perhaps moreso than other factors, this stubborn disparity is still hurting women where it counts: in the pocketbook.

US News and World Report ranks Rhode Island Number One for closing the gender pay gap. (Image credit: US News and World Report)

A recent call to attend to this issue comes by way of EqualPayToday.org. Each year they publish new information on what they call “Equal Pay Day” on March 25th. This the date in the new years when a typical woman makes as much as the typical man did by December 31 of the previous year. This year the typical woman had to work until March 25, 2025 to make as much as her typical male counterpart did by December 31, 2024. This represents an extra 84 days into the new year.

State University Receives Biggest Grant Ever–From A Woman

The University of Rhode Island received a gift of $65 million from the estate of the late Helen Izzi Schilling, a 1954 graduate of the University.

This is a transformational gift that will support scholarships for high-achieving students. It is the largest in the University’s history. Through a commitment made with her late husband, the gift establishes the Helen Izzi Schilling ’54 and Francis Schilling Scholars Program.

Tides Foundation is launching Resist Project 2025 in response to the US election results. (Image credit: Tides)

The endowed scholarship will provide up to $20,000 per year for four years to high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in a science, technology, engineering, or math field.

CARE’s Astonishing 900% Return on Investment for Global Women

CARE recently released the 2024 report of its Women’s Economic Justice (WEJ) team. Entitled Her Money Her Future, the report confirmed that women are both good investors and a good investment.

Savings group members in Malawi, part of the Digital CARE Package program
with Mudzi Wathu Village Bank. (Image credit: CARE Report, Her Money, Her Future)

While CARE is famous for its aid programs, outside resources alone will not end global poverty. That will require internal resources created by the people who need the help. Most often women who suffer disproportionately from endemic poverty. Therefore WEJ works directly with women to help them start and run their own business.

The report shows that the results have been spectacular. CARE’s savings groups generated $9 in women’s income for every $1 invested.

Category: Activism