Women's Journalism Archives

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.

Federal Government Agency Latest Target of Assault on Diversity

In the past few weeks, the conservative crusade against affirmative action has widened its scope to include various levels of government.

Jill Biden recently announced funding for the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. More information on this new funding is below. (Image credit: AP)

The first is aimed directly at the federal government. A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is guilty of discrimination. The agency was created during the Nixon administration fifty years ago to improve access to capital for minority-owned businesses. The judge, who was appointed by Trump, has ruled that such support is an illegal violation of the rights of all Americans.

WPI Webinar: Women’s Political Giving Will Surge in 2024

On January 30, 2024, the Womens’ Philanthropy Institute (WPI) of Indiana University hosted a webinar to look into a crystal ball and discuss what members of the giving community believe is coming our way in the coming year.

Jeannie Sager of WPI kicked off the conversation with a thorough review of relevant topics. (Image Credit: WPI)

The moderator was Jeannie Sager, Executive Director of WPI. Panelists included

Elizabeth Barajas Romắn, President and CEO of the Women’s Funding Network (WFN);
Latanya Mapp Frett, President and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA); and
Kiersten Marek, Founder and CEO of Philanthropy Women (PW)

To start, Jeannie Sager established five key trends as identified by research of WPI:

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.

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.

PW Update: Research and Focus Changes in January 2022

Well my friends, welcome to 2022! January is a time of research and development here at Philanthropy Women, as we refine our strategy going forward. After much consideration, we have decided not to rebrand or change the name of the website. Because it so accurately fits the content, it needs to stand. And because the gender equality issues in philanthropy still need so much attention, we will be keeping the name.

Beyond that, the future is much less clear. It turns out that by doubling up on niches, philanthropy being one niche and gender equality being (sadly) another niche, we have struggled to find a solid foundation. However, this does not mean that gender equality philanthropy does not need and deserve more media attention. In fact, our struggle is kind of like a real-time example of the entrenched marginalization of women, and feminist ideas, in the charitable realm.

Discover Your Innocent: Find Inner Calm with New Hypnosis Video

As many of you know, along with founding and editing Philanthropy Women, I am also a psychotherapist. So today I am offering something new here for readers: a chance to explore your inner wellness through hypnosis.

One of my specialties as a therapist is identity development. I have spent many years studying and writing about the archetypes — the different dimensions of human identity that come into play across the lifespan. In 2018, I also trained and became certified as a hypnotherapist. This is a hypnosis session to help you get a deep night’s sleep, and to give you a chance to experience your inner Innocent.

Maggie May’s Greatest Hits on Philanthropy Women

As one of our most prolific writers at Philanthropy Women, Maggie May deserves a special tribute. Two and a half years ago, Maggie May started weaving her mighty creativity into stories on gender equality funding and strategy, and now that she is leaving us for greener (and higher paying) pastures, we want to make sure we give her a proper send-off that represents all she has done for our publication, and for gender equality strategy and funding as a whole.

Over the course of two and half years, Maggie May wrote 190 posts for Philanthropy Women. (Image credit: Maggie May)

Maggie May wrote 190 articles for Philanthropy Women over her time with us, an incredible amount of productivity for a young writer. She helped discover and narrate the stories of many undervalued women leaders of our time, and did so with power, insight, and clarity. Her work ranged from personal interviews to covering events to exploring the difficult questions about who gets funding and why.

Category: Women’s Journalism