Philanthropy Women

I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again: Philanthropy Women Lives On

Sometimes it seems like I’ve tried so many times and so many ways to reimagine Philanthropy Women into a place where it would have sustainability and the opportunity to grow in its capacity to move the needle on women’s rights. So, for many of you who have followed Philanthropy Women over the years, I want to share an update that clarifies where things stand now:

I didn’t disappear.
I didn’t give up.
And I still believe more than ever in the power of women’s giving to drive real systems change — the kind of change the world needs most.

Like many independent media platforms, PW has experienced both tremendous growth and real structural challenges. Along the way, I’ve explored multiple paths, including potential partnerships that could expand its reach and deepen its impact. One such opportunity remains in limbo, having moved from conversations to a detailed proposal. While nothing is finalized yet, I remain hopeful that a strong forward path is emerging.

Thank You for Seven Incredible Years

Since 2017, Philanthropy Women has been a home for critical reporting, analysis, and conversation at the intersection of philanthropy and gender equality. Over the past seven years, we’ve published more than 1,200 original articles, built a database of over 700 funders for gender equality, hosted multiple webinars and events, and fostered a global community of readers, funders, advocates, and changemakers.

This work has always been a labor of love — powered by a small team, the support of visionary funders, and a community of subscribers who believed in the importance of shining a light on gender-focused giving.

As the funding landscape has shifted, many original supporters have redirected their focus, and I’ve found it increasingly difficult to sustain the site at the level of quality and frequency it deserves. At the same time, the site’s impact remains — in the archive, in the field, and in the conversations it helped catalyze.

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.

Health Care Donors Urged to Take a Stand Amidst Ongoing Funding Cuts

Editor’s Note: As a healthcare provider myself, this statement from Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers in Health, struck a deep chord. Now is the time for funders to do what they can to mitigate the damage of the US government’s extreme and unprecented withdrawal of funding for health.

Cara V. James, President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health and former Director of the Office of Minority Health at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), urges health care funders to take action to protect health care nationally. (Image Credit: GIH)

This week marks 100 days since the start of the current administration. In that time, we have experienced a wave of harmful policies; devastating funding cuts; significant federal workforce reductions; and direct threats to freedom of speech, democracy, and the rule of law. As a country, we have witnessed the use of unlawful executive actions to intimidate, restrict, or punish organizations for addressing important societal challenges. While much remains uncertain, it is clear these changes will not make us healthier, and they threaten the foundation of our democracy. In the end, it is people—especially the most vulnerable—who will suffer the consequences.

Don’t Stop Believing and Fund Like a Feminist: Together Women Rise

I believe it was Elizabeth Barajas-Román who I first heard use the compelling phrase “fund like a feminist.” I’d like to borrow that phrase to talk about a number of things going on in the women’s funding hemisphere in the midst of the national and international cuts to services for women, people of color, and many other marginalized groups.

Children in Nepal participating in a rural health programs funded by Together Women Rise. (image credit: Together Women Rise)

It’s never been more important to fund like a feminist, and that’s why it gives me hope to share about Together Women Rise and its grants to support women in the Global South.

Starting May 6th, Together Women Rise will be accepting applications for its Featured Grants to be awarded in 2026. (Guidelines here.) Together Women Rise’s Featured Grants program funds 12 grants per year, ranging from $35,000 to $50,000 each.

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.

Big Problem: IPU Reminds Us that Men Still Hoard Executive Positions

Not that anyone will be surprised, but here is confirmation of your suspicion that women are being shut out at the highest levels. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is a globe-spanning organization of parliamentary democracies. With 181 members, there are very few places on earth that are not represented. One function it takes very seriously is to monitor the participation of women in national governments and in positions of leadership in large corporations.

Women are not leading the world. What will it take to get there? (Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash)

Currently, 27.2% of Members of Parliament (MPs) worldwide are women. Despite all the scary headlines about how men are falling behind in educational achievement, they still manage to dominate the higher echelons of both government and business. Less than 19% of MPs are under forty; so governments are not only primarily composed of men, but of old men.

G4GC’s Dr. Monique Couvson Listed a Prestigious ‘Closer’ by TIME

G4GC’s Dr. Monique Couvson Named to TIME’s 2025 List of ‘The Closers’

Philanthropy Women is thrilled to announce that Dr Monique Couvson has been recognized and honored by TIME Magazine. She has been placed on the magazine’s list of “The Closers”. This prestigious award recognizes 25 Black leaders who are driving powerful change by working to close gaps in racial equity.

Monique Couvson, president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color. (Image credit: G4GC)

Dr. Couvson is the president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC), the primary national philanthropic intermediary organization with an explicit focus on girls and gender-expansive youth of Color in the U.S. and territories. In the short span of four years, she has helped convene 100 funders, moved more than $26 million to 400 organizations, and developed four signature funds such as The Black Girl Freedom Fund, The New Songs Rising Initiative for indigenous girls, the Holding a Sister Initiative for trans girls of color, and the Love Is Healing Fund. In addition, she co-founded the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign.

In the New Trump Era, It Matters More than Ever Where Women Live

Editor’s Note: Dear Readers, Please allow me to introduce our newest writer, David L. Jaffe. David is a fellow social worker, environmentalist, and an all-around great human. He has joined our small pool of male allies writing for Philanthropy Women. Please welcome David and give him lots of love for taking on the ultimate uphill battle by becoming a writer-activist feminist in these ultra-regressive times. I am confident David’s perceptive and insightful ways will contribute handily to Philanthropy Women’s discourse about women donors and their allies.

“Location, location, location”—it matters! Not just in the context of real estate but in the context of women’s health. Where you live in this country, the state you reside in, has a direct bearing on your overall health (both physical and mental); the care and support you can expect to receive; the accessibility and cost of that care; your reproductive rights and maternal care; and even the number of local health and wellness charities providing services and advocacy.

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.