(Photo by iStock/Frazao Studio Latino)
Less than 2 percent of philanthropic giving in the United States goes to programs focused on supporting women and girls. Some philanthropists have committed to changing this, including Melinda French Gates and Women Moving Millions, a coalition of women philanthropists who have each committed to give at least a million dollars during their lifetimes.
“If you’re giving to women and girls, the impacts that result from your giving are much more profound and much stronger than people might realize … because of the unique ways that women support their communities,” says Stacey Keare, board chair at Women Moving Millions. Research shows that investing in women has a multiplier effect because they tend to hold central roles in their communities and support or invest in the people around them when they succeed.
To help funnel more charitable dollars to women and girls, the Montecito Journal Media Group established The Giving List Women in 2022. Keare was first inspired to create The Giving List Women after she received a copy of The Giving List San Francisco in 2021. Recognizing the potential for a fruitful partnership, she contacted Gwyn Lurie, CEO and executive editor of the Montecito Journal Media Group, which produced the San Francisco guide, to discuss forming a group to publish a philanthropic handbook dedicated to women and girls.
“Until now, people really thought of women and girls as a lane in philanthropy and not a lens through which to view every category of philanthropy,” says Lurie, who serves as The Giving List Women’s CEO. “That is the shift we’re trying to bring about.”
The Giving List Women works to achieve its mission through three programmatic strategies: powerful storytelling, produced as the Giving List Women book; an annual convening of philanthropic leaders; and its nonprofit leadership training seminar.
Published in 2024, The Giving List Women 2024 highlights the work of 67 philanthropies from around the world dedicated to gender equity, ending gender violence, and increasing philanthropic giving to organizations that focus on women and girls. The book is organized into 10 chapters, interspersed with illustrations and interviews with prominent figures, including legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who answers questions about why intersectionality is central to achieving racial equality.
More than a dozen champion partners, including Women Moving Millions, each gave $25,000 to underwrite the printing and distribution of 175,000 copies to giving circles, philanthropic fund managers, and the boards of thousands of organizations nationwide that focus on women and girls.
In April 2024, The Giving List Women hosted its inaugural summit to celebrate the publication and create networking opportunities for partners, featured organizations, philanthropists, and supporters. Philanthropist Ginger Salazar says the summit revolutionized how she approaches giving. “I walked away with a heightened awareness of some of the significant issues facing women and girls, how underfunded these issue areas are, and the power of investing behind women, from an impact standpoint,” she says.
Looking ahead, Lurie says that the Giving List Women team is eager to build on its success and continue to “give donors the fact-based justification to apply the lens of women and girls to their giving.” A process is already underway for organizations to apply for inclusion in next year’s publication.
Read more stories by Marianne Dhenin.