Don’t overlook the ways women are reshaping philanthropy
I had the pleasure recently of spending two days in Chicago with hundreds of women: philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and advisors. We were gathered for the Women’s Philanthropy Institute Symposium, hosted by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. As you can imagine, it was an energetic and inspiring experience.
I left with a notebook full of ideas—and even greater conviction that many organizations are leaving opportunities on the table by overlooking women’s growing role in philanthropy. This conversation is not about paying attention to a particular audience; it’s about a strategic reorientation of our fundraising models to be more holistic, proactive, and inclusive.
Women aren’t just the future of philanthropy. We’re the present.
For as long as I’ve been in this sector, we’ve talked about the Great Wealth Transfer—and where it’s going. By now you know that by 2045, an estimated $84 trillion dollars is expected to change hands, which will expand women’s potential to lead philanthropy.
All of that is true. And… if you’ve perused any of the Lilly School’s research (or paid attention to your donor community), you know that women already play a dominant role in philanthropy.
In most households, giving decisions are either made by a woman or influenced by a woman. Talk to any philanthropic or wealth advisor and they’ll tell you stories about how, even 10-20 years ago, women were hardly present for conversations about philanthropy. Today, it’s the women sitting in their office asking the questions and making the decisions about their family’s giving.
And women increasingly play key roles in other areas: They’re board members, program officers, foundation leaders, organizers, advocates, and mentors.
When women lead, collaboration becomes the default.
Much of the conference conversations centered on the question: What is the impact of this trend? As we look back at this rising tide of women’s leadership in philanthropy, what can we learn? What are the implications for the future?
Most panelists agreed that the more women lead the philanthropy, the more changemaking becomes a collective endeavor. The spirit of being the individual ‘hero’, here to save the day with a big check (and a correspondingly big name on a building), seems to be fading. Instead, donors are rolling up their sleeves and asking: How I can I be most useful? How can I join the community that already exists around a nonprofit and amplify it? How can I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with leadership to solve challenges and deepen impact—bringing my time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties to bear? Nonprofits shared that they increasingly feel like donors see them as leaders who hold expertise, rather than as grant applicants who need to perform to access resources.
Nowhere is the shift toward collaboration more evident than in giving circles. Since the 1970s, women in the U.S. have been shaping new forms of pooling funds and multiplying impact through collaboration. Today, women-led giving circles range from informal groups of friends to institutions with formal grantmaking programs.
What these groups have in common is connection. Giving together counters isolation and individualism. Building relationships with nonprofits builds trust. Connecting to community fosters belonging. Through collective giving, communities underrepresented in traditional philanthropy can play an increasingly influential role in shaping our vision of what’s possible and how we get there.
Giving circles are also reshaping what philanthropy looks like. For example, giving circles often go beyond giving ‘treasure’ and offer other forms of support, such as volunteering, board service, introductions to networks, facilitation of grantee-to-grantee collaboration, and event support. Seeing a role for everyone—no matter their income level—ensures everyone can be a part of something bigger than themselves. In addition, giving circles fund boldly, following values instead of trends. They are well positioned to fund critical but under-resourced or ‘controversial’ issue areas because there is strength in numbers—reduced personal risk by giving as a group.
The more collaborative philanthropy becomes, the more powerful our opportunities to create change. When we are fueled by trust—within our communities, among nonprofits, and among donors—anything becomes possible.
Under pressure, women in philanthropy are unshakable.
In this moment of division and vitriol, how do we spread connection and trust? What could become possible if we stopped viewing each other—other nonprofits, other donors (and even other consultants!)—as competitors, but rather allies in the fight for a better world?
Some of the most powerful women in our sector are already on it. In the face of direct attacks and threats, women across our sector are stepping forward with clarity of purpose and conviction, holding fast to the moral authority that comes with working toward a more peaceful, safe, and prosperous world for everyone.
That includes women donors, women leading nonprofits, women leading foundations, and women who don’t identify as ‘philanthropists’ at all but are moving resources every day—time, money, relationships, and reputational capital—to meet community needs and to protect what feels worth protecting. The work isn’t only about services and short-term relief (though it must also be). It’s also about shaping the public conversation: What kind of neighbors we choose to be, what kind of trust we are willing to rebuild across difference, and what kind of future we are making for our children.
Panelist Diane Yentel, President & CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits reflected: “Every act of courage inspires more courage. Even small acts of courage inspire others to do the same, and all of the courage together is how we get to change.”
We don’t always know who our leadership will encourage, but we can be sure it is needed.
When women in philanthropy stand for something—openly, consistently—we begin to loosen some of the sector’s oldest habits: isolation, risk-aversion, and the quiet assumption that money should come with control. If this symposium was any indication, women’s leadership in philanthropy is not retreating. It’s building—patiently, collaboratively, and boldly—toward what has not yet existed: a fully resourced, resilient, connected civic fabric.
I’ll leave you with the theme of the conference as a call to action: Be Bold. Be Brave. Be the Bridge. Your courage gives others hope.
