Women and Philanthropy
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Grant Professionals Day- which both happen to occur on March 8th.
I felt it was necessary to honor the role of women in Philanthropy. I truly believe that when women benefit all of society benefits as women are the primary caretakers for their families.
Women have been involved with philanthropy in the United States and across the world for many decades. Today I will reflect a bit on women and their role in social change through government. When government and philanthropy join forces to improve the living and working conditions of the members of the community it can be extremely beneficial and the results may last for many years and affect an entire generation. .
One of my favorite articles from my MPA program titled “Settlement women and bureau men: Constructing a usable past for public administration” by Camila Stivers addressed this topic.
This article focused on how public dollars were spent to improve the health and wellbeing of women, children and families
Although women did not have the right to vote at this time they used their voices to impact the social programs that were offered in the communities they were raising their families in. They also voiced their opinions to affect positive social reforms.
Today as women are thriving in many fields of they will be playing a more vocal role in philanthropy.
Here are a few of my favorite philanthropic initiatives that were started by women
Quality of Life Grants Program at the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation- These grants are awarded to non profit organizations that work to improve the day to day quality of life for people living with paralysis and their caregivers. They were started by the late Dana Reeve who herself was a caregiver.
Unite for Sight a non profit organization that works to provide eyecare to individuals in North America, Asia and Africa- This initiative was started by Jennifer Stapleton Clark
Every Mother Counts- an organization that works to support the health and well being of mothers across the world
Caring Across Generations- an organization that is working to raise awareness for caregivers across the United. States
