Author Christine Grumm tells us about her new collaborative book, “The Uprising of Women in Philanthropy”

Table of Contents:

1. Uprising: The Global Women’s Funding Movement Emerges,
2. And Still We Rise! Building a Global Women’s Funding Movement,
3. Nothing About Us Without Us: Trust-Based Philanthropy,
4. Women at the Frontlines of Crisis: Funding and Supporting,
5. In It for the Long Haul: Funding Systemic Change Led by Women, Girls and Gender Expansive People, 6. Women, Money, and Power: Coming into Our Own

Click here to buy the book!

Meet the Authors

Ndanatsei Bofu-Tawamba is the CEO of Urgent Action Fund Africa (UAF-Africa). She brings a wealth of international experience across a broad spectrum of equity-focused issues to the global human and women’s rights movements. Ndana has built bridges between civil society and social justice funders for over two decades to address gender, racial, socio-political, economic, environmental, and climate injustices. Ndana is a staunch feminist voice for enhanced women’s rights investments. She has leveraged over USD200 million towards strengthening African feminist and women’s rights movements. She is a published writer and public speaker on Pan-African and Feminist Philanthropies, African Women’s Leadership, and the Power of Social Movements in Africa.  

Ruby Bright recently retired from the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis as its President and CEO after over 22 years of leadership. Under her tenure, the Women’s Foundation invested over $35 million in supporting 560 programs involving more than 182 local non-profits. Bright guided the organization’s effort across the state in response to the COVID pandemic to distribute $12 million in funds to support local organizations. She serves on the board of ThinkTennessee, as the Honorary Co-Chair of the Ida B. Wells Memorial Committee in Memphis, and as an honorary co-chair for the Racial and Equity task force with Tennessee Nonprofit Network. Bright’s awards include the 2021 Memphis Power Player and the 2022 Memphis Business Journal Power 100 consecutively for over a decade. She is a past board chair of the Women’s Funding Network. She has received the Ms. Foundation 2022 Woman of Vision Award and additional honors from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2023, she received the Shelby County Tennessee Alumnae Chapter Community Pioneer Economic Development Award and the inaugural Happy Jones Advocacy and Visionary Leadership Award from the YWCA of Greater Memphis.

Stephanie Clohesy is a lifelong activist for human rights and social justice, especially for women and girls. She has been a significant force in developing and growing Women’s Funds throughout the U.S. and worldwide: she has founded, counseled, and governed over 50 women’s funds. She also supports mainstream funders to allocate more resources to social justice and benefit women and girls and all those seeking equity. She led the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund early in her career and worked as a senior program director for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. A consultant since 1992, she has assisted social sector leaders, donors, and entrepreneurs in reaching their bold goals by accelerating their organizations toward high performance and momentous impact. As an author and co-author, she has reported on and created tools for gaining leverage from wide-ranging changes and trends in philanthropy. In the transition from the 20th into the 21st century, her reports and articles cover, for example, the re-invention of philanthropy through the tech and financial booms; early on she named the innovations in women’s philanthropy – participation; the acknowledgment of the importance of women’s experiences at the edges and ultimately turning traditional philanthropic norms upside down. Stephanie has invented programs and tools to enable the nonprofit sector to grow more vital institutions for long-term change.

Chris Grumm was the CEO/President of the Women’s Funding Network (WFN) from 2000 to 2011. During her tenure, the membership grew from 75 to over 160 funds with over $500 million in assets. She is the co-founder, with Helen LaKelly Hunt, of the first Women Moving Millions Campaign. In partnership with Women’s Funds, the campaign raised over $200 million. Prior to WFN, Chris was the Executive Director of the Chicago Foundation for Women. She has served as the first vice president of the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and as the Deputy General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland. She works with local, national, and global organizations, building agendas for gender/social justice. One of her passions is the investment in women, girls, and gender-expansive people and, through that investment, changing whole communities. She is an Alinsky-trained community organizer and health Educator and, throughout her career, has worked on behalf of Reproductive Rights and Justice. Currently, she is consulting through her company, Chris Grumm Consulting Group.

Dr. Helen LaKelly Hunt, Ph.D, is one of a small group of women who helped seed the Women’s Funding Movement. She co-founded the Texas Women’s Foundation, The New York Women’s Foundation, Women’s Funding Network, and Women Moving Millions. Helen is the author of Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance and Sister Wisdom: Women of Faith, Fortitude, and Inspiration. Her book And the Spirit Moved Them: The Lost Radical History of America’s First Feminists shares the inspiring story of the abolitionist feminists. Helen was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001. Helen and her husband of 30 years, Harville Hendrix, Ph.D, are internationally respected couple’s therapists, educators, speakers, and New York Times bestselling authors. Together, they have written over ten books with over four million copies sold, including the timeless classic Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples. Harville and Helen co-created Imago Relationship Therapy, which teaches Dialogue to promote connected relationships. They are the co-founders of Imago Relationships International, a non-profit organization that has trained over 2,000 therapists and educators in 51 countries worldwide. Eventually, Harville and Helen started Safe Conversations LLC, which teaches people to use Dialogical skills in communities everywhere. The business is now called Quantum Connections LLC.

Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro is the Board Chair of United World Colleges and CARE International Supervisory Board. She is also a member of the Council, London School of Economics, and chairs its Ethics Committee. In addition, Musimbi is a Board Member of the United Nations Global Compact and also serves as a Senior Gender Advisor for its accelerator, Target Gender Equality. Musimbi Kanyoro was President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women (2011- 2019). Before that, she was the Director of Population and Reproductive Health at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Before moving to the USA in 2007, Musimbi spent 20 years in Geneva, Switzerland, where she worked for the Lutheran World Federation for 10 years as Executive Secretary for Women in Church and Society. Afterward, she was appointed General Secretary of the World YWCA in 1998, a position she held for a decade. Musimbi is a frequent public speaker and has written and published on Women’s Human Rights, gender, philanthropy, and theology. She facilitates dialogues and mentorship programs for emerging leaders, including Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, Homeward Bound and WEAfrica.

Ana Oliveira is President & CEO of The New York Women’s Foundation. Since 2006, Ana has increased the Foundation’s grantmaking from $1.7 million to $11 million annually. In its 36 years, The Foundation has distributed $125 million to over 350 organizations advancing economic, gender, and racial justice. Ana sits on the Independent Commission to Study Criminal Justice Reform in NYC and is a Board member of Sanctuary for Families and Point Source Youth. She is part of the Women of Color in Philanthropy Advisory Board and a member of Prospect Hill Foundation’s Program Committee. She is a past Board member of Philanthropy New York and Chair of WFN. She holds an MA in Medical Anthropology and a PhD (Hon.) from the New School. She was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, and lives in New York City. Formerly, Ana was CEO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

Laura Risimini is the Director of Grants for the Amplify Her Foundation, a private grantmaking foundation supporting women and girls from underserved communities to become transformative changemakers. Her previous roles included serving as the Managing Director of the Purpose Foundation, a start-up organization serving as a fiscal sponsor for social impact campaigns and organizations, and Manager of the HLH Family Foundation, formerly known as The Sister Fund, where she guided the organization through a transition from a women’s fund to a family foundation. Throughout her career, Laura has had the unique opportunity to support organizations in all areas of their lifecycle, from start-up to sunset. She specializes in building nonprofit operating and programmatic structures and designing and implementing grant cycles aligned with feminist and trust-based funding principles.

Jane Sloane is Senior Director, Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality with The Asia Foundation based in San Francisco. Jane’s previous roles include Vice President of Programs at the Global Fund for Women, Vice President of Development at Women’s World Banking, and Executive Director at the International Women’s Development Agency. Jane is a Trustee of Practical Action (UK) and is a Senior Atlantic Fellow with the Inequalities Institute at The London School of Economics and The Atlantic Institute, Oxford. She is a recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide, an Alumni Award for Service to Humanity from the University of Sydney, a Global Ambassadors Award from the Advance Foundation, a Woman of Distinction Award from the Asia Pacific Women’s Business Council, a Churchill Fellowship, and a Human Rights Medal from the Vietnam Women’s Union. Jane holds a bachelor’s degree in history (Hons) from the University of Adelaide, a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sydney, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Adelaide.

Jessica Tomlin is the CEO of the Equality Fund. In this role, Jess leads an effort to resource feminist movements worldwide, working to change systems, shift power, and dismantle barriers. Jess has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for various actors, including the UN and the World Bank. Before her role with the Equality Fund, Jess re-created the MATCH International Women’s Fund-Canada’s only global fund for women. The Stevie Awards named Jess as 2017’s Most Innovative Woman of the Year, and she is a recipient of the Women of Influence award in 2020.

What people are saying about the book: Reviews

“Everyone who cares about making the world a kinder and safer place should know that the women’s funding movement is doing exactly that. Read this book, take heart, and pass it on!” — Gloria Steinem, Writer, Activist, and Feminist Organizer

“My work as Executive Director of UN Women and UN Under-Secretary-General taught me that activism without money falls short of implementation. Women’s funds and women’s funding movements knew this a long time ago and this book gives a glimpse of the power of women’s ability to pay forward.” — Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women

“Every person involved in philanthropy should read this book to truly understand the partnership of philanthropists and activists around the world in making radical and upending change. Change that puts justice at the center of how communities survive and thrive.” — Lori Barra, Executive Director, The Isabel Allende Foundation

“By capturing the stories of the women’s funding movement over the past fifty years, this book invites us to think more expansively about what is possible when philanthropy gets serious about resourcing the movements working on issues that affect the lives of women and their communities. It is a historical reminder of what can be done for anyone seeking to boldly shift how to fund feminist movements so communities can thrive.” — Teresa C. Younger, President and CEO, Ms. Foundation for Women

“Women have been philanthropic actors and activists in the truest sense of those words for generations – in every part of the globe. Yet such philanthropy continues to be under acknowledged at best. This book tells the important stories of the activism and impact of women’s funds across the world in support of feminist and justice movements. Shine that light!”— Theo Sowa, Former CEO, African Women’s Development Fund

“Fascinating stories about gender, power, and philanthropy. This book gives you a behind the scenes look at how the global women’s funding movement weaves its way around the globe to support activists on the ground and reimagine philanthropy.” — PeiYao Chen, President and CEO, Global Fund for Women

“The Women’s Funding Movement is a game changer in the world of philanthropy and gender justice around the globe. If you want to know what, why, when, where and how this is the book to read. This is a movement that invites all of us to participate regardless of resources. Read and be inspired.” — Pat Mitchell, Co-Founder of ConnectedWomenLeaders and Project Dandelion, and author of Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change The World

“Women’s funds understood long ago that real change can happen when intersectional feminist movements are sustained, connected, and trusted to lead the way and define what success looks like. This is an urgent lesson for philanthropy at large that is explored in this book.” — Giselle Carino, Founding CEO of Fòs Feminista

“I witnessed brave women catapult the global women’s funding movement into a new era. This book, akin to a financial Wonder Woman, testifies to women’s power to use money for equity and justice. It inspires boldness and bravery, deeply rooted in listening and co-creation. It’s a call to action for those who believe in change and a better future. So, gear up and join the uprising!” — Lisa Witter, CEO, Apolitical Foundation and Co-Founder, Apolitical

“Finally, a book that covers, with great care, the history, impact and stunning success of the global women’s funding movement. Sharing stories of the amazing work of these changemakers is inspiring and will serve as a clarion call to keep the movement strong.  Now more than ever we need to be reminded of all that has been done to secure economic, legislative, and reproductive justice for women and girls and gender expansive folks. Read this book and then get to work!” — Mary F. Morten, President, Morten Group, LLC

“For anyone interested in learning about the global impact of women and how women continue to be intentional, allocating personal funding into Women’s Foundations, this important book will inspire them.” — Laura Davis, Managing Director, Banker, J.P. Morgan

“This is the untold story of how the women’s funding movement, with its unexpected partnerships, has changed lives around the world. A must read for change makers!” — Elizabeth Seja Min, Strategist, Storyteller & Facilitator

“Women do lead differently, and the global women’s funding movement is a wonderful illustration for us all. This book is a must-read for anyone committed to building a new philanthropy; a new way of connecting generosity to the opportunity to make a difference. At the center of re-imagining philanthropy must be a woman’s wisdom that integrates intersectionality, collaboration and transparency and this is the blueprint.” — Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, Founder & Executive Director, Black Women in Executive Leadership (B-WEL)

“Women and girls matter, and yet if you look at the philanthropic funding that goes to this half of the population you would not know it. Achieving equality requires big funding and that is what the Women’s Funding Movement is all about. Big Change.” — Jacki Zehner, Founder, SheMoney, Co-Founder Women Moving Millions and former Partner, Goldman Sachs

“Women’s financial equity drives the growth of women’s philanthropy. With increasing financial power millions more women want to join the millions already part of the ‘uprising’ in philanthropy. Get this book on your reading list and get re-energized about equity!” — Diana van Maasdijk, Co-Founder & CEO, Equileap

“Shifting money and power – how women have been leading the charge and creating a philanthropic movement birthed in the intersectionality of women’s rights and human rights.  Every person involved in philanthropy should read this book to see 50 years of examples of centering justice and communities.” — Tuti Scott, Coach and Facilitator, Changemaker Strategies