From the desk of Harvest Foundation President Kate Keller
This week, I had the privilege of being interviewed by our own Brenell Thomas of the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce. Brenell is using her regular cable show on BTW21 to celebrate Women’s History Month. The interview got me thinking about women in philanthropy and the role women have played in improving communities.
Madam C.J. Walker was America’s first female self-made millionaire. She was born in Louisiana, and her parents were sharecroppers. She began her own business, and by the mid-1910s, she employed over 40,000 workers. Madam Walker began using her dollars and influence to make change by supporting the opening of YMCAs, providing scholarships, building workforce training programs for African Americans, and was a strong voice for the anti-lynching movement and supported the NAACP.
Madame Walker led the way for future self-made female millionaire philanthropists like Dolly Parton, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift.
While we are most familiar with current famous philanthropists, women are actively involved in philanthropy in many ways. In the world of formal giving, more than half of foundations are led by women, and almost 75% of foundation staff are women.
However, women drive philanthropic efforts in many ways, such as through their networks like sororities or giving circles. Most often, though, women invest in community improvement or social change through individual contributions to issues they care about.
In addition to all the women giving back to their communities, I would like to celebrate the eight women on staff who help me run The Harvest Foundation: Latala, Kim, Sandy, Stacy, India, Heather, Georgia, and Sheryl (who we still include even though she just retired). I’d also like to celebrate the six women on our Board of Directors who volunteer their time to oversee the foundation: Anne, Laura, Judy, DelShana, Sharon, and Valenica.
These women show up every day to support MHC and think about how we can help improve our community and the lives of the people who live and work here. I am so grateful they do!
