I was born and raised in Ghana in a society where, traditionally, a woman’s role in the community was limited to motherhood. Only a few had the audacity to transcend social expectations and affect the lives of other women around them. My grandmother was one of them.

Just over 40 years ago, two incredibly brave people made history when they became the first women of color to declare themselves major party candidates for president. Patsy Mink, a Japanese-American congresswoman from Hawaii, entered the Oregon primary as an anti-war candidate to draw attention to issues she felt were not being addressed by the mainstream candidates. Shirley Chisholm, the African-American congresswoman from New York, remained on the campaign trail all the way to the Democratic National Convention.

Personal reflections from women founders of the early giving circles are included in a new booklet just released by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Among the 18 interviews in Women’s Giving Circles: Reflections from the Founders is Lynn McNair’s story of her involvement with the African American Women’s Giving Circle at Washington Area Women’s Foundation.

I blinked and nine years went by.

Okay, my eyes were open most of the time, but it is truly hard to believe that it has been nine years since my first Washington Area Women’s Foundation board meeting in 2000.

This morning I got up at 5:10 a.m. and drove to the Potomac river to hang out with a bunch of boys.

I’m a coxswain for Thompson Boat Club’s U-23 Men’s Development Camp, a summer rowing program for college rowers.

Male rowers. Big, tall boys.

Have you ever noticed that when someone wins a Grammy or an Oscar, they always thank the myriad of people who have supported them along the way?  Sometimes they go on a bit too long and the music begins to play, but they almost always utter, “I just want to thank my mom.”

Every year, the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington chooses our region’s best, brightest and most promising nonprofits to feature. 

The list is a prestigious one given that organizations are vetted by a diverse, knowledgeable group of stakeholders throughout the community who know our region, its issues and the organizations and work that is making a difference–much like the volunteer committees and giving circles that participate in The Women’s Foundation’s grantmaking processes.

The DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) is devastated and appalled to know that our most skilled and intensely dedicated late-term abortion provider, a beloved partner to DCAF, Dr. George Tiller, was fatally shot in the lobby of his church in Wichita, Kansas on Sunday morning, May 31, 2009.

Well, the Interwebs are certainly all abuzz this week with talk of women’s philanthropy.  And the talk is good.

First, a Fidelity study shows that women are shaping the future of philanthropy.

Okay, we knew that.

Friends of Guesthouse is the only program of its kind in all of Northern Virginia. 

We provide support and resources to formerly incarcerated women convicted of non-violent crimes, so that they may more successfully integrate back into their communities. The women work hard to progress through the program and work hard on improving themselves.