Positive Impact Philanthropy Podcast · Lori Kranczer

An Interview with Jeannie Infante Sager, Director of Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

·28 min·2 clips

Jeannie Sager reveals that less than 2% of charitable dollars in the US support women's and girls organizations.

Jeannie Infante Sager, director of the Women's Philanthropy Institute, discusses her transition from fundraising practitioner to academic leader. Host Laurie Krauzer explores how Sager's work uses research to challenge established philanthropic practices. Sager explains the institute conducts and shares rigorous research on how women give, including recent studies measuring donations to women's and girls' organizations. She describes feeling like a "disruptor" after examining data on giving by women and donors of color, which contradicted her classical fundraising training. Traditional philanthropic infrastructure was built for a presumed donor profile: a cisgender white male in his 60s. Research indicates the average U.S. donor is actually a 64-year-old white woman. Sager argues that ignoring donors from marginalized communities means leaving money on the table and failing to represent those who have always been philanthropic. She emphasizes philanthropy as a representation of personal values, urging fundraisers to have deeper, more authentic conversations with donors. Studies categorize women's giving in three broad ways: broadly, collectively, and holistically. Women are drawn to an expanded definition of philanthropy beyond just monetary gifts, including volunteering and advocacy. They prefer to give collaboratively, inspired by and learning from others' approaches. Empathy primarily drives women's giving, leading them to support causes that align with their philosophical beliefs and values. A key research finding is that only 1.9% of U.S. charitable dollars go to organizations primarily serving women and girls. This percentage has remained stagnant since 2019, a fact used as a rallying cry by organizations in the Women and Girls Index. The index defines and lists over 50,000 such organizations across all nonprofit subsectors. In response, the institute helped create Give to Women and Girls Day on October 11th, partnering with groups like Women Moving Millions and Vital Voices. Sager's career was shaped by a 1995 Jane Addams Fellowship, founded by philanthropy scholar Bob Payton. Payton's goal was to instill a philanthropic lens in future leaders across various professions, defining philanthropy as "voluntary action for the public good." Sager sees her legacy as activating more women donors and helping them use philanthropy as a confident form of agency. She links this to women's growing educational attainment and presence in the workforce as wealth earners. The tone is conversational and educational, blending personal narrative with research-driven insights. Listeners interested in data-informed philanthropy, gender lens giving, or nonprofit leadership will find this episode valuable. Those seeking highly critical debate or purely anecdotal fundraising stories might find it less aligned with their interests.

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