This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Ostrander, S. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Moderating Contradictions of Feminist Philanthropy

Women’s Community Organizations and the Boston Women’s Fund, 1995 to 2000

Tufts University

Philanthropy is typically hierarchically constructed with an imbalance of power between funders and grantees. While this seems inherent in philanthropic relationships where funders inevitably control resources that grantees need, some women’s funds have sought to construct less hierarchical and thus more feminist relationships with the organizations they support. Based on many years of insider access to a local women’s fund, this article describes and explains the organization’s efforts to develop interactive dialogues with its grantees, which led to a change in grants guidelines that were more inclusive of women’s methods of community organizing. A small survey of women’s community groups, done as background to this research, provides data on challenges and obstacles these groups face when seeking monies to support their work. Some attention is given to implications for general theories of organizations, for funder-grantee dialogues leading to increased accountability in philanthropy, and for support of women’s community organizations.

Key Words: philanthropy • charitable organizations • community organizations • organizations • organizational change • women’s organizations

Gender & Society, Vol. 18, No. 1, 29-46 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0891243203259771


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. A. Ostrander The Growth of Donor Control: Revisiting the Social Relations of Philanthropy Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, June 1, 2007; 36(2): 356 - 372. [Abstract] [PDF]