In partnership with Women of Colour Australia, She Gives hosted an online gathering on September 15th to hear from Women of Colour across the country who give.
This important research event was hosted by Women of Colour Australia Founder Brenda Gaddi. Born in the Philippines, Brenda shared how her giving journey has been shaped by the cultural value of Kapwa – the pre-colonial belief in shared humanity and spoke of her desire to build a new model of giving: one that is intersectional, trust-based, and led by the communities it aims to serve.
Following her opening remarks, Brenda convened a compelling panel discussion with intersectional DEI, Culture and Leadership Expert and Director of Women of Colour Safety and Work Research Institute, Dr Varina Michaels. With a PhD in Intersectional Identities, Varina’s experiences and insights were a powerful pre-cursor to the breakout discussions that followed.
Joining Varina on the panel was tech investor and adviser and chair of Forever Projects, Solai Valliappa. Solia shared her personal motivations around giving and learnings from her work with Forever Projects - funding locally led partners across Tanzania to empower women in some of the world's most challenging circumstances. Both panellists spoke about why they were compelled to become part of collective giving fund WoCImpact100, and the joy of coming together with other like-minded women to create change.
She Gives Advisory Group Member and Go Foundation Director Tanya Hosch also addressed the gathering, highlighting the importance of recognising the prominent role Women of Colour play in philanthropy, and the power of connection and collaboration in paving the way for more women to thrive in this space.
Inspired by the panel discussion, attendees then broke into small groups where they explored four key themes: the motivations, enablers, barriers and opportunities facing Women of Colour in giving.
This was the campaign’s 13th research discussion event and the third online convening of its kind. Previous online gatherings focused on First Nations Perspectives on Giving, hosted by She Gives First Nations Advisor Leah Armstrong, and Rural and Regional perspectives, hosted by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.
The insights shared at these events will contribute to the largest piece of research into women’s giving in Australia, and the largest mixed methods research report into giving in this country, being created in partnership with the Centre for Social Impact at UWA. This work will help us better understand what drives giving – and how we can shift systems to redistribute resources and build more just and generous communities.
