Episode 87: Jeannie Infante Sager
Join Lori and her guest, Jeannie Infante Sager, as they delve into the empowering journey of making women feel confident about their giving. Jeannie Infante Sager is the Women's Philanthropy Institute Director at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She passionately encourages supporting organizations that uplift and empower women and girls, emphasizing the impact of meaningful contributions!
Here are the things to expect in this episode:
Gender differences in charitable giving.
How can we activate women and help them feel confident about their giving?
Having meaningful conversations with donors is crucial for fostering strong, lasting relationships.
Why do efforts to fund and support women and girls still represent a small percentage of philanthropic giving?
And much more!
Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy: https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/institutes/womens-philanthropy-institute/index.html
Women and Girls Index: https://equitablegivinglab.org/WGI
Jeannie’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannie-infante-sager-4811495/
Connect with Lori Kranczer!
Website: https://www.linkphilanthropic.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorikranczer/
Episode Transcript
00:12
You're listening to the positive impact philanthropy podcast where we share the journeys of everyday philanthropists as they incorporate philanthropy into their lives. Philanthropy is a personal journey, and through the stories we will share here, we hope there sparks something in you and how you can make your own philanthropic impact in the world. I'm your host. Lori Kranczer, attorney, philanthropic advisor and legacy giving strategist. Together, we're going to explore what it looks like to be an everyday philanthropist and make a positive impact in the world. Before we get started, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so we never miss a new episode posted on Wednesdays. Now today, I'm really excited to have Jeannie Sagar. I have been connected with Jeannie for a while. You've probably seen her name out there if you do anything in philanthropy, and I'm so excited to have her joined today. She is the Director of Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Welcome Jeannie.
01:08
Thanks so much. Lori, it's so great to be with you today.
01:12
I am so excited for you to share your story with everyone today. So as we get started, why don't you share a little bit more about you and what you do?
01:21
Sure. Thanks again for having me today, and I'm really excited to be with your listeners. As you shared. I have the great privilege of leading the women's philanthropy Institute at the Lilly School of Philanthropy, which where we, what we do at the institute is conduct, curate and disseminate rigorous research around how women give, and we recently, some of our more recent research actually looks at how measures giving to women's and girls organizations. So while the bulk of our research looks at women as donors, we've been able to expand that and create a data point around the amount of charitable giving that goes to women's and girls organizations. And that's pretty exciting. So I come, what's interesting I think about my leadership, is that I come to the work not as an academic, but as a practitioner. So I've been fundraising and leading nonprofit organizations for the last 25 years or so, and was really drawn to certainly the work, the larger work of the school, as I'm a graduate of the program, but more importantly, was really excited about being able to do a deep dive into women in philanthropy in particular. And I think it's really important for your listeners and everyday philanthropists to really understand that gender matters in philanthropy as much as all the pieces of our identity do, and I think that what I didn't realize when I first came into this role was how I would evolve into really a disruptor of current philanthropic practices, and that disruption comes from being able to really look at the data and the research and re evaluate how we do our work, not only as as fundraisers and practitioners, but also as donors and philanthropists.
03:42
So this is really exciting. So I was going to first go into your background, but since you said disruptor, I love that word, and I want to talk about that first. So can you share a little bit more about how that evolved when you first started there, or how it evolved while you've been there, and what that looks like, what is that disruption?
04:02
So I've been, I feel like I was a classically trained fundraiser. And so really, you know, built a career based on what I learned were best practices, and how we ask for gifts, and how we strategize for gifts, how we create the plan. I always was taught by mentors, you have to, you know, if you don't, you know you need to work the plan, and that's and that's how you see success. And when I started to really delve into the research in particular around how women give, and then how that expanded into looking at how donors of color give. And so what we're really talking about are traditional communities who have not always, well, I'm not even going to say that so politely, have not been invited to the table in so many different rooms. And philanthropy being no different. And as a woman of color myself, who comes from an immigrant family and had a different- being a fundraiser. I always felt a little bit uncomfortable, in in that role, mostly because we know that a lot of the fundraising that we do comes from, well, has been built. Those infrastructures have been built mostly for a cisgender white male, and usually a white male who is in his his sixth that's who the infrastructure was built for, because that was, that was the who was considered the donor, who was giving, giving the gifts and then, but when you, when you, when you really look at the research, that's not true when you look at the data. In fact, we know that actually the average donor here in the United States is a 64 year old white woman. We also know that if we look at the data and just in terms of the demographics. If we are not paying attention to donors of color and donors from marginalized communities, then we're really leaving a lot of money on the table, but also we're not really evolving to to represent those we serve, and those who are are out there doing, doing the work, and who have that, who have the capacity to want to be generous, and who have always been philanthropic, but may not have ever seen themselves represented in philanthropy and in giving.
06:59
So Jeannie, how does that, has that then extend to how we work with our donors?
07:11
So I think we need to lean in more with our donors, into the, into. into their value system, because, because philanthropy is a representation of one's values and passions in a way that's different than maybe how you show up in other parts of your life. And so if we as fundraisers aren't comfortable leaning in with curiosity, being authentic about really helping our our donors connect, maybe even if it's beyond just our mission and real and really help guide them to be more intentional and strategic, so that, so that we can create more joy, because that's what we know. What we really do know about giving is that it, that it, that it increases life satisfaction, and so how do we do that in authentic ways and that, and that's by really trying to have deep, meaningful conversations that help guide our donors to to places and spaces where they can really feel like they can lean in with their generosity in meaningful ways.
8:25
And do you feel that? Because I have this experience, I'm curious, about you know, you have all the research that women like to give a little differently than men and more collaborative, really have their values aligned with their giving more so than their male counterparts. And so I don't want to make a generalization, but I feel like that is what I experienced. So what do you think?
09:05
Yeah, that is what the research shows. So a lot of our research can be categorized in three ways. Women give broadly. So again, they're drawn to this expanded definition of philanthropy. They kind of aren't, aren't ready, in many ways to say that they're philanthropists, because they connect philanthropy to money. But if you talk about all the ways one can be generous. They're much more likely to embrace race than. You know under we ask about you. Do you volunteer? Do you serve on a board? Do you advocate for a cause? Are you willing to open up your self social networks, and your social ties, you know, to a mission or something that's important to you so,women give broadly. Women give collectively. You’ve already mentioned that already, that women like to come together. They like to talk about their giving. They like to give together. They're inspired by each other. Again, they're curious. They want to know how other people are doing it and how maybe they can leverage giving together. And then lastly, women give holistically. So it really is about when asked, women will say that empathy drives their giving. So for men, it's more about self interest. Women can identify and put themselves in the shoes of someone who is homeless or someone who has food insecurity, they are able to do that in a way that is kind of a Mars Venus thing, that men are more drawn to. Let's just say they understand homelessness is an issue, but it becomes a bigger issue for them, or something that they would want to support philanthropically. When they understand homelessness as a community issue that makes sense, like, how it affects the economy? How does it better? They don't necessarily need to place themselves in the shoes to feel what it might be like to be homeless. Women are more readily able to do that. And then in terms of the holistic things, it's no surprise that women are drawn to organizations that alumni philosophical or political beliefs and share those values. And again, no surprise, women are more likely to support organizations that serve women and girls, and this idea of giving back and paying them forward.
11:44
Yeah, so that we just landed on something else I want to talk about. So, I know now you're doing a lot of research involving giving to women's and girls groups. Can you share more information about that?
11:55
Sure. So the biggest piece that has come out of that work is that we now have a number we've been getting a lot of questions about, well, what is it, you know, how, what, what percentage of charitable dollars in the United States goes to women's and girls serving organizations. The other big piece of that work, the women and girls index, which you can find online, is that we defined what a women and girls serving organization is, and so the headline is only less than 2%, 1.9% of charitable dollars in the United States goes to organizations that primarily serve women and girls. So that's really been this big call to action for so many of these organizations that are have been identified and included in the women and girls index to show that there is enormous room to grow in that space, especially when you consider that almost every sub sector of giving falls under or can be found in the women and girls index. So if you wanted to support women's health, climate change, education, arts, you would be able to find one of those sub sectors in the over 50,000 organizations that primarily serve women and girls. So it allows people who are interested in giving through a gender lens to do so and those organizations are out there, you know, screaming that number from the top of their lungs to help activate donors, to begin thinking about that intentionality.
13:39
Well, I was just thinking also like, how can we collectively help that area raise more funds so they're underfunded, but if they're not reaching the people that need to bring more people and to fund them, what could we do?
13:53
So I think it's just about awareness. Again, it's about that intentionality. So one of the things that happened out of the women and girls index was there was a bit of frustration from these organizations that over the last five years, this number hasn't moved. It has remained less than 2% since 2019 so last year, the women and girls index partnered with influential anchor partners to create the give to women and girls day, which lands on International Day of the Girl on October 11. And so what we were hoping for was to kind of capitalize on this notion that we know that women like to give together, so that whole giving collectively piece and create a day of giving focused on women and girls that would hopefully create a movement. We were really surprised to learn from our Giving Tuesday partners a couple years ago that there wasn't already a community that existed, a given community that existed focused on giving primarily to women and girls. And so we saw this as an opportunity to help spearhead that movement and gather other interested parties and certainly influential voices to help get that word out
15:10
Right. Can you share some of the other partners that you're working with?
15:12
So women, moving millions, Vital Voices, Pivotal ventures, the villanos group, impact 100 global is part of it. We even have the McGee women's Research Institute, which focuses on women research and women's healthcare. They signed on as an anchor partner. The UN Foundation is an anchor partner as well. So folks who are really able to be advocates for giving to women and girls in a different way that the women's philanthropy Institute, which is really based on, it really focuses on research and is part of Indiana University, isn't able to advocate for. So, you know, we like to say that within the women and girls and index, we're pretty cost agnostic, but to be able to activate these anchor partners, to share with their audiences and elevate the importance of giving to women and girls has been, has been really a wonderful way to live that our mission of curate, conduct and disseminate in a different way.
16:10
Fantastic. Okay, so we, we talked about your work, but I want to get back to you personally. That's the good stuff, right? So, um, so can you share how you said you had a career in development before transitioning to academia. So can you share a little bit like, how that, how you made that decision to move over? And then also, where did the inspiration come initially for you to get involved in philanthropy?
16:50
So I had a really unique opportunity back in 1995 that kind of circles back to the School of Philanthropy. So in 1995 I applied to be a Jane Addams fellow, which was at, which was part of the Center on Philanthropy which later became the School of Philanthropy at Indiana. And I kind of fell into it, like a lot of women my age who ended up in fundraising and development. It wasn't–we did not go to college thinking that we were going to be in fundraising. So I actually have my degree in international relations, which is how I was introduced to Jane Addams. So, this Jane Addams fellowship crossed my path, and I was early on in my fundraising career. And the fellowship was interesting because it was intentionally a deep dive into the study of philanthropy, and it was specifically for post baccalaureate students, so folks who weren't already enrolled in a master's program or or medical school or law school, it really was an opportunity to think deeply and differently about philanthropy through a liberal arts model. And the intention of the founder, Bob Payton, who, then, back then, was really the guru of philanthropy and he coined the definition that we use here at the school, which is volunteer action for the public good. And this, this fellowship was an opportunity to study with him, specifically and his goal for this fellowship was actually not to create people like me who would stay in the nonprofit sector, but what he wanted to do was pepper the world with Fortune 500 CEOs and physicians and attorneys and politicians with an understanding that the world's complex issues and complex problems could be solved and approached through the lens of philanthropy and how that affects, how that changes one's ability to really process, but also be a public teacher in a different way.
19:12
And so that was highly influential, as you can imagine. He was an amazing mentor. And that time together, there are 13 classes of Jane Addams fellows. And so that's quite a cohort as well to be part of. So I would say that we're half and half. Half of us are in C suites at Fortune 500 companies that work. There were physicians, were attorneys. We even have a Oscar winning documentarian among the group. And then half of us are in the academy or leading foundations or leading nonprofit organizations, but what we're doing are, it is really what we have is a shared moral imagination about the power of philanthropy and how It can not only place a different lens on how we view the world and approach issues and problems, but also really honor this long tradition of voluntary action for the public good, and it's what drew me. So I had this wonderful career where I got to do the work, right and work for amazing missions and visions and organizations and build things, either literal buildings and the campuses or, quite frankly, teams and organizations and campaigns. But what I what it's all rooted in, is this real respect. For this long standing tradition and history of civil society and folks coming together
21:14
around a common understanding of what a public good is. And what I love about the study of philanthropy is there's so much nuance in what voluntary action can be, and so much complexity in who gets to decide what is the public good. So I wake up every day just with all kind, of all the neurons firing because I, I have. I get to not only think deeply about the work, but more importantly, get to be–I have, I have a platform where I get to share my thoughts about the work and how I think, in particular, why that that work and why those ideas can help your work better or help you get mess that's, that's really, that's really, it's really just a privilege, and I'm just so grateful.
22:10
Yeah, that's really special, and I couldn't have planned this better, because we you led into talking about your legacy, and I wanted, now we're at the time in our interview that I ask you, what do you consider your legacy? Would you like it to look like?
22:24
One. I'd like to hope that we can move the needle on that less than 2% because we do have that data point, and we and that's a rallying cry. But more importantly, I want to activate more women donors. I want to activate and help women feel so confident about their giving and how they can use philanthropy as agency in ways that we have not, as women, been able to do before. Now, you know, if you think about the journey that women have had just in the last 100 years, it’s been less than 100 years since we've been able to set, you know, sign up for our own credit cards. It's been less than 100 years since women have been kind of on lead in terms of earning degrees in universities, all degrees, bachelor's, master's, doctorates, women are on lead now. We're more than 50% in all of those degrees, in earning. We are in the workforce in ways that we never have been before. And as we become more comfortable as wealth earners, and learn more about wealth and money. I think women are drawn, again to this values piece, and so I want women to really honor how they show up in the world as women, and certainly as women who identify as women, that we don't have to code switch to make a difference in this world, that we can show up in all of these spaces, leading with our values and really making, making a difference, making the difference that we want to make and see in the world and that is special, and that is exciting. And if I can inspire women to lean into that, to do more of that, and to just give more, then I will have felt, that I have kind of come full circle from my early days as a Jane Addams fellow, learning about how philanthropy can help solve complex issues while inspiring more women to give. And that's a that's a pretty nice full circle.
24:53
And I think you're doing it now. I mean, you're this is you're living it right now, which is incredible. So thanks for sharing that. So where can people find out more information about either you or the work that you're doing?
25:08
Sure, well, you can find me LinkedIn, that's probably the easiest place to find more information about me and the work, but also encourage anyone to look at the research that we're putting out at the Women's philanthropy institute that can be found at philanthropy.iupui.edu/wpi
25:36
Where you can find all of our research from from the full white paper to infographics that really help curate the finding and also provide session questions there for folks to think about more deeply and use the research in different ways. Also, I would encourage those who are interested in giving to women and girls to go to our women and girls index, which is WTI, the IUPUI. And also, we also have a give to women and girls day website that folks might be interested in.
26:09
Fantastic. And so you are definitely speaking to the right audience, because many of our listeners have you know, now for years, that we've been sharing stories of women that give and give broadly and collectively and with their values in so many different ways, and sharing many different organizations also that are supporting women and girls. So this is so special that you came on stage just like, wrap this up with the data and show us that we're doing the right thing here by promoting this area. So thank you so much. And thank you everyone for listening today. We hope that we provide some insights and inspiration that you can use for your own philanthropic journey. Thanks again, Jeannie. Thanks Lori.