Shake the Table

Reposting as this is true more than ever. "The struggle for democracy and for gender, racial and economic justice is one fight.?It’s our fight. Authoritarians are counting on us to miss the connection—but once more of us make it, we will become unstoppable." Pamela Shifman https://lnkd.in/dv62HgxX

?? Spotlight on Research Excellence! ?? We are thrilled to highlight the remarkable work of visiting fellow Swatee Deepak, whose latest research delves into an ambitious and necessary goal: directing $6 billion to feminist movements by 2026. In this latest piece, Swatee explores the transformative power of feminist-led initiatives and the bold, strategic investments needed to sustain them. At the heart of this vision is an unwavering commitment to gender equality and a call to reimagine philanthropic funding for social justice. ?? What does it look like to mobilise funding? Discover actionable strategies for funders, advocates, and global leaders to accelerate progress towards gender equality. ?? Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dH29vgyZ #GenderEquality #FeministMovements #SocialImpact #Philanthropy #ResearchLeadership #ProximatePress

What a gift to come together as a team to continue dreaming and planning to move more money to global feminist movements. ? ? ? (and to be by the sea! ? ) Shake the Table will: 1. Continue our work with wealth-holders to build solidarity with movements and unlock resources for movements, particularly “next gen” philanthropists, wealth advisors, and women wealth-holders who want to strengthen democracy. 2. Aim to use what we learn through this work to “demystify” the wealth industry for our partners and movements, including via blog posts and informal sharing - watch out for more! 3. Continue building bridges through convenings and dialogues where we can have nuanced conversations about urgent challenges facing our sectors. Thank you to our long-time collaborator Anna Quinn, Bennett Midland for guiding us through our retreat. Pamela Shifman Swatee Deepak Tynesha McHarris @TheoSowa Katie Lau #FeministPhilanthropy #DreamTeam

Important read. Thank you TIME for this timely article and for shining a light on the importance of #FeministPhilanthropy. Insights from our report with The Bridgespan Group and from our friends at Gender Funders CoLab and Ford Foundation https://lnkd.in/eCbGGhEv

What Would It Look Like to Direct $6 Billion to Feminist Movements by 2026? Shake the Table's Swatee Deepak shares her views with Proximate https://lnkd.in/dH29vgyZ. Read Shake the Table's report: Lighting the Way - A Report for Philanthropy on the Power and Promise of Feminist Movements https://lnkd.in/dAcM7pp6

So much useful insight and info in such a short article! Check it out if you want to catch yourself up on feminist philanthropy. It includes links to go further into analysis and reports from the ever on point Swatee Deepak on what's actually happening and how and why we got here. I hadn't seen the report produced by Shake the Table for Gender Funders CoLab - only skimmed the first few pages and already feel more knowledgeable about the trends. Well worth a look. Thanks for the heads up John Hecklinger.

I’m grateful to Ms. Magazine for the chance to share my reflections on the connection between democracy and racial and gender justice. I feel so lucky to have worked in South Africa in the 1990s, where the brilliant activists I worked for made it plain—for everyone—that democracy could never exist without ending white supremacy and misogyny, and without women and girls’ rights being realized. Today, we desperately need more of that political clarity all around the world. The struggle for #democracy and for gender, racial and economic justice is one fight. It’s our fight. Authoritarians everywhere are counting on us to miss the connection. Because once more of us do, we will become unstoppable. https://lnkd.in/ehjYMjxu

“Gender is the canary in the coalmine.” As Lisa VeneKlasen brilliantly outlines in her new research, “Coordinated attacks on gender rights and activists are part of a larger authoritarian agenda that includes the targeting of ethnic and racial minorities, immigrants, environmentalists and more.” This isn’t a side tactic or wedge issue, it’s central to the authoritarian political project and their playbook to win. What if many more progressive donors made the connection between gender backlash and threats to #democracy? We could come together to fuel the movements for gender, racial, and economic justice that are the antidote to authoritarianism all over the world. Check out Lisa’s summary blog post: https://lnkd.in/eMYwbBmS And read the full working paper: https://lnkd.in/eqhVW7HE

Happy 90th Birthday, Gloria Steinem! I first met Gloria in 1997 when I volunteered to pick her up at the Cape Town airport. At the time, I was working as a legal advisor to the ANC Parliamentary Women's Caucus in the first democratically elected parliament. The only problem? The Toyota I was driving was so old that a cloud of smoke trailed my car. Even worse, the door handle on Gloria’s side didn’t work. As I met an icon, I explained she would need to hold her own door shut. Gloria didn’t miss a beat. As we barreled out of the airport, she turned to me and said: “I’m here to help. Where can you put me to work?” – An interviewer once asked Gloria when she would be ready to pass the torch. Her reply: “I'm keeping my torch, thank you very much. And I'm using it to light the torches of others…together, we create so much more light.” Thank you, Gloria, for lighting my torch and so many others. We’ve got much more work together ahead. But millions of torches are lighting our way. https://lnkd.in/eD-P4kdC

It was great to join the brilliant Melissa Murray and Alexis McGill Johnson for a conversation about the inextricable link between gender justice and democracy. Thanks to 92nd Street Y for hosting and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf for leading exactly the kind of conversation we should be having in this moment. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/efAcjbfu Authoritarians have always understood the connections between bodily autonomy, power, and democracy—and we must too. The attacks we are witnessing on women, on trans communities, and on people of color all draw from the same authoritarian playbook. They are attacks on democracy, and we can and must stand together and fight back head on. But we can do even more than meet the threats. We can win. In November 2024, half the world—some 4 billion people—will live in a country with a nationwide vote. We’ve yet to see a truly multiracial, feminist, inclusive democracy anywhere on the globe, but it is now ours to imagine, to demand, and to finally make real.