The Answering the Call Edition

Hello all,

As we gear up for the busy fall, we are excited to share the?McPherson Strategies Climate/UNGA week Event Tracker. For those who work in social impact, the third week of September is essentially our annual homecoming with conferences, symposiums, lunches, panels, dinners and yes, official business all taking place in New York City. In partnership with the?Apolitical Foundation?and?Soft Power Strategies, we are excited to host an Open House on September 22nd, with the goal to spark connections and offer festive fuel for the big week ahead. If you are in town and interested in joining us, please reach out.

Additionally, we're happy to unveil our updated and streamlined McPherson Memo (now in its fifth?year), which we're hopeful will?be more relevant to our community. We’d welcome your feedback and suggestions for what else we should be covering and amplifying.

As always, grateful for your readership, your support and your friendship,

Susan

ON OUR MINDS

Brought to you this week by Philadelphia(ish)-based Account Supervisor, Sheridan Earle, who is watching in horror and delight as her Monstera plants overtake her office space.

Famine Strikes Sudan

Famine has been officially declared in Sudan's Zanzam refugee camp, where conflict has driven half a million people to extreme hunger. The situation is exacerbated by limited humanitarian access, similar to recent famine conditions caused by conflict in Gaza. McPherson Strategies client, Alight, is actively providing relief aid in Sudan—donate to support their efforts at?wearealight.org.?

#TamponTim FTW?

Critics tried to drag vice presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz with the nickname "Tampon Tim" for his support supplying free menstrual products in Minnesota schools. The joke is on them—period poverty is a serious issue, and Walz is rightly praised for addressing it. In the U.S., 1 in 4 teens struggles to afford period products, making Walz’s initiative a crucial step forward. Instead of outdated jabs, maybe it’s time politicians get serious about ensuring every student, here and globally, has access to what they need—because period poverty isn’t funny, it’s a crisis.?

An Olympic Femininomenon

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked a major milestone for gender equality, with U.S. women athletes winning 67 medals—enough to place third if they were their own country. This record-breaking performance highlights the growing dominance and visibility of women in sports, despite ongoing challenges like gender-based harassment. As we celebrate, let’s keep the spotlight on these badass athletes—women were breaking barriers before the medals and will keep doing so long after.

ON OUR RADAR

Business:

• The Fed is being very demure on their plans to cut interest rates, but we already seem to have entered a “vibe-cession,” where the majority of Americans incorrectly think we’re in a recession.?
• Abortion restrictions cost the US economy $173 billion annually, according to a new report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Jen Stark, Co-Director of the Center for Business and Social Justice at BSR, a McPherson client, emphasized in a Welcome to the Jungle interview that abortion bans are more than a social issue—they’re a costly headache for businesses that disrupts operations and adds to the bottom line.

Philanthropy:

• MacKenzie Scott’s unrestricted, multi-million dollar gifts remain a mystery in terms of her grant-making process, but a few lucky grantees have shared insights and feedback they received, offering a glimpse that might help other hopeful nonprofits.
• The gender pay gap for CEOs at large nonprofits is widening, with female CEOs earning just 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make, down from 82 cents in 2012, according to Candid's 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report.

Media:

• Axios caught rightful flak for the way they announced layoffs of 10% of their staff, but they aren’t the only media platform cutting costs—a number of media and tech giants are scaling back citing concerns about a changing media landscape and the rise of A.I. as potential disruptors to the bottom line.?
• Norah O'Donnell stepping down from CBS Evening News and being replaced by two men is a step backward for gender diversity in media. CBS missed the chance to lead by example in an industry struggling to stay relevant says Katie Couric.?

IN OUR COMMUNITY

Shannon Watts: Mobilizing Women?

One post on X turned into the largest Zoom call in history, $12M raised, hundreds of thousands of voters mobilized, and a powerful movement uniting women behind Vice President Harris. Inspired by Jotaka Eady and the Win With Black Women call that literally broke Zoom, McPherson client Shannon Watts—founder of Moms Demand Action and summoner of women’s audacity—put out a rallying cry: "White Women Answer the Call." And they did. Now, with a weekly Women Wednesdays for Harris call fueling the momentum, Shannon is shining a spotlight on the power of the women’s voting bloc, and we’re proud to support Shannon on media appearances that help show how when women unite, they can change the course of history.?You can catch Shannon next week at the DNC.

Connecting With Susanna Pollack Meet Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change, a visionary leader using video games to tackle global challenges like climate change and education. In our latest CONNECTED interview, Susanna shares how her background in television and children’s media shaped her leadership style, focusing on cross-sector collaboration and intentional relationship-building. Discover how she’s driving inclusivity and meaningful connections within the gaming community. Sign up for the CONNECTED newsletter to catch her full interview and more insights from industry leaders. ?

Events and Jobs

The SXSW PanelPicker is open—cast your vote daily through August 18 to help bring our community's incredible panels to the main stage:

• The Antidote to a Divided America ft. Susan McPherson, Shannon Watts, Baratunde Thurston, and Tulaine Montgomery?
• Summoning Women's Audacity Online and Off ft. Shannon Watts, A’shanti Gholar, Gretchen Carlson, Olivia Julianna
• Co-Creating Joy: Art Uplifting Displaced Communities ft. Zohra Zori, Brandt Andersen, Joel Bergner, Ronald Rael
• Games for Change Game Night?ft. Leah Hirsch and Brendon Trombley
• Getting Closer: Social Entrepreneur & Funder Mixer ft. Molly O’Donnell and Maurice McCaulley
• Funding Youth Mental Health: A Cross-Sector Approach ft. Shruti Sehra, Shruti Sehra, Ashanti Branch and Kelsey Noonan

• McPherson Strategies is seeking to add two new members to our team, an Account Coordinator and a fall Social Impact Fellow!?

How can we help? Interested in working with McPherson Strategies? Reach out here.