Celebrating Women Philanthropy

Meet anti-racist, writer and fund-raising innovator, and philanthropist Rachel Cargle

In three years, I have successfully raised more than $4,000 through my Desserts Fos Scholarships fundraiser that I do every year for my birthday. I am thrilled every?year when a few more people get involved and a few more dollars are raised. I have fantasized about building Desserts For Scholarships to be a provider of $100,000 a year in scholarship funding. It was just wishful thinking until I read about Rachel Cargle who for her birthday, crowd-raised $250,000 to pay for black women to access therapeutic services. It is impressive.

Akron born and raised, Cargle is an entrepreneur and a professional speaker and writer. One of the core programs offered by her company, the Loveland Group, is The Great Unlearn. A self-paced program, The Great Unlearn seeks to help people unlearn common misconceptions about race and the making of America. It is designed to help people heal. Healing seems to be at the core of everything Cargle does.

Having benefited greatly from accessing therapy to help with healing from her own life traumas, Cargle launched the Go Fund Me campaign in 2018 to pay for other black women to go to therapy. Knowing that therapy can cost as much as $250 per session and that the cost keeps most women from seeking the help they so desepartely need, she chose to raise money to cover those costs.

As noted earlier in this story, the response was overwhelming. It was proof that women, when called upon to help other women, will rise to the occasion. The 6,000 or so contributions of small and large gifts (the largest being $7,200) laid the financial foundation to form The Loveland Foundation in 2018.

Now five years old, the Foundation provides necessary funding and resources for black women to access vitally needed therapeutic services at no cost. According to the Foundation's most recent annual report, the Foundation has:

• Provided 10,000 black women, girls, and nonbinary individuals. One million dollars has been expended to cover those costs.
• Developed a network of 1,196 therapists to deliver services.
• Increased funding to increase each individual's access to therapy sessions from 8 per year to 12 per year. This service is offered at no cost to the participant and has no strings?attached.

Beyond the direct services provided to the women, the Foundation offers continuing education to therapists to ensure they are culturally informed and versed in the best treatment for Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). They are now working to build a pipeline of black therapists. A scholarship fund is being created to provide financial support. Other resources are being garnered to provide meaningful mentorships and internships.

I truly love the work Cargle and her Foundation are doing. I invite you to read more about the Loveland Foundation and Rachel Cargle. If you like what you see, give.

Reference: Detroit Mom September 2020, The Loveland Foundation 2021 Annual Report, Rachel Cargle