Joan Marie Johnson has written a number of books including Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy and the Women’s Movement.
Employed by Northwestern University, Joan Marie Johnson is well-known for her non-fiction books about women’s activism. The latest, Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy and the Women’s Movement, examines how wealthy women from the 19th and 20th centuries wielded their money to further the rights of women. Johnson was a keynote speaker at a recent event in Milwaukee, during which the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee—an organization supporting women’s empowerment through events and grants—discussed the “Power of Philanthropy.” Off the Cuff talked with her about it.
How did you end up working with Milwaukee’s Women’s Fund?
Before my book was published, I reached out to several women’s foundations because I wanted them to understand the long history of the power of women’s philanthropy. Lisa Attonito, executive director of the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee, and Nancy Peterson, chair of the board, invited me to a gathering where I had a wonderful conversation with a group of women about our experiences and what drew us to feminism. Eventually, Lisa asked me to share the stories in my book at the Women’s Fund lunch.
After spending eight years in archives, reading old letters and documents, literally looking through dusty boxes, I really enjoy sharing what I found and discussing what the successes and the failures of women 100 years ago mean for us today. It is both inspiring to learn how change is made and challenging to do better they did—especially when it comes to working for rights for all women, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexuality.
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What does your book Funding Feminism impart about the role of philanthropy in activism?
My book demonstrates how women working to achieve the right to vote needed money to fund their efforts. It was not until some wealthy women gave large amounts of money that the leaders and organizations could wage an “education campaign” or a “publicity blitz” to get their message out and convince legislators to vote for the 19th Amendment. They paid rent for headquarters in New York, where they hired women to work full-time on publicity, and a headquarters in Washington, D.C., where another team worked full-time lobbying members of Congress.
In 1913, the entire annual budget for the National American Woman Suffrage Association was $38,000; the following year, Miriam Leslie died and left its president her entire estate, approximately $1.7 million. This kind of funding was transformational for the organization. Of course, it was also crucial to have millions of women across the country marching and organizing, as well as giving small donations.
Another example is Mary Elizabeth Garrett, who inherited an enormous fortune and offered $100,000 to Johns Hopkins University to open a medical school, but only if they would open it on equal terms to women. The president and board did not want to admit women and declared it would take half a million dollars to open to the school. Garrett organized a national effort to raise money and gave $350,000 herself. Hopkins eventually relented and opened the school to women.
Do you think philanthropy is still needed today in this context?
Yes, I would argue that the same is true today. We are all well aware of the power of money in politics. Philanthropy also funds the people and organizations working to advance gender equity. All of these efforts, from individual scholarships to pushes for structural changes, need funding. When we have resources, we can choose to fund organizations and politicians that promote equality and to ask questions about who is included.
Women need to do whatever they can, whether it is marching, volunteering or funding the movement with small and large donations. Studies are showing that women are still disproportionately funding women candidates for Congress, and women are also the biggest individual donors to groups that work towards gender equity. More women give, and women give larger amounts.
Today, feminists have to keep working on all fronts—for political, legal, reproductive and economic rights, against violence and poverty and for labor and environmental regulations—in order to achieve a more equal and just society for all.
