Honoring Black History Month with Two Extraordinary Women
In honoring Black History Month, we wanted to share content from two inspirational and transformational African American women leaders, Birgit Smith Burton and Vanessa McDowell.
Birgit was the first African-American woman in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 61 year history to be voted board chair. She has a long list of accomplishments as a frontline fundraiser.
Vanessa was the impactful leader at YWCA Madison for nine years and recently took a new role as Chief Operating Officer at Black Girl Ventures (BGV).
Read more about these extraordinary fundraisers who broke through barriers to make a difference. You’ll find links to their stories below. And thank you to Mary Salisbury, AFP Greater Madison’s IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Officer for her suggestions and links!
Birgit Smith Burton has already accomplished quite a bit after founding AADO (African American Development Officers Network), raising over $500 million while at Georgia Tech, and contributing as a national and local speaker while writing multiple fundraising books. She has served on the AFP global board for over 10 years. Read more about her here.
A quick Google search reveals a number of Birgit’s interviews and articles. I particularly like this short interview titled “Why Representation Matters."
Vanessa McDowell-Atlas, former CEO at YWCA Madison, wrote a powerful piece about what it means to be a black woman and a nonprofit leader. She talks about the origin of the phrase “trust-based philanthropy” and the creation of “The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project” and how its foundations committed to “center equity, humility, and transparency. . .” She also speaks about a transformational gift by Mackenzie Scott to YWCA Madison and how it was a perfect example of trust in her as a leader and the YWCA Madison organization. More about Vanessa and her big move to BGV here.
Full article by Vanessa: The Power of Trust-Based Philanthropy for Black Women Leaders.
