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Celebrating Fearless Women in Philanthropy

Celebrating Fearless Women in Philanthropy
Author:
Carol Thompson Cole
Date:
March 07, 2019

Pictured above from left to right: Heather Moran, Ami Aronson, Jean Case and Carol Thompson Cole

This International Women’s Day, Venture Philanthropy Partners is celebrating the many smart, strong and visionary women in philanthropy that we are proud to partner with. These women leaders bring experience and insight about the needs of young people and the best ways to serve our community to create brighter futures for more youth in Greater Washington.

Women funders have played an important role in VPP’s history. As a philanthropic investment organization, VPP works to create transformative change in the lives of young people in our region. This type of change is only possible by constantly collaborating with and learning from others across the philanthropic, business and government sectors. As a philanthropic innovator, investor and pioneer in the world of interactive technologies, Jean Case is one of the leaders in our community that we look to for insights and lessons. VPP is proud to have both Jean and her husband Steve among our founding investors. VPP’s founding investors were committed to fulfilling a vision for transforming philanthropy, and Jean and Steve have stayed true to that commitment through their efforts at the Case Foundation.

In January, Jean released her new book, Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose. Since then, Be Fearless has been named a national bestseller and a must-read for 2019 by several sources, including Forbes.

VPP is delighted to see how Jean’s leadership through the Case Foundation and her insights in Be Fearless have inspired many to pursue their goals and create real change in the world. In partnership with other accomplished women leaders – Ami Aronson, Executive Director of the Bernstein Family Foundation – and Heather Moran, CEO and Executive Director of Sixth and I Synagogue, we celebrated Jean as an author, a member of the VPP family and a fearless leader at a reception and book talk moderated by NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell earlier this year.

At the Case Foundation, Jean has made monumental contributions to the field of philanthropy, especially in the areas of millennial engagement, entrepreneurship and impact investing. Now, with the release of her book Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthrough and Purpose, Jean is generously sharing the lessons and expertise from her work, so we can all benefit from understanding and applying principles and best practices to our own efforts to create sustainable change.

We are fortunate to have so many amazing women in our community who are fighting for social change. By investing in the leadership of these women – both in our organization and through investments in our nonprofit partners and networks – we are able to build a network of leaders who can build and execute the strategies that will serve and improve our region.

Carol Thompson Cole
Author
Carol Thompson Cole