Episode Summary: Rethinking Philanthropy: Women Shaping Global Giving

Nonprofit Leadership Podcast with Dr. Rob Harter

Guest: Suzanne Ehlers, Executive Director & CEO, USA for UNHCR
Release Date: February 23, 2026

1. Episode Overview

This episode explores the pivotal role women play in shaping global philanthropy, focusing on both their increasing influence over wealth and their underrepresentation in traditional nonprofit models—especially as donors, decision-makers, and beneficiaries. Dr. Rob Harter speaks with Suzanne Ehlers about her innovative, women-led “Building Better Futures” campaign. The conversation delves into disrupting conventional philanthropy, empowering women as both funders and beneficiaries, and directly supporting refugee women and girls’ education through the UNHCR’s signature scholarship program.

2. Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Shift in Philanthropy: Women’s Growing Influence

• Women now control 85% of philanthropic decisions and are set to inherit 70% of global wealth ([00:57], [07:00])
  • Despite this, traditional fundraising systems have not centered women as key decision-makers or primary beneficiaries.
• Suzanne highlights that responses to this reality require more than tokenistic shifts—they demand reimagined fundraising and engagement frameworks.

The “Building Better Futures” Campaign

• $15 million women-led campaign, already seeded with $3.1 million ([03:20], [07:10])
  • Designed for women donors to direct funds, make key decisions, and impact priorities.
  • Focus: Scholarships and education access for refugee women and girls, with donor voices shaping the program “from soup to nuts” ([07:30]).
• Women’s advisory committee was formed to authentically involve donors in setting direction and measurable outcomes ([07:34]).

Reimagining Fundraising: Relationship & Shared Purpose

• Suzanne’s approach intentionally shifts from transactional giving to relationship-driven philanthropy:
  “It begins and ends with relationship... We want donors involved with the people they impact, creating shared purpose.” ([10:25])
• Shared purpose among donors, organization, and beneficiaries keeps work meaningful and durable.

Authentic Impact: Metrics and Storytelling

• Measurement and ongoing involvement:
  • Four-year university scholarships are tracked from entry to post-graduation community impact ([12:46]).
  • Ongoing data collection includes advocacy, career advancement, and reinvestment in home communities.
• Suzanne references meeting alumni and seeing network effects already in action within months, emphasizing women “seeing the way their lives are progressing, hear about the advances they’re making…” ([12:46]).

Legacy, Leverage, and the DAFI Scholarship

• The “Building Better Futures” campaign deliberately builds on the DAFI Scholarship (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative)—the world’s largest, longest-running program for refugee higher education ([15:28], [16:27]).
• Rather than “reinventing the wheel,” the campaign injects new energy to reverse recent declines in student numbers due to funding cuts (from 9,300 to 7,800) ([19:14]).
• “We could fund tens of thousands of these scholarships at the annual level if resources were available... The only thing that is holding us back is lack of resource and lack of charitable giving, philanthropic investment in education.” ([20:01])

Closing the Gender Gap in Refugee Education

• Only 7 refugee girls are enrolled in secondary school for every 10 boys ([22:59]).
• Barriers include culture, economics, family decisions, and safety. The campaign specifically targets these inequalities, providing funds and support structures to boost female enrollment.
  • “Our particular campaign... is trying to sort of balance it out... Our women donors really wanted to know they were making a demonstrable impact on girls’ representation.” ([22:59])

The Art of Storytelling—By and For Women

• Authenticity is crucial: “You have to have authentic voices. You have to have stories told by refugee women themselves who have been through the experience and can say, ‘I’m living proof that this kind of experience changed my life.’” ([25:24])
• Notable story: Monica from South Sudan, now at University of Nairobi after fleeing conflict—"By empowering us through education, we can break the cycle of hardship and create a better future." ([26:54])
• Storytelling is approached as relationship and empowerment, not mere persuasion.

Flexibility in Program Implementation

• Access modalities: Scholarships support in-country, local, and virtual learning, adapting to legal, cultural, and economic barriers ([28:26]).
• Flexibility is essential, given refugees’ circumstances and the unpredictable global context.
  • “If we’re not adaptable and flexible, we lose steam… I want my donors to trust that we are doing the right thing to get to the same end point in terms of impact and purpose.” ([32:15])

Vision and Sector-Wide Influence

• Suzanne’s fundraising philosophy: "The table is big enough"—move away from a scarcity mindset to collaborative, replicable models ([36:18]).
• Encourages other organizations to borrow and deploy similar relational, women-empowered approaches: “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. If this model delivers meaning and metrics, copy away… disrupt philanthropic models that are around transaction, and turn them into models around relationship and long-term outcomes.” ([36:18])

3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Disrupting the Philanthropic Model:
  • “If everything begins and ends with relationship… that is a disruption to a more transactional approach to philanthropy.”
    —Suzanne Ehlers ([10:25])
• On Shared Purpose:
  • “Our sense of shared purpose, frankly, is pretty much the same. We want to see communities thrive, we want to see households grow healthy… And we know that happens with an educated workforce.”
    —Suzanne ([10:25])
• On Measuring Impact:
  • “The effectiveness of this is almost hard to quantify…ongoing involvement feels to me like also kind of a backbone principle.”
    —Suzanne ([12:46])
• On Legacy and Scaling:
  • “We could fund tens of thousands of these scholarships… The only thing that is holding us back is lack of resource and lack of charitable giving.”
    —Suzanne ([20:01])
• On Storytelling:
  • “You have to have stories told by refugee women themselves who have been through the experience… there is no substitute for it in terms of impact and the inspiration it can provide.”
    —Suzanne ([25:24])
  • “By empowering us through education, we can break the cycle of hardship and create a better future.”
    —Monica, DAFI Scholar ([26:54])
• On Flexibility:
  • “Flexibility has to be the name of the game… If we’re not adaptable and flexible, we lose steam.”
    —Suzanne ([32:15])
• On Generational Impact:
  • “Giving back brings so many gifts and so much gratification… it simply fuels itself across generations. That’s what we should be working toward.”
    —Suzanne ([36:18])

4. Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:57-04:22 | Episode framing and key statistics on women & philanthropy | | 04:25-05:42 | Suzanne’s background and path to social impact work | | 07:10-10:00 | Building Better Futures campaign, rationale, and donor involvement | | 10:25-12:27 | Disrupting traditional philanthropy: relationship & shared purpose | | 12:46-15:28 | Measuring impact and success; ongoing involvement | | 15:28-16:27 | Legacy of DAFI scholarships | | 16:27-19:14 | Why not reinvent the wheel: leveraging DAFI’s legacy | | 19:14-21:41 | Responding to funding crisis and measuring results | | 22:59-24:49 | Addressing gender gap in refugee education | | 25:24-27:40 | Storytelling by/for women and its strategic importance | | 28:26-35:21 | Flexibility in education access and program delivery | | 35:21-36:18 | Sector trends: women’s growing influence & future of philanthropy | | 36:18-38:21 | Vision for replicability and wider adoption | | 38:21-39:42 | How to connect with Suzanne and Building Better Futures |

5. Resources & How to Learn More

• USA for UNHCR’s Work and Campaigns: unrefugees.org ([38:30])
• Connect with Suzanne Ehlers: LinkedIn: Suzanne Ehlers ([38:30])
• Suzanne’s podcast and further content: See show notes for links

6. Key Takeaways for Listeners

• The future of philanthropy is increasingly women-driven, in both decision making and giving patterns.
• Transformational results come from centering relationships, authentic voices, and a shared sense of purpose.
• Innovative campaigns can—and should—be models for others, moving from transactional to participatory, relational giving.
• Flexibility, creativity, and nimbleness are essential for impactful nonprofit leadership, especially when addressing dynamic, global challenges.
• Storytelling by real beneficiaries changes hearts and sustains engagement, making impact tangible and motivating ongoing support.

Looking for further details, data, or personal accounts from Building Better Futures? Check unrefugees.org or the episode notes for more stories, resources, and ways to get involved.