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Investing in our Future: Empowering Women and Girls of Color

Episode 2, Season 2 | Featuring Ada Williams Prince


In this episode, we are joined by Ada Williams Prince, an established thought leader at the intersection of philanthropy, equity, and global economic development. A creative leader at the cutting edge of global and domestic philanthropy. Ada has worked for two decades to advance the power and influence of women and girls of color around the world, She has conceived groundbreaking disruptions to philanthropic norms and scalable models to transform the field along the way.  She was the Director of Program Strategy at Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda French Gates. Prior to that, she held roles at many organizations for change, such as the Marguerite Casey Foundation, OneAmerica, the Women’s Refugee Commission, the International Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims, and the US Aid Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, to name a few.

By championing the formation of the first ‘Women and Girls of Color Design Council’ within a premium philanthropic and venture organization, she has envisioned a future in philanthropy and investment built around silo-busting investment strategies and fundamental trust in women and girls at the intersection of gender, race/ethnicity and economics. Ada is leading a growing community of funders committed to transforming capital and decision making.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Why an investment in women and girls of color is an investment in everyone
  • The value of funders respecting and trusting the expertise of community members to design solutions for their own lives
  • How longer-term grants allow nonprofits to ensure continuity in their impact and build trust in philanthropy

ABOUT FOUNDATION SOURCE

Foundation Source is the leading provider of philanthropic software and services. A pioneer in philanthropic technology, Foundation Source is the partner of choice for integrated, enterprise-grade solutions spanning private foundations, donor-advised funds and planned giving programs. Its flexible suite of tools and resources include end-to-end administrative support for the most popular charitable vehicles, specialized compliance, tax, development and consulting capabilities, and deep domain expertise to help maximize impact, mitigate risk, and improve efficiency for all parts of the philanthropic ecosystem. Foundation Source works with donors, nonprofits, wealth advisors and financial institutions to launch, enhance or augment charitable initiatives with turnkey, white-label and outsourced offerings that meet a wide range of philanthropic objectives quickly, professionally, and compliantly.

As of December 31, 2025, Foundation Source supports more than 5,600 private foundations, 20,000 DAF accounts, and 1,700 nonprofits, administers more than $55 billion in charitable assets and facilitate more than 190,000 grants and planned gifts representing more than $4 billion in charitable aid annually.

Back to Be Giving - Season 2