Innovation isn’t just for tech and finance bros. Women in the social sector are building the systems driving society forward – housing, food security, mental health, and economic resilience.
 
Women aren’t just participating in the social sector—they’re shaping it. From nonprofit boards to corporate community investment portfolios, women are influencing how decisions are made, how funding flows, and how systems evolve.
 
Nearly 80% of Canada’s social profit workforce is made up of women, yet leadership roles and funding remain disproportionately out of reach. While women consistently lead with vision, resilience, and deep community insight, their leadership is too often undervalued—seen as caretaking rather than changemaking.
 
And yes, many women leaders can stretch a $25,000 grant into something that sustains impact. But should they have to? We don’t solve homelessness, food insecurity, or mental health crises by rewarding scarcity. We do it by investing in the right people, with the right strategies, to drive scalable solutions.
 
At Bespoke, we are engaging with enterprising women who bring not just passion, but strategy—leaders with a clear vision, an evolving business model, and a sharp understanding of the gaps in our systems. These are not simply program managers. They are social architects.
 
Let’s move past the idea that women are just better at doing more with less. Let’s recognize and fund them for what they really are: builders of a more equitable, sustainable future.

The GeShiDo Model: Funding Systems, Not Symptoms

Unlike traditional philanthropy that’s rigid, top-down, and obsessed with metrics, adaptive philanthropy is responsive, collaborative, and grounded in trust. It funds outcomes, not optics. It places decision-making power in the hands of those closest to the problem.

The Get Shit Done Foundation (GeShiDo), founded by Gena Rotstein, is a case study in this model. Rather than creating more programs, GeShiDo is building a philanthropic infrastructure that mirrors the capital economy – only this time, it’s engineered to move one million people from crisis to stability by 2030.

“We’re not here to fund more reports,” Rotstein says. “We’re here to solve problems at scale.”

GeShiDo pools donor funds and allocates them to vetted cohorts addressing housing, addiction, and food insecurity. But they don’t fund symptoms – they fund solutions. “We look at the problem, not the symptoms. And we fund people working at the infrastructure level to remove the root causes.”

This means unrestricted, multi-year funding and giving frontline leaders the freedom to do what works and the stability to build systems that last.

This is adaptive philanthropy in action. “We’re not dictating outcomes from a boardroom; we’re co-creating them with the people closest to the problem,” Rotstein explains. “That’s how you get systemic change and not just service delivery.” 

This is what female leadership in philanthropy looks like when it’s unbound by convention. Rotstein isn’t tinkering at the edges – she’s flipping the script. By handing decision-making power to the people closest to the issues, GeShiDo rewrites the rules of engagement, placing trust in experience over titles, and lived expertise over theoretical frameworks.

It’s a model built on deep collaboration, not performative partnership. Where traditional philanthropy often rewards optics and outcomes that can be packaged neatly for reports, Rotstein is investing in messy, real-time problem-solving. It’s a distinctly entrepreneurial approach – grounded in bold experimentation, shared risk, and the belief that women aren’t just caretakers of capital, but catalysts for systems change.

Women Leading Systemic Change

Adaptive philanthropy is a powerful lever for systemic change, but it’s just one example of how women are rewriting the rules. Across Canada, social profit leaders are taking bold action to transform broken systems through enterprise, advocacy, and on-the-ground innovation. The following women represent a broader movement of hidden entrepreneurs driving change from within their communities.

Karen Ramchuk, CEO of Women in Need Society (WINS), is advancing economic resilience through a social enterprise model that empowers women to build independence. By integrating retail operations with community services, WINS reinvests in programs that support housing, employment, and mental wellness, offering a holistic model of stability rooted in dignity.

Meaghon Reid, Executive Director of Vibrant Communities Calgary,is stepping into a new chapter next month as the inaugural Executive Director of Converge Mental Health Coalition, a national organization driving systems change in mental health. Known for her cross-sector leadership and policy expertise, Meaghon has an upstream, equity-driven lens that shaped her tenure at Vibrant Communities Calgary, where she led initiatives advancing economic equity, poverty reduction, and housing security through community-informed policy work. At Converge, she’ll continue to champion bold collaboration and integrated solutions—this time focused on transforming mental health systems across Canada.

Sara Austin, Founder & CEO of Children First Canada, is amplifying the rights of Canada’s youngest citizens through bold advocacy and data-driven policy engagement. By treating child wellbeing as a national imperative, she’s building systems that prioritize future generations, uplifting women by supporting the children they disproportionately raise and care for.

Systemic change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The women leading it know that even the most transformative ideas need the right conditions to take root. Beyond visionary leadership, it takes coordinated effort, long-term thinking, and access to funding models that match the scale of the work.

What Now? Fund Differently

“We’re not saying don’t fund–we’re saying fund differently. We’re not saying philanthropy sucks–we’re saying let’s leverage it. We’re not saying profit is bad–we’re saying let’s use every tool we’ve got,” says Rotstein.

If we want innovation that actually serves society, we need to back the women who are already leading it. That means investing in infrastructure, not just outcomes. Funding long-term vision, not short-term projects. And giving women-led organizations the trust, flexibility, and resources to build what’s next.

The GeShiDo Foundation is already doing it. Their latest round closes in June. The real question is: how much further could we go if we invested in bold ideas and the women leading them?

Bespoke Consulting

Bespoke Consulting