What Women’s Sports—and Philanthropy—Make Possible
Executive Principal Taryn Deaton reflects on the connection between WOMENS’ access to sports, philanthropy, and the development of women leaders
Taryn during her short-lived junior high basketball career
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend the Women’s Philanthropy Symposium in Chicago. Five hundred women—and a few men—gathered to talk about the role women play in philanthropy and the impact philanthropy can have on women and girls around the world.
I expected to leave thinking about giving strategies and trends. I didn’t expect to leave thinking about sports.
But one of the final panels focused on investing in women’s sports—and it really struck me.
Maybe it’s the timing. My Lady Longhorns (yes, I know they don’t call themselves that anymore, but old habits die hard) are headed to the Final Four this weekend. Maybe it’s watching the explosion of interest in women’s sports at every level over the last few years—from youth leagues to packed arenas and record-breaking viewership. Or maybe it’s more personal.
I had a very short-lived basketball career in junior high. I loved being on a team, the camaraderie, the coaches—but not quite enough to do all that running. By high school, I had found my place in journalism instead.
But sports never left my life.
I’ve seen their impact up close—in my young nieces, who have grown up playing softball, basketball, and volleyball. In my sister, who played varsity sports in high school and went on to coach. In my sister-in-law, a Division I athlete who also coached at the collegiate level.
Sports didn’t just fill their time. They shaped who they became. More confident. Stronger leaders. Better teammates, colleagues, and friends.
And they’re not alone.
Research shows that 80% of women executives at Fortune 500 companies played sports at some level. That doesn’t mean sports are the only path to leadership—but it’s a powerful signal. The playing field is often where confidence is built, resilience is tested, and leadership is first practiced.
So why does this matter to me—as a fundraising consultant?
Because none of this happens by accident.
Title IX opened doors. But it was philanthropy that helped walk girls and women through them.
It was organizations like the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs, Little League, school booster clubs, and PTA/PTO groups that built the early infrastructure—creating access, funding teams, supporting coaches, and making sure girls had a place to play.
It was donors and institutions who invested in collegiate athletics, helping elevate women’s sports to the national stage.
In other words: Philanthropy didn’t just support women’s sports. It helped build the conditions for women’s leadership.
These investments—alongside investments in education—have created a foundation that continues to pay dividends across generations.
To be honest, I didn’t expect to be writing about sports coming out of a philanthropy conference. But between the energy of March Madness and the excitement of my oldest niece recently making her high school varsity softball team as a freshman, I can’t stop thinking about what sports make possible.
And I find myself deeply grateful—for the nonprofits and philanthropists who had the foresight to invest early, long before the headlines, the TV deals, or the packed stadiums.
Their impact is everywhere:
You see it on the courts.
You see it in boardrooms.
You see it in the lives of women who show up every day with confidence, discipline, and a sense of possibility.
At a time when many protections and opportunities for women are being questioned or rolled back, women athletes are not just competing—they’re leading. They’re advocating. They’re setting new standards.
And philanthropy has a role to play in what comes next.
Now is not the time to pull back. It’s the time to double down—on access to sports, on education, on health and autonomy, and on the systems that allow women and girls to thrive.
Because the return on those investments is clear.
It looks like a young girl stepping onto a field for the first time.
It looks like a teenager making varsity—and realizing what she’s capable of.
It looks like a woman leading—in business, in community, in life.
And sometimes, it looks like a Final Four run. Hook ’em!