Make Shift Happen
You’re invited.
We’re tackling the tough questions about how philanthropy must transform in service of gender, economic, and racial justice. Come explore with us what it means to work differently to support change as we try to lead with relationships, share power, and transform from the inside out.
We know firsthand how difficult this is. We’ve faced our own resistance, made countless mistakes, and continue to learn from movement leaders who generously challenge our assumptions.
Now, we’re embracing the vulnerability of honest reflection. Follow along with our ongoing series, Make Shift Happen–offering up stories, reflections, insights, lessons learned, and breakthroughs–as we work to transform philanthropy, starting with transforming ourselves.
Philanthropy: The Origin Story
When we reckon with philanthropy’s origins, we open up to connection and transformation.
I’m honored to share the first release of our Make Shift Happen conversation series. It features Tenesha Duncan Bose, now founder and CEO of Orchid Capital Collective and former program officer here at Tara Health, in conversation with Maria Nakae, Senior Director of Just Transition Investing at Justice Funders. They dig into how the origins of philanthropy are fundamentally at odds with what movements for justice need from foundations holding vast amounts of money.
Do Philanthropy Differently. Welcome to the Make Shift Happen Conversation Series
In passing the mic, have we passed the buck?
In decentering ourselves, we have avoided the responsibility we have to move the conversation—and therefore each other—in philanthropy.
Make Shift Happen: Coming October 2025
At the Tara Health Foundation, we believe that in order to realize a world where all people have full control over their bodies, lives, and futures, philanthropy has to shift the flow of power and resources.
We're not the first or the only people to believe this: our work to do philanthropy differently exists within a long lineage and thriving ecosystem of changemakers already modeling different ways forward.
Meet the Leaders Making Shift Happen
Coming October 2025, we’re looking forward to the release of our Make Shift Happen Conversation Series, where we’ve brought together leaders, innovators, and dreamers across the philanthropic and nonprofit sector who are doing the work of transforming philanthropy into a true force for gender, economic, and racial justice.
Shifting Power and Resources to Build the Democracy We’ve Never Had
In this crumbling present, how do we hold onto vision? How do we nurture hope and find joy? At Tara Health, we’re examining what we can do with our power, influence, and institutional resources. Again and again, this reflection has led me to confront an uncomfortable truth about philanthropic structures: despite our best intentions, we know that private foundations are deeply undemocratic spaces.
Visible, bold, together: Finding each other to build the world we want
In this moment of coordinated attacks on our movements, being visible about our commitments isn't just important—it's how we find each other and stand together. That's why we're making our commitments more visible than ever.
Beyond the Mirror: Testing our Internal Intentions Against External Perceptions
How aligned are our intentions with how others experience us? At Tara Health Foundation, we believe that building a just world requires philanthropy to transform how it operates—starting with ourselves. We partnered with the Center for Effective Philanthropy to gather candid feedback from our grantees, and the results revealed fascinating insights about trust, reporting structures, and the lasting value of human relationships in philanthropy.
In the Spaces Between: Moments of Change at Tara Health in 2024
We believe real change happens when we create room for authentic relationships - both the challenging parts, the beautiful ones, and all the spaces in between. In this Annual Update, we’re sharing our full reflection on 2024 - an honest look at what it means to transform from the inside out.
Transformative Philanthropy
In our latest blog post, our founder and president, Dr. Ruth Shaber, reflects on Tara Health’s early years — how we built mission-aligned portfolios, developed new tools for gender-lens investing, and leveraged every resource to create meaningful change.
A New Chapter for Tara Health
For years, our grantees, partners, and peers called on powerful institutions, like ours, to confront an uncomfortable truth: the money and power we hold and steward are often built upon the very unjust systems we seek to change.