Why One Philanthropist is Betting on Women to End War: Meet Cyn…

When Marcel and Cynda Collins Arsenault made the decision to give away 98% of their wealth, they weren’t satisfied with focusing on Colorado where they’d made their fortune. They wanted to change the world.

Their focus? Using money to create peace rather than conflict.

“Too often it [money] is used to create conflict,” says Cynda Collins Arsenault. “There is no win-win in war. Only lose-lose. What if we used our money to create peace? What could we change?”

The Arsenaults believe that a more peaceful and stable world is possible, with Cynda Collins Arsenault investing millions into the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, a little known, but powerful global policy.

WPS challenges traditional notions of security. Instead of thinking of security as a “tank or a gun,” or protecting a country’s national territory, women recognize that security is when people’s physical security and human rights are secure.

She is also a pioneer in trust-based philanthropy, which shifts away from the traditional culture in philanthropic giving of compliance and control, toward collaboration and grantmaking practices that recognize nonprofit leadership and expertise.

In this case, Collins Arsenault pushed for the expertise women bring to the table.

In 2016, she launched Our Secure Future: Women Make the Difference (OSF), as part of her philanthropic efforts. Collins Arsenault and Our Secure Future’s method to advancing women’s rights is summed up best by Buckminister Fuller: “Don’t fight the system, create a new model.”

In establishing Our Secure Future, Cynda Collins Arsenault pioneered a new model for impact that focuses on advancing women’s decision-making in the male-dominated arena of international security.

Our Secure Future, co-created and led by Vice President Sahana Dharmapuri, tirelessly works to advance women’s roles in decision-making and implement the WPS agenda in the US and abroad.

Our Secure Future uses policy advocacy and strategic partnerships to strengthen the capacity of government actors—policymakers and political and military officials—to include women and implement their recommendations on problems like climate change and tech-facilitated gender-based violence, for example.

Our Secure Future and Cynda Collins Arsenault’s efforts have contributed to major policy changes, including the establishment of the first bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Women, Peace and Security.

Cynda Collins Arsenault sees a future where the WPS agenda is fully integrated into global peace and security efforts. She believes lasting change can be achieved by promoting a top-down and bottom-up approach to women’s peace initiatives.

“We are in that transition stage, and it will not be quick. But we are laying the foundation. We are getting more information from people on the ground,” Cynda Collins Arsenault says.

Her work demonstrates the power of trust-based philanthropy in addressing global issues and the role of women’s leadership in creating sustainable solutions.

They say money talks, but in Cynda Collins Arsenault’s world, it listens, too.