Meet Linda Ketner: A trailblazer who fuels nonprofit passions

At a time when watching the news and reading the latest headlines across the state brings pause to many, Women’s History Month feels different this year. I grabbed lunch to discuss womanhood, LGBTQ rights and effecting change with Charleston leader Linda Ketner, who is no stranger to advocacy.

Coastal Community Foundation (CCF) is proud to provide support for women who want to make a difference in the region. Ketner was the first donor to give $1 million dollars to the foundation. Her belief in the possibilities of philanthropy is shown by her dedication as board chair to CCF in the early 1990s and how she recognized the impact her financial capital could have in the lives of many South Carolinians.

Although she fits the description of philanthropist, Ketner rejects the title, preferring a more precise label for her kind of work.

“I’m not a philanthropist,” Ketner said. “I am an activist-donor. At my core I am an activist, and once I reached a certain point in my life where I had enough to make change with funding, I was a donor.”

Since the 1980s, Ketner has used Coastal Community Foundation for her giving, ensuring the best possible legacy a donor can leave: one that extends their impact beyond their own lifetime.

Ketner, who made state history in 2008 as the first openly gay South Carolina nominee for Congress, is a renowned presence in charitable circles with four areas of deep personal and financial involvement: racial justice, homelessness and housing, LGBTQ+ issues, and activist education/politics.

Making a real difference

In 1998, Ketner approached five people who wanted to see a change in how members of the LGBT community were perceived and accepted in South Carolina. The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) was born in Charleston, leveraging her prior 18 years of experience as a business consultant to offer expertise on the strategic planning necessary for such an organization.

Ketner about the time she was running for Congress. File photo.

While Ketner’s perpetual endowment lies within CCF, her impact on South Carolina has been evident throughout her time here. Her philanthropic funds at Coastal Community Foundation and the College of Charleston (CofC) include the Ketner Emerging Leaders Scholarship, Ketner-Crunelle LGBTQ+ Endowed/Annual Scholarship, and the Septima Clark, Esau and Janie Jenkins Local Legends Scholarship at CofC. At CCF, she advises the Ketner Lowcountry Women’s Fund, which awards operational grants to organizations like the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN), YWCA and the College of Charleston Foundation where she also serves on the board of CofC’s Women and Gender Studies program. Ketner recognizes the importance of putting money behind operational costs.

“Nonprofits often have great missions and plans but are underfunded,” she explained. “It’s like a beautifully designed car with no gas.” Ketner’s contributions help charitable organizations reach their destinations.

Valuing diversity and trailblazers

Linda Ketner believes everyone’s personal experiences and backgrounds provide a rich context to set the course for the future. She explained that valuing diversity is illustrated by what happens in an orchestra. Every instrument has a unique voice, embouchure and technicality. While every instrument is beautiful on its own, once they work together – when the things that separate us are accounted for, understood and valued – something remarkable happens.

Women’s History Month is an important time to remember the women who trailblazed before us, to thank the women who fought for the liberties we have today, and to celebrate the future leaders.

Organizations like Coastal Community Foundation collaborate with donors and community nonprofits to enact positive change and cultivate the trailblazers of today and tomorrow, indefinitely, through endowed philanthropy, creating legacies like the one Ketner has undoubtedly solidified.