Crystal Hayling found her way into philanthropy in an old-school way: by answering a classified ad in the Los Angeles Times. The new Los Angeles Women’s Foundation was seeking its first program staffer, and Hayling, a recent college grad, got the job.
This was in the early years of the women’s funding movement, which was trying to bring women together across race and class to advance gender justice in their communities. Women’s funds aimed to challenge the philanthropy field and make it better and more relevant to more people.