Institutionalizing Women's Philanthropy: Creating a Critical Mass

Lesley Stahl
WOWOWOW

More and more websites are dedicated to women and women's issues such as It's All About Women and WOWOWOW started by such luminary names as Lesley Stahl, Jean Chatzky, Liz Smith, Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin and Marlo Thomas.  Both sites are very interesting and provide a great deal of information ranging from money to relationships.  However, neither prominently mentions women's philanthropy.  In fact, WOWOWOW has a heading called "Sheconomics" which has five subcategories: earn, grow, invest, save, and spend.  Nothing about give.

I thought about this and decided to write the two sites and strongly suggest they add the category of philanthropy.  In our new book, Women and Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World, Debra Mesch and Andrea Pactor from the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, suggest that in order for women's philanthropy to become institutionalized, a critical mass needs to be formed.  What better advocates for creating a critical mass of women philanthropists and all that would mean, than websites devoted to women?  I applaud both sites in that other than the ads, they do not focus on fashion and makeup.  But wouldn't it be nice if they advocated an outcome of women's issues?  An outcome that will change the world because of the different ways women give.

As a sample of what to say, here is a modified version of what I wrote: 

I very much enjoy your website and glad to see it devoted solely to topics of interest to women.  And in that vein, I hope that you will add philanthropy as one of your topics.  Women's philanthropy is a leading topic of the day as women control more money, earn more money, give away more money, and influence couple giving.   

Based on research from the Women's Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, women's philanthropy is quite different from men's and women's way of giving is becoming the norm in philanthropy, as women set out to create a better world.  

Your support of women’s philanthropy is crucial as a major factor in women’s lives and that of people all over the world.  Please help create a critical mass of women as philanthropists and institutionalize women's philanthropy, by recognizing it as a separate and very important topic for your website.

PS
On my August 23 blog, I wrote about Bolder Giving receiving $650,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Anne Ellinger from Bolder Giving informs me that there is more to the story: in order to receive the money, Bolder Giving must match the grant by raising $200,000 annually in a three year challenge.  Anne said she wanted people to know that as wonderful as the support is, they still need your contributions.

Congratulations Ellen Remmer

I recently wrote about the launch of a women’s foundation in Dublin, Ireland and had no idea that Ellen Remmer, a friend and champion of women’s philanthropy, was a speaker until seeing a report in a Dublin newspaper article  about the meeting and Ellen’s presence.

Along with the president of Ireland, Mary McAleese who also spoke, who could be a better advocate for women’s philanthropy and women’s issues than Ellen. She is the president and CEO of The Philanthropy Institute (TPI) in Boston and active in her family’s foundation that supports helping disadvantaged girls take charge of their lives. 

Ellen has always been a strong supporter of women and philanthropy and has advanced it in her own competent and confident way; both quietly and effectively. She also serves on the Council of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

In an interview conducted while Ellen was in Dublin, she said that regardless of which charities or causes one supports, she is adamant that it’s not just those with money who can make a difference.

‘‘Money is a powerful tool and gives you a place at the table and allows you the flexibility to do things, but the thing I have learned is that it is about deciding you are empowered to be able to change things.

‘It is just easier if you have money, but in fact, we all can play that role. Money is just a tool, but just giving money without the rest of the package is not going to be very powerful.

‘That’s part of what strategic philanthropy is - you are getting smarter and smarter about an issue, you know the right people to bring into it and that’s how you get the leverage."

You can read more about Ellen on her blog.