Gerda Lerner's Legacy Will Live On

Gerda Lerner in her office in Madison, WI, in 2002.

Gerda Lerner, a longtime friend and colleague of Martha Taylor's, was a strong supporter of women and philanthropy from the time Martha first talked with her about the subject.  As the women's movement moved forward over the last thirty years, women from all walks of life have made it's progress possible and Gerda was the scholar who, as the New York Times said in her obituary published January 3, 2013, "...helped make the study of women and their lives a legitimate subject for historians and spearheaded the creation of the first graduate program in women's history in the United States," at the University of Wisconsin Madison.  She will be sadly missed but her legacy will live on as she has helped empower millions of women through her actions, her research, and her works.

I AM HERE: Barbara Arredondo

With Barbara at dinner the last evening.

Two weeks ago I was visiting my granddaughter in Monterrey, Mexico. Zinzi is in medical school there and I was thrilled to not only see her again, but to meet a fascinating young woman.

Barbara Arredondo is only 28 but her gifts are already incredible and I know for sure that her serenity and abilities will change the world.

Her hometown of Monterrey is Mexico's 3rd largest city and ranks as the world's 63rd wealthiest. However the drug cartels have moved in and created carnage in what was Latin America's safest city. Barbara decided that she needed to do something about this and in 2011, she created a peace conference that 6000 people attended, including the Dalai Lama and Zanier Salbi, founder of Women for Women International. She wanted to find the next Gandhi and Mother Teresa. I truly think that, in herself, she has found that person.

This year Barbara began a new series of programs called I AM HERE. The 4-month series features 10 unique women who share their messages to an audience of 300 women in Monterrey. The purpose is to create a heart shift of what women's role can be towards generating positive and long-lasting change in Mexico and to encourage their involvement and their philanthropy.

The first speakers in August were Abigail Disney and Kathy Lemay. In September, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Christina Berton and Marisa Fernandez. October's presenters were Lily Yeh, Patti Smith, and Lili Navarro. And at the closing session, November 29, she will have Zainab Salbi and The Color Purple author Alice Walker.

Today Barbara wrote and said they had lost a $20,000 sponsor for the November session and could I help? She thinks she can raise $10,000 through a concert but is still short $10,000. Please let me know if you can help. Outside of my family, I have never believed in anyone as much as I do in this young woman and I hope you will join me in helping to move her, move women's philanthropy, and move peace forward. Your financial gift will bring untold returns to you personally about the ways women can and will save the world.

Thank you,
Sondra

I AM HERE http://iamhereseries.com/en/

Women Give 2012: New Research About Women and Giving

New and exciting research about women and giving was released today by the Women's Philanthropy Institute.  The research focused on single Boomer and older women (I call us Prime Time).  The part of the research that is so mind boggling is that most women will outlive their spouses and thus this research shows how important it is to engage women now, as they are and will be the donors of the future. The entire report can be found at Women Give 2012.  Congratulations to the Center on Philanthropy and the Women's Philanthropy Institute.

Next Generation Family Philanthropy

At a recent Michigan Council of Foundations family foundation retreat, the participants of both genders were asked how they thought the next generation would give differently. Their answers were: 

• Stronger focus on the environment and global issues
• More liberal
• Use their hearts versus their minds
• Give more to women and children
• More personal in their giving
• Have an immediate sense of ownership
• Give closer to where they live
• Want their gifts to go to causes rather than just to those who ask them to give
• Give to help eliminate human trafficking. 

Based on this survey, there surely are some very clear differences in this generation's giving from their parents.  Global giving is a very big one and an area where women also are tending to give more. In fact, a number of the ways the next generation will give are those that have been pioneered by women such as using their hearts, be cause driven as opposed to who does the asking, giving to women and children, and being more personal in their giving. The next generation's giving reflects the fact that women's giving has and is leading the way in philanthropy.

Qualities Women and Men Bring to Family Philanthropy

I was fortunate recently to be a presenter at the Council of Michigan Foundation's Family Philanthropy retreat and was very interested in the results of a short questionnaire the attendees answered about what women and men bring to their families philanthropy.

According to those present, women bring these qualities to their family philanthropy:

• Empathy, the ability to multi-task, relationship building, openness, compassion, sympathy, empathy, momentum, first hand experience, a greater commitment to the family than men, personal passion, emotional connection, things that might be overlooked, good problem solving, hands on, collaboration, want to see results, deep commitment, front line philanthropy, willing to readily seek outside help, an ability to network, balance, and behind the scenes work.

Men bring the following qualities to their family philanthropy:

• More direct focus, math skills, egos, desire for documentation, financial management outlook, bottom line attitude, stability, networking ability, pragmatic approach to giving, strength, courage, risk, problem solving, impact, want the facts, historically were business owners and have a connection to others, can understand simple to complex situations, longevity, money, confidence, tradition, restraint, big picture.

In summary, we can say that most of the qualities each gender brings to philanthropy are absolutely necessary to the whole of the family's giving.  The results show that women are regarded as more driven by their heart in giving while men by their head.  But each is vitally important in understanding the different genders and the ways they give, as well as important to how all of philanthropy is conducted.

Storytelling: The Yellow Purse Story

In a one hour speech, people will remember a one minute story.  Here are some good ways to help them remember:

1.  Be brief but compelling

2.  Have the story character overcome a challenge: build in tension or conflict to keep her interest.

3.  Help her use her imagination by providing details.

4.  Help her think, "She's just like me."

5.  End with her wanting to support the cause.

The following Yellow Purse Story says and does it all.

Jill was the woman who was the catalyst behind the fledgling donor group and when it was her turn to speak she had a pedestal in front of her with a fairly large yellow purse setting on it.  Jill said, “I bought the purse last summer because I really wanted it – It was kind of expensive, I didn’t need it and, to be honest, I carried it for about a week before I realized it’s really too big, too heavy and doesn’t go with much.  Since then, it’s been on the shelf in my closet.”

She went on to say, “I keep it there for a reason.  To me it’s become a symbol of all I have – and all the things I have that I really don’t need.  It’s a symbol of the material possessions that I have purchased that I could really live without.  In fact, I bet we all have that purse, that pair of shoes, that coat or that piece of jewelry.

When I open my closet each day, I see the purse and I‘m reminded of the things I’ve spent money on and regretted later.  I’m also reminded that I’ve never regretted any money I have given to charity.  I know that each time I give, the charity is helping someone who needs something much more important than a big, heavy, yellow purse. That purse has real power.

She concluded by saying, “I ask you all today to change the power of the purse from the negative to the positive.  Let’s remember that we can be the most generous person we know with just what we have.”

New Research Comparing High Net Women and Men's Giving

The Center on Philanthropy released in December 2011 new research they conducted on high net worth women's philanthropy for Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.  For years Martha Taylor and I have been conducting qualitative research with thousands of women donors and listening to their stories, and are thrilled that this new quantitative research from the Center backs up and furthers our over twenty years of work.

For the study, high net worth was identified as household income greater than $200,000 a year and/or net worth (excluding primary residence) of at least $1,000,000

The study also included women from the Red Cross Tiffany Circle, a network of women leaders and philanthropists that give $10,000 or more annually to their local Red Cross.

There were a great many interesting results and those we found most meaningful to nonprofits and others seeking to appeal to women as donors were:

• Women want to know their gift will make a difference
• Women want to see the impact their gift makes
• Women want to volunteer and to become involved
• Giving circles provide a powerful new way for women to give
• Women have more confidence than men in nonprofits ability to solve domestic or global problems
• Couple giving is largely influenced by women
• Education receives the highest amount of women's giving
• Women are more strategic in their giving than men
• Women are more likely than men to stop giving to an organization
• Only 20% of women sought advice from financial advisors

Women's philanthropy is indeed a global movement and we thank those involved in bringing this new and important research to the attention of everyone who wants to engage more women donors and see the results of women's involvement in helping solve today's crucial issues.