In 2009, Women’s eNews published a series of essays written by women philanthropists with deep pockets — all had given at least $1 million to help other women. The essayists offered insight on a topic that deserves discussion. As Helen LaKelly Hunt, founder of The Sister Fund, a private women’s fund dedicated to the social, political, economic, and spiritual empowerment of women and girls, wrote
Growing up, I had been taught that men should manage my money. In fact, “money” was a taboo word for women. It is ironic that although I’m from a family of wealth, for many years I felt a disconnect between myself and my net worth. Assuming responsibility for my money, however, brought its own challenges.
Philanthropy by and for women has increased dramatically in the past few decades. AAUW highlighted this fact in our 2009 annual report, and I focused my January blog for More.com on it too. “New Year, New Gifts” offers compelling statistics about the generosity of women and talks about AAUW’s wonderful tradition of giving.
Longtime AAUW member leader Alice Bartelt said, “It’s important to me that AAUW continues to be able to do what it is doing, especially for women and education. We need to make sure that women have the opportunity to go to school and that they stay in school. I truly believe that putting a lot of women’s voices together gets changes made.”
The Salzburg Global Seminar Group in Austria
I was primed to write about women and giving after my 2009 trip to Austria, where I had the pleasure of representing AAUW at the Salzburg Global Seminar. There I met leaders in philanthropy, individual donors, and investors. Our ultimate goal was to put women and girls at the heart of the world’s new economic and social development agenda. It’s a fabulous goal because we know that, when you help a woman, you help a family.
AAUW has been doing just that for decades, investing in women and girls locally, nationally, and globally. I want to hear your thoughts about the generosity of women, and let me know what you think about my previous MORE.com posts. Links to those articles are available on my More.com profile page.
