Archive for the ‘Philanthropy’ Category
Last night I walked past the windows of the GAP. Each window was marked as a different decade dating back to the1890s and labeled with a tag for a group of women from that decade and their look – think: Flapper, Gibson Girl, etc. Along with these windows and tags, signs indicated this campaign was attached to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Indeed, the GAP joins Conde Nast to sponsor the current exhibit at the Met, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity.” The exhibit draws from the Brooklyn Museum collection of costumes and fashion. “The exhibition reveals how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation” through an extensive display of costumes and clothes.
Corporations sponsoring art that has something to do with their product? Not so innovative, you say. What about then running an online auction of unique…
We just had to share this fantastic donor appeal letter by Andrew Marx, the communications director for Partners in Health, which has been working on the ground in Haiti for the more than 20 years (and is also a Fenton client).
The letter is textbook when it comes to connecting with women. Two reasons:
1. It highlights the positive. When you’re dealing with devastation of this scale, it can be difficult to talk about anything other than NEED. But the emotional core of Andrew’s letter – and why it compels you to cut that check – is when he describes how PIH’s partner, Zanmi Lasante, swiftly takes command of the situation – a powerful value for women:
Within 45 minutes, they had erected a large tent, filled most of it with tables and chairs for 20 consulting stations, created and stocked a small pharmacy and lab, and established…
Lisa Belkin writes in the August 23rd New York Times Magazine about the Power of the Purse.
She notes that philanthropy among women isn’t new and that it is growing. More women are controlling more wealth than ever before and of those in the wealthiest tier of the country, 43% are women.
Belkin notes that women are giving differently than men and how they have given in the past. They are more likely to use their wealth to to social change work – direct and systematic impact.
What’s inspiring about the piece is that in these tough economic times efforts like Women Moving Millions are exceeding funding raising goals (original goal was $150 million and they have exceed their goal by $30 million.)
Highlights on how women and men differ in giving include:
1. Women are less likely to want their name on things and more likely…
Why Women Want More Donor Recognition and How Online Games Can Be Good for Your NGO’s Fundraising
Forbes.com just released a column by Betsy Brill about how women are taking the lead in philanthropy.
Ms. Brill writes that a Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund survey found that women donors were more likely to be public about their gifts than their male counterparts.
Is it because women need their horns tooted more than men? Most likely not. She notes that women probably want to share to inspire others and “imbue a philanthropic spirit.”
We write in The She Spot that women are twice as likely to pass on information than men and that women like to share things with their communities. They may see announcing their gift as a call to action to friends. If NGOs can help tastefully assist these gift announcements they may see a multiplier effect with the initial gift.
She also noted the importance for women to have their children continue their philanthropic…
Women make more of the charitable decision making at home (Source: http://bit.ly/OP2t8) and wealthy women give away nearly twice as much as of their wealth as their male counterparts (Source: http://bit.ly/hSZNL). For the non-profit sector these women are a must get.
In a new post today on Media Post’s Engage Mom blog Tiffany Jonas suggest that affluent women expect more online. According to Jonas wealth women are turned off by Web sites that are sloppy and disorganized. She suggest design with a clean “high-end” design. She sites Vera Wangs Web site as a good “art level” example.
Not all NGOs want or can afford “high art” but they can take Jonas’ advice and make beautiful, yet functional sites. Chen and I argue in the She Spot that women, in particular, are looking for Web sites that reflect real people and excude authenticity. Here are some good…
Philanthropic Support for Women, Girls Increasing, Report Finds
June 23, 2009
Foundation giving specifically meant to benefit women and girls has surpassed the rate of overall foundation giving in recent years, which has helped the funds become more influential within philanthropy, a new report from the Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network.
Funded in part by the Wallace Foundation, the report, Accelerat ing Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women’s Funds, found that between 1990 and 2006 the nation’s private and community foundations increased their giving for activities targeting women and girls by 223 percent — from an estimated $412.1 million to nearly $2.1 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars — compared to an increase in overall giving of 177 percent. Although such growth bodes well for the future, the study noted that foundation giving
targeting women and girls remains a small…
About this blog
Lisa Chen and Lisa Witter
are the authors of The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to
Reach Them. They are also both
senior strategists at Fenton Communications, the nation’s largest public
interest communications firm. [