(Left: Kathleen Gorelick)

Throughout most of her life, WP board member Kathleen Gorelick was not intentional about her money and how she used it. But that's all changed, thanks to her deep involvement with WP.

Working in the public schools, Kathleen's financial decisions were structured around her job - a predetermined teaching schedule, salary and salary increases, vacation time, and health insurance. "I just cruised without much reflection," said Kathleen, "but when I retired from teaching, I simultaneously became aware of Women's Perspective and critical financial issues. I may have one or more decades to live. I am currently much more conscious of the money I have, of what I need, and of the need to align my spending with my personal values."

Since exploring money and spirituality with WP, Kathleen has taken her keen interest in global issues affecting women and applies it in a variety of ways, most notably by helping the disadvantaged close to home. Kathleen serves on the WP board and spearheads our financial skills workshops for immigrant women in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her next challenge will be teaching a similar financial skills workshop to migrant workers in the apple orchards of Washington state.

Private philanthropy is strictly for the very rich, right? Wrong! Donor-advised funds offer a cost- effective vehicle for individuals and families to grow and manage their philanthropy.

Several years ago, Mimi Griffith and her husband Jim Cameron consolidated their major giving to a few charities in areas that spoke to their hearts. "We both are grateful to our parents for giving us educations that allow us to succeed," said Mimi, "and we're especially drawn to organizations that help marginalized people get the education and resources they need to lift their families out of poverty – permanently, we hope."

This approach was helpful in organizing their giving, but Mimi and Jim also wanted the flexibility to respond generously to unusual calamities, like September 11 and the tsunami in Asia. So they established a donor-advised fund with one of their financial advisors.

Donor-advised funds are philanthropic investment funds established through a charitable gift where the donor is able to "recommend" how the fund is used and what charities the fund can support.

"Now we make regular contributions to the fund from our family budget without deciding on the ultimate recipients at that time," said Mimi, "It's become our charity savings account."

The once exclusively "old boys" network of professional fundraising now includes a larger proportion of women, who are becoming more prominent both as fundraisers and as donors. A great introduction to this topic is Reinventing Fundraising: Realizing the Potential of Women's Philanthropy, originally published in 1996.

In this book, nationally known fundraising experts Sondra C. Shaw and Martha A. Taylor reveal the reasons why women have not been taken seriously as philanthropists, identify model programs focusing on women's giving that have already been developed, and outline new program models that organizations can tailor to their own female constituents.

Drawing from their interviews, focus groups, and discussions with more than 150 women philanthropists and scores of development professionals, Shaw and Taylor reject the notion that women give less to charity because they are unenlightened philanthropists. They show instead the rich history of American women's philanthropy, zero in on contemporary women's motivations for giving, and so reveal a new approach to fundraising. Reinventing Fundraising offers practical strategies for both donors and fundraisers.

"Everyone of us can make a contribution. And quite often we are looking for the big things and forget that, wherever we are, we can make a contribution. Sometimes I tell myself, I may only be planting a tree here, but just imagine what's happening if there are billions of people out there doing something. Just imagine the power of what we can do."
- Hon. Prof. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

A basic membership of $30 per year will help us develop workshops and create bold new ways of educating women to become financially confident while maintaining their integrity. We need you to support this effort. Whether or not you become a member, you will still receive our email newsletter.

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If you can make an in-kind donation of one of these items, please email us.

We thank several generous fairy godmothers and godfathers, who have donated a new computer and printer, airline tickets to California and Africa, a table-top copier and funds to run an ad for Women's Perspective in More than Money magazine. We appreciate your support more than words can say!

Women's Perspective continues to develop our relationships with women leaders in Kisumu, Kenya. Charyn Atkin, who traveled with us to Kisumu, will return this summer with her nephew. She plans to visit Margaret Auma, Bernadette Otieno, Achola Pala Okeyo and some wodow's groups as well as spend time with her Kenyan family in the village where she lived during her service as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Charyn will take this opportunity to deliver several wedding dresses to a women's cooperative that generates income by renting western-style wedding wear, which is popular in the community. This successful small business was originally launched with the support of Women's Perspective.