In honour of International Women's Day this post is about women and philanthropy.  Part of this post comes from a presentation I made at the Insight Series for the Canadian Women's Foundation a few weeks ago.

I recently finished Sondra Shaw-Hardy's book Women & Philanthropy and was encouraged that her findings mirror my practical experience of working both as a fundraiser for charities and now as an advisor to donors about philanthropy. The role that women play in philanthropy has morphed over time.  My undergraduate thesis at York University looked, in part, at the role of women in Victorian England and the Benevolent Aid Societies.  Aside from sisterhood groups that have been identified during biblical times, these Aid Societies are the first documented organized women's groups focusing on volunteerism and charity.

As a practitioner in the social enterprise marketplace, and one who is actively engaged in the charitable sector as a volunteer I am intrigued by the role that my demographic plays in philanthropy.  According to Shaw-Hardy's research, women are at the early stages of holding 70% of the entire estate wealth in North America.  As we are also at the beginning stages of an mutli-trillion dollar intergenerational wealth transfer, the way that women decide how, when and on what to spend their resources will affect the way that society is structured, the way that wealth is invested and the way that consumerism will evolve.

In May I will be speaking presenting at the Association of Jewish Family & Children's Services conference on this topic.  What follows is a sneak-peek of the conversation that I will be facilitating.

Benevolent Aid Societies were the first Giving Circles.  This giving circle model first appeared in the 1960's with women entering into the stock-market.  Their approach was the Investor Circle. Women would take their stock-market winnings and/or their bridge game winnings and donate them to a charity.  In most cases, these women would interview potential charities prior to making the donation. What resulted was a highly educated, financial independent and savvy population who were also engaged with community organizations at their core.  Over the past forty years or so these giving circles have evolved too, but what haven't changed are the emotional and intellectual drivers of those who are attracted to them.

What makes women's philanthropy differ from men's philanthropy is the approach. 

Men get excited or have that "thrill" when they make money.  Women get that same response when they are able to use their money in social ways.  This can be seen in when they take a friend out for coffee OR make a donation to favourite charity.  Women's brain activities increase even more when they can see what they can do in the world with their money and men's brain activity increases when they talk about the legacy they are leaving their children. 

In my experience I have identified five common goals that women have set for their personal philanthropy (Shaw-Hardy outlined the same goals in her book):

1. Parity - Having a voice at the decision making table for the organization
2. Equality - Having her donation valued at the same level as men
3. To be seen as a leader - This is not ego driven but rather impact driven.  Women want to be engaged as mentors, volunteers and advisors by the organizations they support.
4. Diversify the conversation - Add new perspectives to the problem solving discussion
5. Inclusivity - To pave the way for other groups to get engaged with the organization

These five goals were never more apparent than during the time I worked for the Women's Division of the Metro-West Jewish Federation in NJ. 

9/11 happened shortly after my term started in this organization.  What became quickly apparent was how effective and influential the women in the community were at galvanizing support for the victims' families, many of whom were from the very community that they were soliciting from. 

What impressed me was how specific leadership traits like creativity, collaboration, networking and ingenuity were at the heart and essence of the decisions around the way the women would fundraise, develop programs and services to support each other, and market their offerings to the broader community.  These traits were heightened in even greater contrast when compared to the traditional fundraising campaign activities planned and executed by the general campaign.  What the women brought to the table was, at the core, a sense of community.  All this occurred during a time when, literally people's worlds were falling around at their feet, these women, some of whom lost their husbands in the towers, showed confidence and courage and used their wealth, but more importantly their influence to shift a large, traditional fundraising machine. 

Can you imagine what our society would look like if all philanthropic activities followed a woman's charitable investment approach?

At the end of the day, women's philanthropy is about outwardly living our values.

Women's role in philanthropy has evolved from a volunteer support network through various Aid societies to sophisticated giving circles and is now looking at a technological revolution that is shifting how women organize themselves and lead organizations to new heights.

The push of social media and technology is shaping the next philanthropic wave for young women.  Communities are no longer being defined by square blocks, or school groups.  They are defined by "fan and like" status on Facebook and cause groups on Jumo.  Calls to action include flash mobs in food courts to raise awareness on obesity in North America.  People are tweeting their volunteer activities and getting their "friends" involved in micro-philanthropy by $5 gifts through sites like Place2Give.  There is a new sense to the phrase, "People Power."

What does our voice look like in this landscape?  Is gender an issue in this space?  40% of all donations under $1,000 made in Canada were done online.  $35MM was donated in 24 hours after the Haiti earthquake by mobile phones.  Based on the estimates I shared earlier about the wealth of the North American Woman, how will women's philanthropy and community leadership styles morph into this new technological landscape? 

Karen Roth, a friend of my mother's once said to me, that "it isn't about your mother's pearls, but rather, it's about her pearls of wisdom."  That generation is now at the table and for the first time in North American history, women are the key decision makers around what our society can and will be.