By: Cat Rabenstine
On May 24, 2018, Northern Trust co-hosted an intimate panel conversation with the American Red Cross Tiffany Circle about the growing economic power and influence of women and the positive change we make in the world. The event featured moderator Marguerite H. Griffin and panelists Denise Barnett Gardner, Nancy Searle and Marty Wilke.
The statistics about women as philanthropic change agents are powerful. Women are expected to control two-thirds of private wealth by 2020 (MarketWatch, May 2017). In 2009, nine years ago, a Harvard Business Review Article stated, “Women now drive the world economy,†(Harvard Business Review, Sept 2009).
The influence comes not only from access to wealth but also how women choose to invest. Studies show that women give more, and do so with a socially conscious outlook.
In March 2018, The Economist stated that “84% of women said they were interested in “sustainable†investing, that is, targeting not just financial returns but social or environmental goals.â€
According to Debra Mesch, the director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University’s Lilly School of Philanthropy, in an interview with Make it Better, “In the top 25 percent of combined income and assets, women give 156 percent more than men.â€
“Every woman up here uses her superpowers for good,†said Marguerite Griffin to open the panel conversation. And it’s true. The panelists created change by combining their economic power with their talents and drive for change to create an exponential impact in our communities.
Marty Wilke, recently retired general manager of CBS 2 Chicago said, “We had the recession, we had the newly introduced iPhone, Facebook had just hit their 1 million mark. In that ten-year experience of mine in running two news organizations, I was a product of change that was coming at me from every angle.†Resistance to change comes out of fear, said Marty, but when done right, it is incredibly rewarding.
Women continue to gain an influence and make an impact.
“[It is] Important to know the change you want to accomplish and really own that change,†said Nancy Searle, who raised $60 million dollars in a year to open new schools in Chicago. “It was just an idea that I had that got us going.†Nancy looks at the intersection of her passions and values to determine which organizations to support with her time and talent.
A real turning point for many individual donors, was when Warren Buffet decided to donate to other foundations and organizations rather than starting his own. But, the collaborative nature of philanthropy is complex and full of opportunity. “You have to have thriving nonprofits to have a really thriving city,†said Denise, who hopes over the next twenty years to continue to develop ideas that will have an impact even if she’s not the one leading them.
Women are giving back with their treasure, but also their time, talents and their “turn-up†– their ability to get other people to turn up to support a cause.
As women philanthropists look to the next generation of change makers, they watch millennials constantly asking, “What are we doing to change and influence the world?†As Nancy said, we’ve seen “the power of one,†– the ability for one voice on social media to mobilize thousands more voices toward change.
Thank you to Northern Trust and the Tiffany Circle for co-hosting this incredibly meaningful conversation filled with an abundance of wisdom and advice for fellow women philanthropists. Keep your eye on what your end game is. Take a step back and take another look at what’s going on from a new angle. And, build consensus and plan for change.
Read the original article on the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois blog.