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Women and philanthropy forum to spotlight the power of giving

October 25, 2005 By Chris DuPre

Well-known activist and philanthropic leader Hannah Rosenthal will keynote the daylong Seventh Biennial Forum on Women and Philanthropy, presented by the UW Foundation and the Women’s Philanthropy Council on Thursday, Nov. 10.

Most presentations will be at The Madison Club. A luncheon address by Rosenthal will be at Monona Terrace.

The Biennial Forum on Women and Philanthropy is a special symposium for women who view philanthropy as leadership and as an investment in the future. Outstanding UW–Madison faculty members, alumnae, national leaders and students will take part in the day’s sessions, which will focus on women as initiators, beneficiaries and sustainers of positive change.

“We have seen a rising tide in women stepping up and being catalysts for the causes and changes they want to see in society,” says Martha Taylor, a vice president at the UW Foundation. “The Biennial Forum is a way to come together, to talk about what works, to think about directing the incredible power of women giving where their passion lies. This is a great way to focus that power and help create a better tomorrow.”

Rosenthal, executive director of the Chicago Foundation for Women, will present “Be the Change You Want to See” at 12:30 p.m. at Monona Terrace.

The Chicago Foundation for Women is one of the largest women’s funds in the world. Rosenthal formerly was with the Foundation of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the first woman to head a major non-women’s American Jewish organization. As executive director of Chicago Foundation for Women, she leads the Foundation’s advocacy and grant-making efforts, focusing on the impact of human rights issues on women and girls. She was head of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, a central voice for issues regarding the Middle East, and she headed the Clinton-Gore campaign in Wisconsin.

Doris Weisberg — UW alumna, culinary educator, entrepreneur, creator of programming for the Food Network and national chair of the Women’s Philanthropy Council — will emcee the forum. Kimberly Otis, president and chief executive officer of Women and Philanthropy in Washington, D.C., will give the opening address, “Why Should Women Be Philanthropic Leaders?” at 8:30 a.m. Otis, a UW alumna, was formerly executive director of Helen Hunt’s The Sister Fund.

Morning sessions will be held at 9:45-11 a.m. Attendees can choose between two of three presentations at those two times:

  • “Give While You Live: The Emotional Dynamics of Money,” by Connie Kilmark, who as the founder of her own Madison-based counseling and consulting firm has earned the title of “The Dr. Ruth of Money;” and Russell Howes, UW Foundation vice president for planned giving and legal affairs.
  • “Find Your Voice, Vision and Values,” by Christine Lodweick, UW–Madison alumna; Virginia Gilmore and Martha Taylor, who in addition to being a UW Foundation vice president is co-author with Sondra C. Shaw-Hardy of “Reinventing Fundraising: Realizing the Power of Women’s Philanthropy.”
  • “From One Generation to Another: Passing on the Philanthropic Legacy” by Barbara J. Pope, UW–Madison alumna and president of Barbara J. Pope P.C., a Chicago-based consulting firm. She also is president of Sedgwick Street Fund LLC.

Admission for the day is $40; luncheon only is $25. To register, contact Susan Woods at the UW Foundation, susan.woods@uwfoundation.wisc.edu, (608) 265-2215.