The idea of connecting with current students has always been a motivating factor for me when it comes to donating. One of the most gratifying benefits of endowing an instrument in the UW Band is that I've been able to follow my students through their collegiate careers.

Bruce Ravid (’74 BBA)

Women and Philanthropy Forum to Spotlight Power of Giving


Contact: Martha Taylor Contact Phone: 608-263-5762 Release Date: 10/25/05

Madison , WI-- Well-known activist and philanthropic leader Hannah Rosenthal will keynote the daylong Seventh Biennial Forum on Women and Philanthropy, presented by The University of Wisconsin 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,” said 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 and 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 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 to the full day’s events is $40; luncheon only is $25.