10. Kayrita M. Anderson

Anderson grew up in a small town outside of Atlanta, the daughter of a single mother who cleaned houses for a living. Now Kayrita runs the Harold and Kayrita Anderson Family Foundation (hkafamilyfoundation.org), which has given more than $2 million to help stop child prostitution in Georgia. Her passion for the cause is personal: Anderson understands how easily she could have ended up as one of the several hundred young kids forced into prostitution in Georgia each month. She managed to escape because of the love of her grandfather and a successful career as a hairdresser, which allowed her to make a six figure salary and travel around the world.

In 2007, Anderson launched a statewide campaign called “A Future. Not a Past” (afuturenotapast.org) with a $1 million gift to the Atlanta Women’s Foundation (www.atlantawomen.org). Its mission: Stop sexual exploitation at the demand level by prosecuting predators. She wants to protect girls by going after the root cause of the problem.

Power Givers: Philanthropic Women Helping Women

March is Women’s History Month, which seems like the perfect time to highlight leading women who put their money behind women's causes. With 61% of wealth now in the hands of women, and the majority of the world’s poor being women, it makes sense that wealthy women are giving powerfully. Some of the women on our list are big names, while others are rising stars.