Power Givers: Philanthropic Women Helping Women

1. Oprah Winfrey


No doubt Winfrey is one of the most recognizable names on the planet, but when she’s not promoting books or self-improvement, the talk-show-host-turned-philanthropist is using her star power to lift up women and girls.


The Oprah Winfrey Foundation has awarded hundreds of grants, and millions of dollars, to organizations that educate and empower women and families nationally and globally. One of her most well-known initiatives was the $40 million school for girls she built in South Africa, which opened in January 2007 and now serves grades 7 through 12. She also created “The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program,” which gives scholarships to students nationally and abroad. Although her talk show will wind down in September, Winfrey’s mission to work for a better world for women and girls will continue.

2. Deborah Santana


The ex-wife of rocker Carlos Santana has been running her own non-profit Do A Little (http://www.doalittle.org), which supports women in the areas of health, education and happiness, since 2008. Through grants to organizations as diverse as The Hannah Project Partnership for Academic Achievement, a community-based college and career preparatory program for youth and families, and Casa Cornelia’s Domestic Violence Program, her non-profit organization promotes women’s leadership in the hope that women will “mentor, sponsor, or pull another woman forward in partnership for success.”


Santana was inspired to name her organization from a quote from Rev. Desmond M Tutu: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

3. Swanee Hunt and Helen LaKelly Hunt


When the Hunt sisters were growing up in Dallas as the daughters of oil billionaire H.L. Hunt, “money” was a taboo word. Although they came from great wealth, they felt a disconnect between themselves and their family’s affluence because money was considered part of the men’s realm.


Not anymore. Now women are shaping their financial destinies and those of other women as well. To help them do so, the Hunt sisters co-founded Women Moving Millions (http://www.womenmovingmillions.net), a campaign in partnership with the Women’s Funding Network (http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org), to inspire gifts of $1 million or more, empowering women and girls to build stronger communities. The sisters poured in $10 million of their own money, and more than 100 donors joined, surpassing the original goal of raising $150 million and reaching nearly $200 million to date.


Each sister has her own personal focus - Swanee focuses on women and policy, while Helen emphasizes faith, feminism and philanthropy - but together their sisterly collaboration helped leverage $10 million into $200 million.