Mari Kuraishi and The Global Giving Foundation

mari.jpgby Caroline Shannon (Dayton, Ohio)

Take this image for a spin: A Kenyan nurse gets notice that a particular patient needs help. She packs up her tools, straps them over her shoulder and quickly makes her way out to . . . her motorcycle.

And then, visualize Washington D.C.-based philanthropist Mari Kuraishi grinning when she pictures one of her favorite projects coming to life.

It might seem absurd, but, perhaps, thatʼs why one of Kuraishiʼs terms for success includes being “unreasonable about your dreams and aspirations.”

The Kenyan nurses straddling “gnarly” bikes, as Kuraishi likes to put it, is just one of the many projects she has had the pleasure helping to make possible as president of the GlobalGiving Foundation. She doesnʼt get to be picky about projects — and, truthfully, she enjoys them all — but thatʼs one “girl power” image that puts a smile on her face.

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Sophia’s Sunshine School

indonesiaschool.jpgby Anna T. Collins, Esquire (Portland, Maine)

On May 27, 2006, a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean shook the region surrounding the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta. The immediate death toll was close to 6,000, with over 37,000 injured and 1 million people displaced. Following the earthquake, large charities rushed in to provide shelter and food. But once those charities had left, there were many schools that needed to be rebuilt. Sharon Bloodworth, a co-manager of $200 million in investment assets at White Oaks Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Minneapolis, jumped at the opportunity to fund the rebuilding of one such school – Sophia’s Sunshine School.

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The Growth of Giving Circles

helpinghand.jpgBy Heather Chapman (New York City)

In this tough economic time we are all currently experiencing, it can be hard to remember to look beyond our own needs and try and meet those of others. There are solicitations for funds coming at us from all sides; whether it is from someone on a street corner or a mass mailing, we are being bombarded with requests. But when every cent from your paycheck is going to your own needs, how do you continue to help others?

One way is by joining—or forming—a giving circle, which is a form of philanthropy that is made up of people who pool their funds and other resources together to help their community and the people within it. Not a new idea—this idea has existed for hundreds of years—giving circles allow people to donate what they can after deciding together as a group where their funds, time, and energy should go. Most giving circles in the United States and beyond have a social or educational aspect to them; either to help members of their profession, race, or to help the community they live in.

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Young Philanthropic Professionals

ovarian_ribbon.jpgBy Liz O’Donnell (Boston)

Alison Devenny, a twenty-three year old Trust Manager for Deutsche Bank in New York, works in a demanding, high pressure field. Yet she still makes time to serve as the President of the Junior Advisory Committee of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance (OCNA). Devenney is part of a growing trend of young professionals in their twenties and early thirties who are trying to make a difference in the world of non-profit organizations.

The arrangement between the OCNA and Devenney is a win-win. The organization wants to tap into the energy that younger professionals can bring to the cause and Devenney is looking to broaden her skills and network beyond her work experience.

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Hand in Hand International: A Holistic Approach to Microfinancing

india.jpgby Pirkko Juntunen (London)

In the fight against global poverty, microfinance has been hailed as one success story in a field of many failures. As microlending continues to move into the mainstream, men tend to hold the top jobs. But there are women moving up the ladder.

Hand in Hand International, a public charitable trust that works mainly in India with some activity in Afghanistan and South Africa, is a prime example. Headed by Indian national Kalpana Sankar, the organization takes a holistic approach to microfinance, believing that such an approach is necessary to make microfinance a sharper tool in combating poverty.

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The MAIA Foundation: Two Passions Combined

maia.JPGby Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

The average person looking for a life change might change her hobby or her job. But Laureen and Barbara DeBuono are not your average women.

Laureen, a Duke University- and NYU-trained attorney, has had a love affair with Africa since she was a teenager; Barbara, an MD with a Masters in Public Health who once served as the Rhode Island State Epidemiologist and the New York Commissioner of Health, has been fascinated with public health since she took a CDC-sponsored elective on the topic while in medical school. They combined their talents and interests in Africa and global health to create better lives for women in Sub-Saharan Africa through their public charity, the MAIA Foundation.

“We just were thinking about our lives and our legacies. We were both turning 50. Our children were going off to college. We were ready for a new chapter in lives,” said Barbara; “We said to ourselves, ‘Let’s give back. Let’s try to do something that can really make a difference.'”

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Feeding the Homeless on Thanksgiving In NYC

soupkitchen_1.jpgby Nicki Gilmour (New York City)

As a Brit with 5 years under my belt as a New Yorker, I am still getting used to the Thanksgiving extravaganza here in US, which, for those of you who don’t know, is a bit like Christmas in the UK but a month early with no gifts, and less talk about “The Greatest Story Ever Told”.

So when my best gay boyfriend invited me to join him to volunteer on Thanksgiving to feed the homeless their turkey dinner rather than go to a fancy dinner party replete with the food coma that generally follows, I was happy to sign up.

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W(H)AM! Microfinance and the Leadership Challenge

worldinherhands.JPGby Kathryn Nilsson Reichert (New York City)

Founded in 2003, Women Advancing Microfinance International (WAM) is an international organization based in Washington, D.C. and with branches around the world whose mission is to “advance and support women working in microfinance through education, training, and by promoting leadership opportunities.” They also seek to promote the providing of financial services to the poor and economic opportunities to women worldwide.

A recent WAM event in New York City – “Promoting Women’s Leadership in Microfinance: Lessons from the US Financial Sector” – focused on leadership roles in microfinance and how lessons learned by women working in U.S. financial services firms translate to the microfinance field.

Two distinguished women speakers sparked a lively discussion by describing their experiences as leaders and the steps that financial services organizations take to identify and promote women leaders. The speakers were Linda Descano, CFA®, President and COO of Women & Co. at Citi and Rebecca Patterson, Managing Director, FX and commodities at JP Morgan Chase.

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Hedge Funds Care: Fighting for Children

By Jessica Titlebaum (Chicago)

“Hedge Funds Care has been funding programs for the intervention and prevention of child abuse for ten years,” said Executive Director of the non- profit organization, Katherine Conroy. “In the future, I would like to see our portfolio expanded to help policy and advocacy as well as research programs.”

Conroy explained that she has been with Hedge Funds Care “since day 2” of the organization’s inception. Rob Davis, Hedge Funds Care founder, was looking for someone knowledgeable in child welfare to assist in the launch of an organization that would help combat child abuse. He found Conroy when she was working at Columbia University as an Assistant Dean. Her experiences at Good Shepherd Services, Community Service Society and as Deputy Coordinator for Youth Services for the Mayor.

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Travel that Matters

safari tent_2.JPGby Paige Churchman (New York City)

“Making a change, making the world a better place, it’s not only your responsibility, it is your choice. It is your blessing. It is your gift. It’s your opportunity to make your life mean something. So take it,” says Ghana-born musician and activist, Derrick Ashong.

Yes, you say, but how? You’ve got over 300 messages in your email box and five in your voicemail. Your day of back-to-back meetings starts in 10 minutes, your performance goals are due by 5:00, and you want a promotion. Yet somewhere deep in your heart there’s something beyond your career and family that you care about – the children who die each day from lack of food, the acres of rainforest being burned every minute, homelessness, wars, or maybe it’s as close as that litter of stray kittens you saw behind McDonald’s.

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