Keynote Speaker: Sondra Shaw-Hardy, Women in Philanthropy

Leadership Summit, Friday, September 24th 8:00 PM

As a world-renowned advocate of women’s philanthropy and founder and co-founder of many nonprofit organizations, I was super-excited to hear what Sondra Hardy-Shaw had to say to us tonight. I was delighted to find my dinner seat with Sondra and her daughter-in-law, along with Marsha and fellow Atlanta chapter members prior to her keynote address. I was able to spout my theories about why we have such a successful, younger group. I believe Atlanta is a strong community which fosters philanthropy, fundraising, and advocacy and there is a large population of women in our 20’s and 30’s, not to mention the fantastic “flexible” leadership of our co-leaders, Kira, Cristina, and Alana!

Anyway, I digress… this is not all about me or our chapter, it’s about what Sondra had to say. I took almost four pages of notes, and then I realized, that I was not writing you a book report! So, I left those back in my room, and I am just speaking from what I can remember… what captured my attention… what I came away with. I am sure if you read her new book, Women & Philanthropy, or any of the other books she has authored or co-authored, you can find the interesting theories and facts that Sondra had to offer. In person, she was quite charming and provided us with many stories and quotes from female leaders in philanthropy such as Jane Addams, Melinda Gates, and many, many iconic women philanthropists. I do recall a story about the early life of poverty of one philanthropist, in which she stated that she dated to eat, and if they wanted more than that, she paid for dinner! These women come from normal lives and have become powerhouses in the world of philanthropy. So, with humor and passion, Sondra inspired me even more to continue down the path I am on with Dining for Women lighting the way.

In closing, Sondra discussed the idea of four personal “C’s “. It’s simply words that begin with the letter “C” that describe yourself, three of which are personal and the fourth being philanthropic. Sondra told us that her “Four C’s” were Comfort, Coffee, Cologne, and Caring, and then she asked each one of us to determine our own “Four C’s.” Upon returning to our room for the evening with several Atlanta chapter ladies in tow, we found ourselves discussing our “Four C’s.” After claiming that it seemed difficult, with most of us thinking only of food items…Cheeseburgers, Cookies, Cheese, Cupcakes, Chocolate, etc… (I mean, yum!!!) we suddenly started finding our own words… Clever, Compassionate, Creative, Contagious Personality, Confidence, Character, Co-creating... It appears that when we women give ourselves just a few moments to actually think about ourselves (because you know we often forget to do that!), we remember what really lies beneath, why the women’s philanthropic movement is thriving and growing, and why we are a part Dining for Women.

(Use the Amazon.com DFW link to buy your copy of Women in Philanthropy, or one of Sondra's other books, and DFW will also get a percentage of the sale!)

- Alexis Atwood