More women are leading powerful foundations and at forefront of grant-making endeavors. Here's quick primer on three women who are the forefront of the charitable sector and making a huge difference.

1. A P R E S E N T A T I O N B Y
B E T H H O N I G
3 O F T H E M O S T
P O W E R F U L W O M E N
I N P H I L A N T H R O P Y
B E T H H O N I G C H A R I T Y . C O M

2. M O R E W O M E N A R E L E A D I N G P O W E R F U L
F O U N D A T I O N S A N D A T F O R E F R O N T O F G R A N T -
M A K I N G E N D E A V O R S .
Read on to learn more about three of the
most powerful female leaders in
philanthropy.
“women are taking the lead in building donor
networks and donor-advised funds, which play a fast-
growing role in tapping new sources of funding and
aggregating resources for different causes.”
- I N S I D E P H I L A N T H R O P Y

3. MELINDA
GATES
As the co­chair of the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, Gates’ name has become
synonymous with the term philanthropy
power player. Gates has demonstrated a
strong commitment to women’s
empowerment and closing gender gaps.
Last month, The Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation pledged $80 million to closing
the gender data gaps and accelerating
progress for women and girls. “We cannot
close the gender gap without first closing
the data gap,” said Melinda Gates during
her keynote speech at the Women Deliver
conference in Copenhagen. “We simply
don’t know enough about the barriers
holding women and girls back, nor do we
have sufficient information to track
progress against the promises made to
women and girls. We are committed to
changing that by investing in better data,
policies and accountability.”

4. SUSAN
BUFFETT
Buffet is the chair of three philanthropic
outlets: The Sherwood Foundation, the
Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and
the Buffett Early Childhood Fund.
As you might suspect, Susan Buffett is
related to the other famous Buffett (Warren
is her father). She has been called “the most
powerful woman in U.S. philanthropy not
named Melinda.” Her namesake foundation
is lauded as the biggest private funder of
reproductive health initiatives throughout
the world. Additionally, Buffett is at the
helm of the Sherwood Foundation (which
awarded more than $101 million in 2014)
and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund (total
given: more than $18 million in 2013).

5. DIANE
VON
FURSTENBERG
The fashion icon leads the Diller­von
Furstenberg Family foundation with her
husband Barry Dille. The couple’s focus:
Community revitalization and renewal by
creating new urban designs and
reinvigorating existing landscapes,
especially in New York City. The Diller­von
Furstenberg Family Foundation was
instrumental in creating the High Line,
backing the project with a donation of $35
million. The park has transformed
Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and is
now one of the city’s most prominent
tourist destinations. Additionally, von
Furstenberg’s foundation supports other
great initiatives for education, human
rights, arts, health and the environment.

6. T H A N K Y O U
B E T H H O N I G C H A R I T Y . C O M