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May 4, 2001
Philanthropy of women
Editor of Lilith will discuss changes in giving.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
The development of the Women's Endowment Fund in Vancouver is symptomatic
of a change in the way women in general - and Jewish women in particular
- are reinventing philanthropy.
That is the opinion of Susan Weidman Schneider, the editor of Lilith
magazine, who will be in Vancouver May 10. Schneider will speak
on the topic From Pushkas to Powersuits: The Transformational Power
of Women's Giving. She said that women have new access to financial
resources and are taking the lead in funding projects of particular
interest to them. Women want to be instrumental in social change,
she said, and though volunteerism has always been strong among women
- and, again, Jewish women in particular - there are certain things
that can only be done with cold, hard cash.
The Women's Endowment Fund was founded last year under the auspices
of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver and recently
completed its first granting round. (See article, page 2.) Schneider
said the Vancouver fund is just one of many such endeavors across
North America.
Schneider has a unique perspective on Jewish women's activism.
She is the editor and one of the "founding mothers" of Lilith
magazine, a 25-year-old Jewish, feminist publication she acknowledges
as "gutsy."
Recent issues have included such articles as "Boobs! How Jewish
women feel about their breasts" and a moving piece about Jewish
women who were coerced, in the days when abortion was illegal, to
put their babies up for adoption. The magazine is a mix of investigative
journalism and personal accounts. Several editions have tackled
the issue of abuse by rabbis, including allegations against the
late noted Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Another held a personal lament
from a Jewish mother seeking understanding for gay people like her
son.
Schneider told the Bulletin that running the stories about
abuse by rabbis was very painful and sad for the editors, but it
brought out of the woodwork many more women with similar experiences
of victimization.
"Whatever angst we felt in running that story, certainly our choice
to do so was vindicated by the reaction to it," she said. On the
other hand, there are the critics.
"We certainly have taken flack for things we have run," she said.
For instance, a feature on Jewish weddings was panned as sexist
by some readers. However, the magazine attracts an elite readership
who are willing to have their assumptions challenged.
"Lilith readers are very educated and enormously curious,"
she said, adding that her readers cross the religious and political
specturms.
Interestingly, as a Jewish and feminist magazine, it acts as a
unifying force. Schneider said many erstwhile secular Jewish women
find through Lilith a way to more fully express their Judaism.
Conversely, many traditionally religious women discover a sense
of feminism through its pages, she said.
At Temple Sholom May 10, Schneider will address the issue of women's
increasing philanthropic clout and discuss what challenges remain
to be overcome. As leaders of the feminist movement have stressed
in recent years, she will also take time to acknowledge the progress
and social changes this generation of women has seen.
The event is a fund-raiser for the Women's Endowment Fund and features
a dessert reception. For more information, call 257-5100. For more
information about Lilith magazine, see the Web site www.lilithmag.com.
The event will honor Helen Coleman, founder and first chair of
the Jewish Community Foundation and a tireless worker for the Women's
Endowment Fund.^
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