“Power of Giving” Symposium Explores Role of Women’s Philanthropy in Shaping the Nation

The “Power of Giving” symposium March 12 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will focus on women in philanthropy. It marks the 10th anniversary of the museum’s Philanthropy Initiative and will bring historic perspectives to contemporary discussions about how women philanthropists continue to shape and reshape the nation. Since the country’s earliest days, women have come together to mobilize resources, support communities and advance causes. 

The free afternoon symposium is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET in the museum’s Warner Bros. Theater. Presented during Women’s History Month, this year’s program will expand on the role of women in philanthropy. Registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance; more information on the Philanthropy Initiative is available.  

“Over the course of the afternoon, ‘The Power of Giving’ symposium will provide a forum for discussing the complex history and the critical role played by women, from pre-Revolutionary days to the contemporary impact and case histories of successful philanthropic partnerships,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the National Museum of American History.  

Following remarks by Hartig, the symposium opens with Adrienne Arsht, executive vice chair of the Atlantic Council, in conversation about her philanthropy with David M. Rubenstein, Smithsonian Regent Emeritus and co-founder and co-chairman of The Carlyle Group. Philanthropist and business leader Arsht is a longtime supporter of arts and civic institutions in Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. She is the founding chair of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a board director emerita of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. At the Atlantic Council, she founded the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.

The first of two panel discussions will be “Founders, Funders and Fundraisers: Women’s Philanthropy from the 1780s to the mid-1900s.” Amanda Moniz, the museum’s David M. Rubenstein Curator of Philanthropy, will interview Kabria Baumgartner and Kathleen D. McCarthy on the long arc of American women’s giving, ranging from the Jacksonian era to the surge of women’s philanthropy during the Civil War to the role of women in mass fundraising in the 1900s. Baumgartner is the Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University, and McCarthy is a professor of history and the director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at The Graduate Center, CUNY.

The second panel discussion, “Future Trends on Women in Philanthropy,” features Tuti B. Scott, founder and president of Changemaker Strategies and producer of “Women & Money,” leading a conversation with Jaime Gloshay, managing director of Impact Investments at Common Future, and Jacki Zehner, founder of SheMoney, co-founder of Women Moving Millions and a former partner at Goldman Sachs. Their discussion covers key themes driving the activation of women and their money, money, the impact of putting a gender lens on technology, how women bring their values to giving, and how collective learning and giving is activating more dollars across the spectrum of capital.

Symposium attendees and museum visitors can see objects out-of-storage related to women’s experiences of philanthropy and view the more recent addition to the “Giving in America” exhibit focusing on the evolution of Mary’s Center, a medical clinic founded in Washington, D.C., by public-health nurse Maria Gomez in 1988. Original Giving Pledge letters on view within that display include that of Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the Giving Pledge.

The “Power of Giving” symposium is made possible by Rubenstein, who also supports the museum’s Philanthropy Initiative together with the Gates Foundation.

Through incomparable collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum of American History seeks to empower people to create a more just and compassionate future by examining, preserving and sharing the complexity of our past. The museum, located on Constitution Avenue N.W., between 12th and 14th streets, is open daily except Dec. 25, between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. The doors of the museum are always open online and the virtual museum continues to expand its offerings, including online exhibitions, PK–12 educational materials and programs. The public can follow the museum on social media on Instagram and Facebook. For more information, go to https://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000. 

# # #

SI-67-2025