Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Jennifer Buffet on the phone. She will be the speaker this Friday at the power of the purse luncheon. The Women's Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is hosting Jennifer Buffet to inspire and encourage women in our community to make a difference, and to invest in the women and girls of Middle Tennessee.
Here is a link to listen to our conversation
http://ftp.wrlt.com/production/tunedin/10/100419JenniferBuffet.mp3
Here is a link to the free Tuned In podcast on itunes
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tuned-in-blog/id356852223
For 11 years, the Power of the Purse® Luncheon and tribute book have celebrated and honored women, raising more than $1 million for The Women's Fund. Since the inception of the Fund, hundreds of Middle Tennessee nonprofits have received grants to help women and girls in need.
Here is a write up about the event, including how to get tickets
http://www.nowplayingnashville.com/event/detail/168599/The_Power_of_the_Purse_Luncheon
About The Women’s Fund
The Women’s Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, established in 1994, provides grants to Middle Tennessee nonprofit organizations serving the interests of women and girls through education, health and human services, victim’s support services, domestic violence intervention, drug rehabilitation, and job training. The Women's Fund was established both to raise women's awareness of their philanthropic potential and to increase and perpetuate financial support for community programs directly addressing the needs of women and girls. Past Women's Fund grant recipients include American Association of Refugee & Immigrant Women, Domestic Violence Intervention Center, Mending Hearts, The Next Door, and Renewal House, among others. Visit www.thewomensfund.com for more information, or call The Community Foundation at 615-321-4939.
Jennifer Buffett is Co-Chair and President of the NoVo Foundation (Latin NoVo: change, alter, invent), a philanthropic organization focused primarily on the empowerment of women and girls. She is responsible for the day-to-day and strategic direction of NoVo and shares Board leadership of the foundation with her husband, composer and producer, Peter Buffett.
In December 2009, Jennifer and her husband were named among Barron’s top 25 most effective Philanthropists. In September 2008, Jennifer and Peter received the Clinton Global Citizen Award for their “visionary leadership and sustainable, scalable work in solving pressing global challenges.” Presenting the award to the Buffetts, former President Bill Clinton said, “The Buffetts are leading an inspirational campaign to improve the status of women and girls across the globe. Their innovative approach to philanthropy has leveraged the capacity of existing organizations to affect real, positive change.” NoVo Foundation’s approach is to invest in long-term strategic initiatives that lead to systemic change rather than short-term small granting.
Among various investments, NoVo partners with the Nike Foundation on a $100 million effort, The Girl Effect, which is focused on bringing more resources to adolescent girls as the solutions to alleviating poverty worldwide. The Girl Effect aims to prove the critical and transformative power of an adolescent girl and affect large institutional change on behalf of girls. NoVo also supports strategic work globally to strengthen the movement to end violence against women and to support women and girls in conflict and post-conflict settings.
In the U.S., NoVo works to support strategies addressing Work-Life family balance policy, Title IX, gender justice and empowering women and girls in the most marginalized situations.
NoVo aims to infuse social emotional learning (SEL) in school cultures nationwide as a strategy to revitalize learning, end violence, and nurture a generation of competent and creative citizens. The Foundation views evidence-based SEL as the way to move schools towards becoming more nurturing and supportive places that give students a sense of well being, meaning, and healthy relational capacities for fulfilling, positive, and productive lives.
Jennifer’s work in philanthropy began in 1997 when her in-laws, Susan and Warren Buffett, placed Jennifer and Peter in charge of a charitable fund. Her early work was focused primarily on social services in Wisconsin. During this time, Jennifer helped launch the Wisconsin Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Association to advance practice and policy around healthy social and emotional development for young children. In 2006, Warren Buffett sparked a major increase in the foundation’s assets with a pledge of $1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock, and the Buffetts commenced a strategic planning process that led to a targeted set of initiatives.
Jennifer earned her way through college and a BA in journalism and communications at the University of Wisconsin. She is a Board member of the Nike Foundation, V Day and serves on the International Center for Research on Women Leadership Council.
