The Power Of The Purse

Over 400 women and a smattering of men filled the great hall of the Detroit Institute of Arts last month with the buzz of conversation and the nonstop shuffle of business cards. 

Power networking surged into high gear for the Women's Power Breakfast, a $100 a porridge bowl event that helps fund 3 million meals for needy families in southeast Michigan over the course of three years.  

That's a big price tag, even for the most important meal of the day, but the breakfast was a fundraiser for Gleaners Community Food Bank.

This is one of numerous mega-sized events that drape the region in a dollop of worthy dollars — and it's a symbol of how in southeast Michigan, women get things done. No offense to the guys, who certainly do their share, but Metro Detroit is awash in pink capitalism, or what Ann Arbor-based author Fara Warner calls the "Power of the Purse."

"Women have come together, making a difference for centuries," says Debbie Dingell, vice chair of the General Motors Foundation and co-sponsor of the Women's Power Breakfast, organizers of numerous women's charitable events. "We are the nurturers of our community. (The Gleaners) event reminds all of us that the spirit of community helped build this country, and that preserving that sense of community is so critical in this day and age."

Fringe benefit

There's a side benefit to all that fundraising, too. Networking. Serious networking.

"I'm where I am today because doors open. My responsibility is to open the door wider," says Dingell — vice chair of the General Motors Foundation. 

Dulcie Rosenfeld, founder and visionary of the 15-year-old Gleaners breakfast event, started by opening her own Rolodex to find women with dollars and clout to attend the first breakfast. Each brought friends and the daughters of friends, and ostensibly boosted women up the career ladder. 

The Good Old Girls - as some of the veterans call themselves - are especially busy in spring. Following the Women's Power Breakfast at the DIA in March there's the 400 to 500 attendees at Michigan Women's Foundation annual awards banquet at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi on May 1, and the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure in downtown Detroit on May 30, with over 30,000 participants, mostly women. 

But why the big bashes?

Events like these are about making connections according to Anne Doyle, president of Anne Doyle Strategies in Auburn Hills. "Women's lives remain as different from those of men's as Venus from Mars -- even today. Women are so busy juggling all of the demands of their multi-track lives -- work, children, husbands, home, personal fitness, etc. etc. — that they need structured opportunities to connect with lots of women with similar challenges," Doyle says.  

The opportunity to network and support a good cause was what attracted Nina Holden, 27, the vice president for institutional advancement for the College for Creative Studies and a busy mom. She invested $100 in a ticket to the Women’s Power Breakfast in part because she hoped to connect with more seasoned community leaders. “I get business cards and I follow up,” she says. 

With so much planning needed, these big events also build leadership skills, which can translate into the corporate world, says Terry Barclay, the president and CEO of the 2,000 member, Inforum with chapters in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids, who was a recent co-chair of the Women's Power Breakfast.

"The cult of personality is disappearing in the board rooms of corporations and nonprofits," Barclay says. "Today the best leaders are able to harness the power and talent of others so the group is more effective"

Transforming lives, the region

Networking isn't the only reason people participate, of course. For Linda Forte, senior vice president and CEO of diversity for Comerica Bank, the dollars transform lives. 

The proceeds from the dinner, held at the Rock Financial Showplace to attract a regional audience, will subsidize its biggest charity, Young Women for Change.  Seven groups of young women from around the state and diverse backgrounds learn to allocate grants in an effort to impact community welfare. These teens, informed by a variety of perspectives and circumstances, award funds to non-profits organizations who are advancing the causes of young women in their community.

"One person can't know what the world is like, together, weighing perspectives you make spectacular decisions," says Forte, a foundation board member who participates in numerous programs.

Wielding real power in the community takes passion and committment. Maureen Keenan Meldrum, a 16-year breast cancer survivor and chair of the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure, says her organization achieved national recognition because of one woman tapping into her passion.

"If you ever doubt the power of one committed woman, think about Nancy Brinker who lost her sister Susie at age 36 and honored her sister's request to make a difference," Meldrum says. "Twenty five years later the Komen Foundation is the largest global grass roots advocacy and fundraising organization in the world. Its sole mission is to end breast cancer forever."

And how does that translate locally? The collective fund-raising power of Komen supporters spans the entire region. Meldrum speaks fondly of women who hang 10,000 pink ribbons along lampposts and directional signs on Woodward Avenue the week before the May 31 race day. At least 10 bands will perform for the 5,000 competitive racers and the 25,000 others who amble along. As director, she orchestrates a staff of four, a planning committee of 90 and nearly 1,200 volunteers, including 400 corporate and community teams. Nearly every team is organized around a survivor or the loss of someone that people just loved.  

"Our mission doesn't stop at the county line, we aim to support cancer screening, treatment and education in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties," says Meldrum, noting the 2007 race raised more than $2 million, resulting in $1.3 million in grants. 

Power of the purse

Pink capital – in fundraising efforts and corporate sponsorship – is a growing entity according to Fara Warner, Ann Arbor-based freelance writer and author of the book, The Power of the Purse, How Smart Companies Are Adapting to the World's Most Important Consumers – Women. 

"Women make 80 percent of all buying decisions. They control $7 trillion in purchasing power. By 2010 they'll control more than $13 trillion in private wealth. And that's just in America," she writes in her book. 

In Metro Detroit, we're seeing how corporate women are coming together, tapping into that pink capital, and creating great networks in the meantime. 

It's a win-win situation, and organizers say nothing's more satisfying.

Joan Gherke, an administrator to PVS Chemical in Detroit, a United Way volunteer stand-out and long-time committee member of the Women’s Power Breakfast, says that mentoring young women, and directing them to varied committee roles, gives her great satisfaction.

"I love to match people up, take them to lunch and hope something happens. I’m at an age where people know what I’m doing. There’s nothing for me except the joy of making connections," she says.

For more information, and to get involved with these groups, here are some upcoming fundraising events targeted at women:

• Celebrate the Women of Achievement and Courage at 5:30 p.m., May 1 in the Diamond Center of the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi with the Michigan Women's Foundation. Tickets are $150. www.miwf.org. 
• Celebrating Women with Vista Maria takes place at 6 p.m. May 8 on the campus of Vista Maria in Dearborn Heights. Proceeds of the $125 tickets helps foster neglected and abused girls. www.vistamaria.org. 
• Join the Inner Circle, women with exemplary leadership skills who offer to support the next generation of female leaders. They share lessons learned to people on the cusp at 5:30 p.m. May 21, at the Reserve Ballroom, 325 South Eaton Street, Birmingham, MI. Tickets are $60. www.inforummichigan.org/EventDetail.aspx.