Abigail Disney, Tracy Gary and Helen LaKelly Hunt are good friends who all inherited money from well-known family businesses. They now use their wealth to advance women’s philanthropy, a term that should not be confused with the stereotypical vision of socialites organizing celebrity-filled galas and calling in favors for silent-auction prizes. These heiresses run foundations and manage boards of directors that include destitute grantees who make joint decisions with affluent donors. They focus on helping women in impoverished neighborhoods and repressive countries change the status quo.
 Gary, 53, whose paternal grandfather invented the dial telephone and whose mother is a member of the Pillsbury family, was philanthropically inclined at a young age. She started one of the early women’s funds in San Francisco in the 1970s.
Hunt, 55, a daughter of Texas oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, is a marriage therapist and author. Her most recent book is Receiving Love: Transform Your Relationship by Letting Yourself Be Loved, which she coauthored with her husband, Harville Hendrix. She began running a foundation with her sister, Swanee Hunt, a number of years ago when she read the annual report of Gary’s foundation. “Tears streamed down my cheeks, because the annual report was so different from the 30 I had just read,” Hunt recalls.
In turn, “I was on my little planet worrying about philanthropy when I read about what Helen was doing,” says Disney, 45. Her father is Walt Disney’s nephew, Roy Disney, who resigned from
the Disney board after his failed attempt to oust Michael Eisner.
|
