INDIANAPOLIS—The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University (WPI) announced the recipient of the first-ever WPI Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. The $2500 one-year fellowship supports research and dissertation writing that contributes to understanding of women’s philanthropy or gender differences in philanthropic behavior. Deborah Skolnick Einhorn, a doctoral candidate at Brandeis University, will receive the award to help complete her dissertation, “The Power of the Purse: Jewish Women’s Philanthropy and Social Change.”
WPI created the doctoral dissertation fellowship through the philanthropic support of a donor who recognized the need for new research to expand the knowledge base about women’s philanthropy.
“I am thrilled by the caliber of the applications received for this first-ever fellowship”, said Dr. Debra Mesch, WPI Director and Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management and Philanthropic Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “The budding interest in women’s philanthropy from a younger generation of researchers will help anchor women’s philanthropy in the philanthropic mainstream.”
Einhorn will have an opportunity during the 2009-2010 academic year to interact with the WPI Research Committee, a group of scholars who advance WPI’s strategic research goals. She is studying American Jewish Life and History in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department at Brandeis University, and her dissertation explores Jewish women’s philanthropic and organizational culture and its emerging emphasis on social change.
“Today’s female Jewish philanthropists are individually motivated by the goal of using their charitable dollars to create social change – the systemic change of institutions, policy and culture values or norms – rather than primarily for the relief of social ills,” Einhorn contends.
Brandeis Professor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Einhorn’s advisor, says, “Deborah is a first rate sociological researcher, conducting amazingly rich and useful interviews.”
About the Women's Philanthropy Institute
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute furthers the understanding of women’s philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination. By addressing significant and groundbreaking research questions and translating that research into increased understanding and improvements in practice, WPI helps to leverage new and expanded resources for the common good. For more information, visit http://www.philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu/womens-philanthropy-institute.
About the Center on Philanthropy
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice worldwide through research, teaching, training and public affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations. A part of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IU Indianapolis, the Center operates programs on the IU Indianapolis and IU Bloomington campuses. For more information, visit www.philanthropy.indianapolis.iu.edu.