Episode 74: Jean Shafiroff
Join Lori and her guest, Jean Shafiroff, as they talk about charity boards. Jean is a philanthropist, author, and TV host. And if we’re talking charity boards, Jean sure knows a lot – she serves on eight charity boards!
Here are the things to expect in this episode:
Being on a charity board as a mother of two.
What does being a class mother look like?
Jean’s experience of being the chair of the South Hampton Hospital Gala.
The value of role models and religion in teaching how to give and help.
And much more!
Connect with Jean!
Website: https://jeanshafiroff.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanshafiroff/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Jean-Shafiroff-Style-Philanthropy/100057804440457/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeanshafiroff
Connect with Lori Kranczer!
Website: https://www.linkphilanthropic.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorikranczer/
Episode Transcript
You're listening to positive impact philanthropy podcast where we share the journeys of everyday philanthropists as they incorporate philanthropy into their lives. Philanthropy is a personal journey through the stories we will share here. We hope that sparks something in you how you can make your own philanthropic impact in the world. I'm your host, Lori Kranczer attorney, philanthropic advisor and legacy giving strategist. Together we're going to explore what it looks like to be an everyday philanthropist and make a positive impact in the world. Before we get started, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode posted on Wednesdays and today I'm very excited to share that we have guest Jean Shafiroff. She's a philanthropist, author and TV host welcome Jean.
And Lori, Thank you very much for having me on your podcast.
So Jean, why don't you share with our audience more about you?
Yes, I serve on eight charity boards. And as you can imagine, this keeps me very, very busy. In addition, I host a TV show, local television, that airs six times a week in the Hamptons, called successful philanthropy. And then lastly, I'm the author of the book successful philanthropy, how to make a life by what you give. That book has an introduction by Georgina Bloomberg and then a preface by a philanthropic consultant Scott Elkins, and as you know, I love what I do, and I feel very fortunate to be able to serve on the eight boards and to do the work that I do. In addition, I share about eight or nine a charity gala is each year. Some of them are charity gala is for the boards that I serve on others or for other boards. Also, I host different cocktail parties in residences of mine and then occasionally luncheons, where I post they 20 or 50 people come to lunch. All of this is funded by me. Of course I don't fund the charity galleries because the overhead could be hundreds of thousands of dollars but as a chair, I certainly buy tables and then go out and sell tables.
So Jean, this is a lot of board service. We usually have people and myself is included. I serve on a board of a national organization. Eight is a lot, can you share how you were inspired to join eight boards?
Yes, well, the approach was very gradual. And I started really volunteering when my children were in school in New York City, and I would volunteer as class mother then I got involved on one charity board. I had gone to Columbia as an undergraduate, I had an undergraduate degree or have an undergraduate degree in physical therapy from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. And then I have a an MBA from Columbia. And so I started my journey as a philanthropist when my children were very young. And gradually I started to join different boards. I will add when my children were young, I was a stay at home mother and that most of my time was spent raising my two daughters and making sure they did their homework. I wasn't running around to charity galas the way I do now. And of course I was not on eight boards, I was on one or two boards.
And so how did that progress over time? Um, getting involved with other charities. Can you explain how that evolved?
Yes, well, first thing I did was, I was a class mother. And then my daughter, she had attended the Dalton school, the older one, also the younger one up until eighth grade. And when my older one was in the eighth grade, they asked me to get involved with the annual fund. And my job was not to go out and ask people for large sums of money, but just make sure that we had full 100% participation of all the parents and so for some parents, if I knew their children were on full scholarship. I only asked for five or $10 and everyone said yes, which was very encouraging. Because as anyone knows who does volunteer fundraising, which I do, it can be very discouraging. You can ask people in the nicest of ways have complete backup materials and people, some people are rude. They say no, I don't like this. They hang up, which is totally unacceptable. Here I am a volunteer, I'm giving my service they shouldn't do that. And then others are very nice and as they should be, and say Well, thank you so much. And, and yes, I'd like to give or no I can't at this time. So I started off slowly and gradually when I became an empty nester, I got involved with more and more charity boards, and I was chairing different galleries and I want to talk a little bit about the largest gala that I really chaired, which was the South Hampton hospital gala and I did that three times as the single chair 2010, 11, and 13. And those years combined, we raised close to $6 million. And first year about 1000 people came out and it was a lot of, a lot of work. But I love doing it and I raised a lot of money for the hospital those three years and I think they were very happy to have me involved. I serve on that board now and, and I love what I do.
So for those that are listening that are interested in getting on a board and also being involved in volunteer fundraising, which is its own annal, right. You went from asking annual gifts to chairing very large galas. Um, how did you make that transition? How were you able to um, whether it's to learn the skills or to go from that you know, that annual fund to event planning and and chairing.
Yes, it was a gradual transition, meaning I started off on different boards. First I would serve on a benefit committee. And then remember one year I before I chair the big Southampton hospital Gala. They asked me to be an auction chair. And so I worked like crazy on the auction, bringing in auction items, and then I think the year after that they asked me to be a vice chair. So I raised a little money and I still brought in auction items, and then the next year, they said we want you to chair this big gala. And so it was gradual and I advise to anyone, before you get involved, do your research. In my book successful philanthropy, how to make a life by what you give. I have a chapter devoted to volunteer fundraising. I also have another chapter devoted to charity boards and what you should think about before you join a board and what your commitments will be and how to be a good board member and I think these are very important things that people need to know before they get involved.
So let's go back and um you know, we always like to talk about people's childhoods, things that inspire them to start giving. I've heard stories of you being active in Girl Scouts and volunteering in, in school and elementary school. You think back to your upbringing and, and were there any moments of inspiration or people that inspired you to start to give.
There were many people. I had attended 12 years of Catholic school where the nuns taught us the importance of giving back. But I will add that all religions teach the importance of giving back and I think that is really key. My father was a school teacher. I grew up on Long Island and his students were very important, their progress. And then he really cared about the family as my mother did. So I had very good role models. And many of us have very good role models and what were we taught to do with school, well, I grew up very middle class, we would have bake sales, we would have small penny drives back then or more money drives. I also sold Girl Scout cookies, I was a Girl Scout. And no matter where we were in our lives, we were taught that there are always people that are less fortunate and that we have to try to help provide for them and that really made an impact and and today I feel so blessed to be able to do the work that I do. The eight boards that I served on and I have four areas of focus. They are roots of underserved populations, women's rights, animal rights, and then health care and the boards that I'm on, for the most part fit into those categories. However, I am on a couple of other boards that are a little outside of those four categories. Every year I would say I attend about 100 to 125 charity galas. I buy the tickets, one or two tickets, sometimes tables, and I show my support for other people's causes as well because if I want people to attend my galas, well, I have to support their galleries and it's not always a two way street and I accept that. And, but I feel very blessed to be able to do the work that I do.
So I'm curious if you wouldn't mind sharing, which organizations or what subject areas are you supporting outside of those four core areas that you support?
It depends, for example, if someone invites me to a charity gala or sends me an invitation, and I like the work that they're doing, I support the ballet, I love fashion. I support fashion. I happen to be on one charity board involved with a museum and that's, I'm on the board of the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. And uh we're not just a museum but we have FIT attached to us, so, but it could be the ballet or it could be an art museum. It could be the Salvation Army, it could be the environment that I'm supporting, many different causes, really, it runs the gamut.
And I do know that your family is also involved in philanthropy. Would you like to share about how your daughters are also following in your footsteps?
Yes, I'm very proud of my two daughters. The oldest one as we speak is in Africa and she's doing volunteer work with a disabled orphan. She has a master's in social work and she's been there for many months. She comes back to the United States for short periods and then goes back to Africa. Very proud of the work she does and I think it's very important and she feels very fulfilled. The younger daughter is the president of a charity called Global strays and global strays is an animal welfare charity with a focus primarily on Latin American countries. They also do work in Liberia and she's the volunteer president. So I'm very proud, my husband, of course, he supports my work. He serves on one charity board because he works full time, and that's something that I would like to say, if you're working full time and you can't volunteer constantly, you do what you can. And regarding donations, I believe that if you have the ability, we all have an obligation to give. Of course if you've lost a job or you're having a very tough time making ends meet. Well, you can't give large donations. Never put yourself under financial stress to give to a charity, a charity wouldn't want that under any set of circumstances. And I say in my book, successful philanthropy, how to make a life by what you give, that anyone can be a philanthropist. You can give your time and your knowledge and you can be a philanthropist. Of course if you have the resources, I believe you have an obligation to give. And it could be if you're just starting out in career, maybe you want to give $10 or $20 a month to a charity, but you can get involved and do something and of course you can, unless you can't make your rent payments, then no one's expecting you to give.
Of course and we also talk about you know, so many different ways that people can give and certainly time is a very important thing because you can't make up time you know, so um people sort of think that charities don't want the volunteer time, but it's actually very important, not just board service, but also volunteering time. To the activities that a nonprofit needs. Um, so that I would just love to talk about what you consider your legacy to be?
Very good question. I want to be remembered as a good person who worked hard for other people and was very involved in different philanthropic activities. And what I do, my TV show, and my book, and then the philanthropy that's most important and of course, my family and to all the listeners remember your family is very, very important. Your friends are very important. The advice I’d like to give to young people, be an honest person, work hard, and follow your passions and do what you can to help other people.
That's great. I love that. So Jean, thank you. So much for joining us. Where can people find out more information about you?
Yes, I have a website jeanshafiroff.com, J E A N, S H A F I R O F F.com. And then I'm on social media. I have 1.2 million Instagram followers, and that's for fashion, philanthropy and positive living. And that's @jeanshafiroff, I'm on Facebook @jeanshafiroff, and also on Twitter @jeanshafiroff.
Great, thank you. So we're gonna list all those in the show notes. Everyone can grab those links and be able to follow Jean. Again, thank you for joining us and for everyone listening hopefully we provide some inspiration and understanding of how you can get involved with nonprofits and serving on not one, but maybe even eight boards like Jean. So thank you again for listening and thank you Jean, for joining us.
And Lori, thank you very much and to your listeners. Thank you and have a great day and start off slowly. That's my advice.
Wonderful.