Stephanie Norton was inspired by her family and Half the Sky to make a difference, not only for her children’s world but for a world of children. She believes that in order to build an enduring community you have to educate and nurture its women and children. By giving women the tools to save themselves, you save a community.
Please tell us about yourself and your background!
My name is Stephanie Norton, I am a mother, wife, attorney, mediator, baker, and part-time philanthropist. I founded an organization with three women in 2010 called the Mothers’ Day Movement (MDM). We are careerwomen with one main thing in common: we all want to make the world a better place by making a difference in the lives of women and children around the globe and right here at home.
We were inspired to start the Mothers’ Day Movement from the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl Wudunn. We were struck by how much unmet need there was in the developing world, and we also realized how any person, no matter who they were, could make a difference in the lives of one person or even a whole community. Within months of reading the book, we also learned that $14 BILLION was spent on Mother’s Day (that number has grown to $31 BILLION). When we learned about that staggering number, lightning struck! We thought maybe we could ask people to redirect giving around Mother’s Day and to spend a bit less on flowers, candy, and cards and send some of that money to mothers suffering around the globe.
A movement was born. Since then, one of our co-founders has retired and two new women with the same passion have joined our team. Together, we inspire each other to keep striving, to lessen how much is spent individually on Mother’s Day gifts, and more to help mothers and their children make their lives better.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
We target every person who gives a gift on Mother's Day. Historically, most of our donors have been women, but we are trying to reach anyone who is giving a Mother’s Day gift to their mother, spouse, sister or friend. Any amount of money no matter how small can have great reach. We have, for the most part, focused on developing countries because our funds go so much farther and because the infrastructure is not there for raising funds the way US organizations can. However, we have worked with domestic organizations that meet our own organization’s goals. In addition to our annual goal to raise as much money as possible for our chosen beneficiary, we believe that MDM can also educate donors about the amazing charities working around the world to help women and children improve their lives.
What are your current goals for your business?
Our one continuing goal, year after year, is to spread the word about redirecting spending on Mother’s Day to help women around the world. What is a movement, if not a group of people gathering strength and changing the world. If every person that learned about our Movement shared our mission. Imagine…. we could start to shift more of the $31 billion to help women and children make their communities stronger, more vibrant, and more sustainable. Our goal is to make philanthropic giving on Mother’s Day the norm. When you think about what your mother wants from you, she likely wants a better world for her children and their children.
What would you like to achieve for yourself and your business in the future? If we had one goal, I think it would be that every gift bought on Mother’s Day would include giving the gift of charity, be it one that MDM has chosen or a charity of one’s choice. That is how we move the needle on giving; that is how we make this a true Movement.
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be? My inspiration comes from my children. They continually challenge me to do better, by shining a light for them and for others. Our Mothers’ Day Movement team was definitely inspired by New York Times journalist, Nicholas Kristof, who continuously illuminates the needs around the world and asks people to take action. That is all we did -we took action!
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
Speaking on behalf of our entire team, I would say that the pivotal moment was when we picked up the book Half the Sky and learned that women lead their communities and if we can change a woman’s life, we can change an entire community. How amazing is that!
For more info, visit Mother's Day Movements website!
