Wendy Schmidt Invests in the Planet

Focusing on Women Angel Investors, one woman, Wendy Schmidt, wife of billionaire Google chairman Eric Schmidt is a full time philanthropist and is putting her money where her passion is, saving the Earth.

Schmidt runs two foundations: The Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Schmidt Family Foundation, which funds 150 groups that work in 5 general areas; climate and energy, ecological agriculture, human rights, environmentally conscious sailing and the vitality of the island of Nantucket.

According to an article in Forbes magazine in June, since 2006 Wendy has spent $225 million on philanthropic efforts making her a powerhouse on the environmentally philanthropic scene.

In 2004, after Google's public offering Wendy heard Al Gore speak and invited him to present his talk at Stanford University.  With her husband, she invited 350 Silicon Valley's smartest people to the event and seated an environmental expert at each table.

That event lead to the creation of the Schmidt Family Foundation and the 11th Hour Project.  She says "it is called that because we are in the 11th hour now and we need to change what we're doing."

Her husband's feeling about Wendy's work is that "Wendy believes that we can combine environmental stewardship with good business judgment and real economic growth and what she's doing will change the world."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2013/06/04/google-earth-wendy-schmidts-planet-forward-philanthropy/