2003 – Frederidcksburg, Virginia
Doris Buffett is the founder and president of the Sunshine Lady Foundation, a private, family foundation incorporated in 1996 in eastern North Carolina. The mission of the foundation, to provide “opportunities for the advancement of education, well being and new life choices for the working poor”, is rooted in Ms. Buffett’s midwestern values. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, the oldest daughter of Howard Buffett and sister of Warren. She believes that everyone is capable of making good choices when choices are available and that goals must replace fantasies before change can be effected. Each Sunshine Lady Foundation grant is considered an investment, and the decision to grant funds is always based on an expected return: to change lives. Acknowledging that luck is not equally distributed and that she has been the beneficiary of a disproportionate share, Doris Buffett is passionate about her responsibilities as a philanthropist. An article in Worth magazine called the Sunshine Lady Foundation “uniquely hands-on, folksy, a person-to-person enterprise – the un-foundation”. Since 1996, the Sunshine Lady Foundation has awarded more than $6.2 million in grants. Through a unique network of trusted volunteers (Sunbeams) mostly selected by Doris, SLF grants are made to organizations throughout the country provided they are run by a passionate, hardworking board, a standard that is never compromised. The foundation also operates and funds several scholarship programs including one available nationally for survivors of domestic violence. Among her many other roles, Doris has been a first grade teacher, domestic violence crusader, political activist, mother and grandmother. She has appeared on Good Morning America, is listed in the 2000 Guinness Book of Records, has been interviewed by the Associated Press and featured in Ms. Magazine. She resides in Fredericksburg, Virginia and Rockport, Maine.
