Women as philanthropists: a major audience for fundraising

Women are a major source for charitable giving.

• Women hold outright and control within a household more wealth than men, 51.3%. And in the top wealth category (incomes of more than $500,000), about 41% of the 3.3 million Americans in that range are women. [1995 Survey of Consumer Finances]
  
  
• At least $41 trillion will pass from one generation to the next by 2044. It is estimated that 85-90% of those left in charge of this money will be women. (Partially because women outlive their husbands by an average of 7 years.)
  
  
• Women now own 50% of the investment wealth in the U.S.
  
  
• Studies show that individuals who volunteer tend to donate more than twice as much money as those who do not volunteer – and women are more likely to volunteer than men, 62% of women compared to 49% of men.
  
  
• Between 1992 and 1995, the number of women with a net worth of $600,000 climbed by 28% and the average charitable contributions by women increased by 20% as opposed to 6% for men.
  
  
• Among donors who gave more than $500 or more in 1998, single women gave more often than single men did.
  
  
• According to a 1999 survey of members of the Committee of 200 (female entrepreneurs whose companies generate annual revenues of $15 million, and women who manage corporate divisions that produce more than $100 million in annual revenues):
  
  
  • 95% of the women give money and 73% give time to charitable organizations
  • 84% make their philanthropic decisions independently, regardless of their marital status
  • 42% of these women report that the way they are asked can be a moderate to serious barrier to their philanthropic giving
  • 27% of these women whose net worth is more than $50 million report that, as philanthropists, they are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts
    

• Among men and women business owners, women are more likely to give to charity at higher levels and more likely to volunteer more hours. 15% of women compared to 13% of men gave $10,000 or more each year. Only 1% of women reported not giving, compared to 3% of men. 50% of women with assets of $1 million or more contribute at least $10,000 per year to charity. 40% of men in the same asset category donated $10,000 or more per year. [“Leaders in Business and Community” study, Merrill Lynch and National Foundation for Women Business Owners, 2000.]

Women approach philanthropy differently than men. And women say that too many institutions and their fundraisers have not yet figured this out.

• See gender differences in giving in the report “HNW Digital Wealth Pulse Survey of Wealth and Women,” HNW Digital, Newton, MA. Data from report presented in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, May 3, 2001.
  
  
• “Many women philanthropists at all income levels perceive that they are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts.” (“Women: A Dedicated Force in Philanthropy,” Advancing Philanthropy, May/June 2000, AFP.)
  
  
• Women appear more interested in results than in traditional forms of recognition, want detailed information about the organization, its operations, and use of their donations. Women seek education and guidance before investing in causes.
  
  
• While women may resist being labeled feminists, “the fundamental issues so well-articulated by feminists resonate as clearly now as they ever did.” Study participants “rejected outright the notion that ‘feminism is no longer relevant in our society.’” (Research from Women’s Funding Network, San Francisco CA, USA)