Consultant

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion on the topic of women in philanthropy. It was inspiring to hear from local female leaders on a subject that is important to me personally as a woman in fundraising and one that I feel should be a central focus for our collective work moving forward.

According to research by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, women give differently than men.

• More likely to give
• Giving more than men on average
• Spreading their giving across multiple organizations
• Motivated by empathy and a desire to help others
• More likely to give in response to an immediate need
• Volunteering at higher rates
• More relational and collaborative in their giving (over 70% of giving circles are majority women!)

• Women are underrepresented on nonprofit boards: Only 16% of affluent women holding board positions, compared to 30% of affluent men (2023 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy).
• Giving to women’s and girls’ organizations remains small: While it reached a record $10.2billion in 2021, it remains less than 2% of all charitable giving in our country (The Women & Girls Index 2024).
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on women, and we are just beginning to understand how that affected giving: According to the Women Give 2024 Study, single women’s giving participation declined during COVID-19, reversing a trend that had previously shown women’s giving to be more resilient. Women who kept giving, however, increased their average gift amount.

• Review the national research and take a deep dive into your own organization’s data and trends. What percentage of your donors are women? Do they tend to support certain priorities/programs/initiatives? What giving vehicles are they using? What percentage of your volunteers are women? Once you’ve collected this baseline information, share it internally with staff and your board and use it to inform fundraising strategies.
• Complete an assessment of your organizational leadership. Do you have representation from women in leadership roles and on your board? How are you engaging and cultivating the next generation of women leaders for your organization?
• Engage with major and loyal women donors to your organization to seek their feedback. What motivates their giving decisions? What engagement opportunities do they find to be most impactful? How can your organization improve outreach to women donors? Use these findings to tailor your major donor cultivation and stewardship strategies.
• Review your annual fundraising plans including appeals and cultivation and stewardship events. Are you including messaging that speaks to women’s motivations for giving? Are you properly demonstrating impact in your stewardship communications? Is there an opportunity for your organization to leverage technology to tailor your appeals to women donors? Are you providing opportunities for women donors to engage in meaningful ways with each other and your organization?
• Audit your database and internal procedures. Do your technology platforms and processes reflect your approach to engaging women donors? What naming conventions are you using for households? Are women donors being credited and acknowledged in their own right? For households, are you engaging both partners in donor meetings and events?

And, most importantly, let this be the start of an ongoing conversation and commitment to intentionally and strategically understand the role and impact of women in philanthropy for your organization. For further reading on this topic, I encourage you to visit the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) website and follow WPI on LinkedIn for articles and news updates.