Late last year, Melinda Gates unveiled an initiative by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve funding for projects geared toward women and girls. Historically, giving specifically to programs for women and girls has lagged. However, women changing philanthropy is happening as they increasingly use their financial power.
More and more, women are changing the face of philanthropy, including who a philanthropist is, what this person looks like, how she thinks, and what she prefers to support.
Women Changing Philanthropy
A study published by the Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network found that “…between 1990 and 2006, giving directed to women and girls by the broader foundation community climbed 223 percent, after adjusting for inflation, compared to an overall giving increase of 177 percent.”
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University published a report, which found there was a difference in giving and levels of giving between genders. Other studies have also reported a difference between men and women as it related to their charitable interest.
The director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute, Debra J. Mesch commented in an article from The New York Times that, “Women don’t think of themselves as philanthropists. When you think of philanthropists, you think about Warren Buffett and Andrew Carnegie. You think about all those older white men.” However, as was noted in the article, the studies that have been published at the Institute have found, “that women were more generous than their male counterparts, regardless of education, age, race or other demographics.”
What Does it Mean For Nonprofits?
It means that nonprofits need to recognize and understand that giving by women to charity is different than men. Their interests and levels of giving diverge from men. Other studies have also found that women expect a higher degree of communication about outcomes. Thus, women have to be approached differently.
Nonprofit organizations that subtly or even subconsciously ignore women in philanthropy do so at their own peril.
- Especially dealing with husbands and wives, leaders need to equally, if not more, engage with the woman.
- Nonprofit leaders should never assume that a single woman would probably give at a lower level or not at all as compared to her male counterpart. Studies show this is an erroneous assumption. In fact, a single woman would give more than a single man.
- Keep in mind that women are twice as likely than men to communicate through word of mouth about their involvement or support in a charitable campaign. This is a way to get the message out about your organization.
- Women want to communicate with your organization and hear from you. They may want to ask you more questions, dig deeper into the issues, demand greater transparency around outcomes and be personally involved with the organization.
- They may be more interested in programs and initiatives that directly impact the lives of women and children.
85% of Decisions
Any marketer knows that women make more than 85 percent of the buying decisions in their household. And, their economic power is only rising. If you look at the news about the changing face of philanthropy, you will read a lot about generational giving, with many comparisons between Millennials and Baby Boomers.
Nonprofit leaders have to certainly focus on understanding the new dynamics that the Millennials bring to charitable giving. However, an equally important paradigm shift is occurring with women increasingly laying claim to being prominent donors and a crucial philanthropic force in the nonprofit sector.
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