The Pentera Blog
New Study Shows Giving to Women’s and Girls’ Causes Increasing
A new study shows charities that primarily serve women and girls received $8.8 billion in philanthropic support in 2020—a 9.2% increase over the previous year but still less than 2% of overall charitable giving.
The study, The Women & Girls Index (WGI) 2023, published by The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University, found that giving to women’s and girls’ nonprofits rose during the COVID-19 pandemic but less than giving to all charitable organizations, which increased by 11.3% in 2020.
The largest share of giving to women’s and girls’ causes—$1.6 billion—went to nonprofits focused on reproductive health and family planning. Women’s and girls’ human services organizations received the next greatest share at $1.4 billion followed by family and gender-based violence prevention and women’s health organizations at $1.3 billion each.
The report also showed a 10.1% increase in government grants to women’s and girls’ organizations in 2020. However, that was significantly less than the 36.6% increase in government grant funding to other charitable organizations.
The study’s authors believe the WGI can assist both donors and nonprofits determined to impact women’s and girls’ causes. As they state:
Women’s and girls’ causes overlap with every other charitable subsector. This means donors can adjust their existing charitable giving to address women’s and girls’ causes, and fundraisers can use the WGI to make their case for support. Prospective donors are likely aware of gender equity issues but may not have translated this awareness into actual giving to women’s and girls’ organizations.
WGI’s database is also potentially helpful for nonprofits promoting estate gifts. As previous Women’s Philanthropy Institute research has shown, “Fewer couples are making charitable decisions together—and the woman is more likely than the man to make charitable decisions on behalf of the couple.”
You can find The Women & Girls Index 2023 report here.
