Women More Likely to Give to Most Types of Charities, New Women’s Philanthropy Institute Study Finds

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Women are significantly
more likely than men to give to almost every type of charitable cause and are
equally likely to support the rest, after controlling for education, income, and
other factors that influence giving, new research from the Women’s Philanthropy
Institute (WPI) at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University finds.

In Causes Women Support, WPI Director Debra Mesch examined whether there are
differences between male and female single-headed households across 11 types of
charitable causes. The study found that women’s likelihood of giving exceeded
that for men in eight of the 11 causes: religious institutions; organizations
that help the needy; combined purposes (such as United Way, United Jewish
Appeal, Catholic Charities or community foundations); health care and medical
research; education; youth & family; community; and international organizations.

Women were as likely as men to give to arts and cultural organizations,
environmental nonprofits and “other.” Percentages of men and women who are
likely to give to each type of organization are available in the new report.

“Clearly, gender matters in philanthropy,” Mesch said. “Women and men are both
engaged, but their giving priorities are different. Additional research will
help us better understand why women are more likely to give to certain types of
organizations.”

Unveiled today at the TED Women 2010 conference by Lisa Witter, a member of the
WPI Council, chief strategy officer for Fenton Communications, and co-author of
The She Spot: Why Women are the Market for Changing the World and How to Reach
Them,the new findings are the second part of the Women Give 2010 report.

“This new research affirms for individual women donors that they are part of a
larger community of female philanthropists who share their passion and their
desire to strengthen their hometowns and the world,” Witter said.

Women Give 2010 compares philanthropic giving between men and women based on a
nationally representative sample. It uses data from the Center on Philanthropy
Panel Study (COPPS), the nation’s largest study that tracks giving patterns
among the same households over time. Previous studies of gender and philanthropy
have relied on data related to giving by households and married couples, making
the effects of gender on giving difficult to identify. Women Give 2010 analyzed
only giving by households headed by single people (never married,
separated/divorced, widowed) in order to examine gender differences. Researchers
controlled for factors that affect philanthropic behavior such as income, age,
race, education, number of children, and more to allow direct comparisons
between men and women.

The study also looked at the areas of greatest difference in likelihood of
giving by gender. Women are more than 50 percent more likely to support
international and community causes, although less than 6 percent of both men and
women support these causes. In descending order, females are 55 percent more
likely than males to give to international causes; 51 percent more likely to
give to community; 42 percent more likely to give to religious institutions; 38
percent more likely to give to health care; 32 percent more likely to give to
youth & family; 31 percent more likely to give to education; 18 percent more
likely to help people in need; and 14 percent more likely to give for combined
purposes.

The first Women Give 2010 report, released in October, reported differences in
giving to charity between male and female single-headed households across income
levels. Findings in that report revealed that (1) in every income group from the
lowest ($23,509 or less) to the highest (more than $103,000), female-headed
households were more likely to give to charity than male-headed households; (2)
in every income group except for one, women gave more than men (almost twice as
much); (3) when comparing females to males by singles’ marital status, women
were more likely to give and give more than men–except for widowers who gave
more than widows.

Both reports are available at: http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/womengive/

About the Women’s Philanthropy Institute

The Women’s Philanthropy Institute furthers the understanding of women’s
philanthropy through research, education, and knowledge dissemination. By
addressing significant and groundbreaking research questions and translating
that research into increased understanding and improvements in practice, WPI
helps to leverage new and expanded resources for the common good.

About the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University is a leading academic center
dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its
practice worldwide through research, teaching, training and public affairs
programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit
organizations. A part of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI,
the Center operates programs on the IUPUI and IU Bloomington campuses. For more
information, visit www.philanthropy.iupui.edu.

SOURCE Women’s Philanthropy Institute