Washington Area Women's Foundation

Women increasingly in the driver's seat when it comes to charitable giving.

The In Good Company blog took some time yesterday to explore how women are impacting the world of philanthropy, with some interesting findings I thought I’d share to get the week started:

First, In Good Company reports, last year, anonymous donations were made to at least 20 universities.  All were earmarked for scholarships for women and minorities and were all given to schools whose presidents are currently women.  Mysteriously cool.  Speculation is that these donations are coming from a woman, or group of women, which is great.

But I still have to ask–why anonymously?  Why not proudly attach names to these empowering gifts for women?

Then, did you know that single women are more likely to give more than single men? 

Fascinating, given that still, single, women-headed households are far more likely to be living in poverty, and that women are still earning less than men

So I guess it makes sense then that when women are married, they influence their husbands to give more than they would if left to their own devices. 

We’ve seen how a few of those stories might be happening among our donors.

So, married or single, it seems the increasing reality is that women are giving more, influencing giving more and generally changing the philanthropic landscape as we know it. 

To get plugged into this powerful movement in the Washington metropolitan area, learn more about our work here.  Elsewhere?  Find your local women’s fund through the Women’s Funding Network.

Lisa Kays is The Women’s Foundation’s Director of Communications.