A new report provides a comprehensive analysis of charitable giving to women’s and girls’ organizations during the pandemic.
U.S. women and girls organizations received $8.8 billion in charitable donations in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted services and programs supporting women and girls around the world. This is a 9.2% increase compared to 2019, new research released today reveals. By the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Giving to women and girls increased during the peak of the global health crisis, but philanthropic support for these organizations decreased by 2020, according to the fifth annual Women & Girls Index (WGI). This was still below the overall growth rate of 11.3%*. That represented less than 2% of all donations in the United States that year.
WGI provides the only comprehensive, systematically generated data on U.S. women’s and girls’ charities, tracking the amount of philanthropic support they receive from individuals, foundations, and corporations. . This year’s WGI expands the picture of charitable giving to women and girls from 2012 to 2020 by adding information from 2020, the most recent year for which final IRS data is available. .
“2020 was a year of upheaval in all areas of life, and philanthropy, especially giving to women and girls, was no exception,” said Jeannie Sager, director of the Women’s Philanthropic Association. “This year’s WGI found that while the pandemic has boosted philanthropy in the United States and around the world, donations to women’s and girls’ causes have lagged behind other philanthropic sectors. The progress made towards gender equality will be erased and additional resources will be required if women and girls are to continue to make gains. It provides a powerful tool for identifying opportunities.”
The pandemic has disproportionately impacted women in many ways, and the 2023 WGI shows how philanthropic giving has responded to the needs created by these unprecedented events. For example, WGI’s donations to family and gender-based violence prevention organizations increased by 17.9% between 2019 and 2020, as donors increased their donations to family and gender-based violence prevention organizations as domestic violence incidents increased in response to stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic. This suggests that this may have been a motive for donating to the organization. .
Additionally, in 2020, social conversations inspired by racism and social justice movements also raised questions about the underfunding of women and girls of color and prompted donor action. . WGI is part of the Equitable Giving Lab at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and is funded by Google.org to advance understanding of charitable giving to diverse communities and under-resourced groups. This is an initiative of a school that is The school’s upcoming Equitable Giving Lab research will also look at funding not just BIPOC communities, but cross-cutting groups such as LGBTQ+ women and girls and women and girls of color.
Key findings from the 2023 WGI include:
- Women’s and girls’ organizations received $8.8 billion in philanthropic support in 2020. This represents 1.8% of her total charitable giving. This $8.8 billion represents a 9.2% increase in her philanthropic support compared to 2019.
- In 2020, reproductive health and family planning organizations received the most philanthropic support for women’s and girls’ organizations. This is a consistent trend over time. However, other types of women’s and girls’ organizations have likely experienced changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as increased donations to women’s and girls’ welfare organizations and decreased donations to women’s and girls’ sports and recreation. did.
- From 2019 to 2020, some subsectors experienced unexpected increases in charitable giving, including women’s and girls’ arts and culture and women’s and girls’ education. This growth can be partially explained by the influence of a small number of large donations to a relatively small field of philanthropy.
- Support for women and girls’ organizations through government grants increased by 10.1% from 2019 to 2020, but this was significantly less than the 36.6% increase received by other charities from this source of funding.
“We have found that women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. While the pandemic has increased donations to these organizations, it has also created greater and sustained demand for their services. ” said Dr. Una Osiri, Associate Dean for Research and International Affairs. Programs at Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “WGI supports donors, fundraisers and others dedicated to the cause of women and girls so that they can urgently advocate for increased continued philanthropic support for the myriad issues affecting women and girls. To do.”
According to the report, 8.2% of wealthy households who donated to women’s and girls’ causes did so after hearing that women’s and girls’ causes received less than 2% of all charitable donations. I answered that it was a motive. 2023 Bank of America Philanthropy Study: Philanthropy by Wealthy Households Conducted by Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In conjunction with today’s announcement of the 2023 WGI, Women’s Philanthropy is pleased to announce the following awards: Giving Tuesday, Impact 100, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, Ms. Foundation for Women, National Women’s Hall of Fame, Philanos, Philanthropy Together, Pivotal Ventures , Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Together Women Rise, United Nations Foundation, Vital Voices, Women’s Funding Network, and Women Moving Millions.
The full research brief and downloadable datasets for organizations serving women and girls are available at EquitableGivingLab.org/WGI. A searchable index of the 51,756 charities included in her WGI for 2023 can be accessed at WomenAndGirlsIndex.org. Additional information on how to participate in Give to Women and Girls Day can be found here.
*sauce: Contributing to USA 2023researched and written by Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and published by Giving USA Foundation.
About the Women’s Charity Association
The Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) is part of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. WPI deepens our understanding of women’s philanthropy through rigorous research and education, and interprets and shares these insights widely to improve philanthropy. For more information, visit https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/wpi.
About Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is dedicated to elevating philanthropy to improve the world by training and empowering students and professionals to become innovators and leaders who create positive and lasting change. I am. The school offers undergraduate, graduate, certificate and professional development programs, research and international programs, and through the School of Fundraising, the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy, and the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. We offer a comprehensive approach to philanthropy. , Islamic Philanthropy Initiative. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or Instagram, and like us on Facebook.