September 19, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Women & Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World
By Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Martha A. Taylor, with Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz
Women are increasingly giving larger amounts of money, so fund raisers should do more to understand how women prefer to be solicited, write Sondra Shaw-Hardy, co-founder of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University; Martha A. Taylor, a vice president at the University of Wisconsin Foundation; and Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz, communications director at the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.
The book incorporates research on which causes women support and their characteristics as donors. Among the findings: Women relate to causes most by being told stories about beneficiaries and they decide to give based more on how they feel about a charity’s cause rather than who asks them to give.
Women also seek opportunities to become involved with an organization, so fund raisers would do well to offer them chances to volunteer, the authors say. In addition, they write that women are more likely than men to give to international charities and projects.
Fund raisers should keep in mind the generational differences that exist among women. For example, baby boomer women want organizations to follow up with them after they have given while Generation X women are less interested in getting such information. Boomer women are also more likely to give to large institutions than women in other generations, the authors write.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94103-1741; (415) 433-1740 or (800) 956-7739; fax (415) 433-0499 or (800) 605-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 265 pages; $42.00; ISBN: 978-0-470-46066-5.
