‘Moment’: What Motivates Female Donors

To learn more about whether women give differently than men, Moment magazine (January), which covers Jewish issues, asked 19 donors and philanthropy experts for their opinions. Among them:

• Edith Everett, chief executive of Gruntal and Company and co-founder of the Everett Family Foundation: “Women are less driven to become board members and don’t strive for positions as men do. Nor do they care about their names on things as men do; they are more interested in outcomes.”
• Carrie Miller, a fund raiser at UJA-Federation of New York: “Women’s giving tends to come much more from a passion to the cause. Men are often caught up in the business approach. It’s the ‘you give to my organization and I’ll give to your organization and now let’s talk business mentality.’ Few women like to step out individually as much as men do.”
• Sue Lehmann, chair of Youth Noise, in New York: “Women don’t want to be involved superficially, they want to be active contributors who are valued for their skills, knowledge, and expertise. Women are very conscious of access and connections, but that may not be their primary grabber.”

The article is available online.