How to Find Big Donors Among the Women in Your Database

Research and experience prove that women are a powerful source of philanthropy. Yet how can you find female donors who can make a big difference to your cause?

Traditional means of identifying potential big donors don’t always work for women, says Jennifer Filla, president of Aspire Research Group and a leading prospect-research consultant. Compared with men, “how women hold wealth and give it away is very different.”

For instance, though women often give more generously over all, they make smaller gifts to more organizations; as a result, they may not turn up as major donors in a typical search.

Also, women frequently earmark gifts for small, basic-needs charities, which don’t always publicly announce donations. “We’re missing a lot of them,” Ms. Filla says. “Qualifying them for wealth can be a challenge.”

To help charities develop a “female-focused” strategy, Ms. Filla has created readiness checklists that focus on how to make the best use of your donor database to identify potential big contributors.