GenX and Millennial Women Donors Show Positive Trends

There’s a lot of buzz these days about women in the Millennial Generation (those born after 1981), from when they’re marrying (or not), their earning power, and their charitable giving.

Women Give 2016 popped into my social news feed recently. This summary of research conducted by The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy shows there is a lot of hope for charitable giving among Gen X (born between 1965-1980) and Millennial women.

Not surprisingly, as younger women have increased their education and improved their earning power, they are more involved in charitable giving, says Women Give 2016.

What is surprising, is that Women Give 2016 reports, “The estimate of giving by GenX/Millennial single men and married couples today is lower than the giving of their pre-Boomer counterparts four decades ago.” The report compares the groups at the same age ranges and adjusts for inflation. When the researchers go into more detail to determine who is the key decision makers are among married couples, the report shows some bright spots. Married women are having more say in high value gifts (defined as more than $600). Among the married couples where the woman has influence on giving, overall contributions are higher than among married couples of the same ages in the pre-Boomer generation, the report finds.
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Interestingly, as the median age for marriage rises and the number of adults who have never married by age 44 increases, the number of single women making decisions about giving is going up. Women Give 2016 shows single GenX/Millennial women are holding even with their pre-Boomer counterparts in giving as a percentage of income. Conversely, giving by single GenX/Millennial men is down approximately 30% from the giving of their pre-Boomer counterparts.
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For professionals who advise donors, it is critical to attend to the stage of life of their clients. We are in a rare time where advisors have a increasingly large group of generous, single women who have both financial stability and charitable goals. How is your organization responding to their needs?