How Data-Informed Philanthropy Can Close the Giving Gap for Women and Girls

Philanthropic funding for organizations dedicated to women and girls has consistently remained below two percent of total charitable giving since 2012, the year for which the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy began tracking this data. From healthcare and human rights to education and economic empowerment, these organizations help address a wide range of issues critical to advancing gender equality. By gaining a clearer understanding of the philanthropic landscape of support for women and girls, the nonprofit sector can make more strategic, data-informed decisions to close this funding gap.

WPI recently released its sixth annual Women & Girls Index, a comprehensive measurement of charitable giving to women’s and girls’ organizations that reveals trends, opportunities, and challenges for funders committed to these causes. These findings, combined with the increased visibility afforded to women’s philanthropy driven by influential philanthropists like Melinda French Gates or MacKenzie Scott and awareness initiatives like Give to Women and Girls Day, demonstrate how research can galvanize greater giving for women and girls.

Insights from the 2024 Women & Girls Index

The 2024 Women & Girls Index provides a decade-long dataset on charitable giving to U.S. organizations serving women and girls, covering the years 2012 to 2021. Key findings from this year’s Women & Girls index include:

• Giving to women and girls reached a historic milestone. For the first time, women’s and girls’ organizations surpassed the $10 billion mark, receiving $10.2 billion in philanthropic support in 2021. While this is encouraging, giving to these causes represents just 1.9 percent of total charitable giving — underscoring the need to support a wide range of organizations dedicated to women and girls, which can be a powerful nexus for change. For example, nonprofits working to close the gender pay gap are helping to ensure women have equal access to fair wages and career opportunities. Organizations focused on solving for gendered health disparities are improving access to care for women and girls. Additionally, nonprofits addressing family and intimate partner violence provide critical support services, such as shelters or legal advocacy.

• Long-term trends emerge in organizations’ mission focus areas. Reproductive health and family planning organizations (e.g., Planned Parenthood, Center for Reproductive Rights) maintained the largest share of philanthropic support for women’s and girls’ causes in 2021, receiving $1.8 billion — a trend that has been consistent over time. Human services (e.g., YWCA) and family and gender-based violence organizations (e.g., National Network to End Domestic Violence) followed closely, each receiving $1.6 billion in 2021. Civil rights and advocacy organizations (e.g., National Women’s Law Center) saw the largest growth, with a 60.9 percent increase in philanthropic support from 2020 to 2021. Funding for these advocacy organizations has more than doubled over the decade 2012-2021.

• Increased investment from the public sector. Government grants can be an important source of income for many charitable organizations, including those that serve women and girls. From 2020 to 2021, government grants to women’s and girls’ organizations grew by 26.5 percent, outpacing the growth of such grants to other nonprofits and highlighting increasing public sector investment in these causes. However, over the decade 2012-2021, government grants to Women & Girls Index organizations and to other organizations grew at nearly the same overall rate.

The Women & Girls Index’s decade-long dataset offers a broader context for understanding the evolution of giving to women’s and girls’ organizations. While these groups have seen growth in charitable dollars, they still lag behind other sectors like human services and education. The data shows no metric — whether philanthropic support, assets, revenues, or expenses — where women’s and girls’ organizations consistently outpaced non-gender-focused organizations over the last decade. Women’s and girls’ organizations are integral to every nonprofit sector, and many organizations, even if not solely focused on women and girls, incorporate gender equality in their work. So, growing funding for women’s and girls’ organizations can go hand in hand with overall growth in philanthropy.

The Role of Data-Informed Philanthropy

These insights serve as a valuable resource for donors, fundraisers, and advocates dedicated to advancing women’s and girls’ causes. Importantly, we know that this research can be a powerful motivator for donors.

For instance, the 2023 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy, Charitable Giving by Affluent Households, developed in collaboration with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, examines the giving patterns, priorities, and attitudes of affluent U.S. households for the year 2022. When asked about their motivation for supporting women’s and girls’ causes, 8.2 percent of high-net-worth donors cited learning that these causes receive less than two percent of total charitable giving.

This principle — turning data into action — is exemplified by bold leadership like that of French Gates, whose $250 million commitment to global women’s health, a part of her $1 billion commitment to women and girls broadly, is a call to action for funders around the world. French Gates’ significant investment, guided by data and recognizing women and girls as an important nexus for change, demonstrates how high-profile donors can inspire others. By drawing attention to the stark funding disparities and demonstrating the bold leadership needed to address them, French Gates can influence other donors to recognize the urgency of investing in women and girls.

While the leadership of notable women philanthropists like French Gates, Scott, and Sheryl Sandberg is inspiring, sustained growth in funding for women and girls will depend on widespread commitment and action from everyone committed to gender equality. Data alone cannot drive change; funders, donors, and philanthropic institutions must act intentionally — leveraging research to align their giving strategies with the needs of women’s and girls’ organizations.

The philanthropic sector has an opportunity to more effectively engage communities to help translate research into meaningful action. In response to this lack of funding for women’s and girls’ organizations, WPI launched Give to Women and Girls Day, which takes place annually on October 11, coinciding with the International Day of the Girl. Partners in this national initiative aim to raise awareness around the funding disparity and grow philanthropic support for women and girls. Now in its third year, the initiative’s success in amplifying this conversation is reflected in the growing support of leading philanthropic organizations such as GivingTuesday, Pivotal Ventures, Ms. Foundation, Women Moving Millions, and more.

Additionally, we’ve seen organizations tap into this moment to deepen their commitment to women and girls or use it as an opportunity for fundraising, driving vital support to their women- and girls-focused causes.

For example, inspired by this data, Amplify Her Foundation launched on Give to Women and Girls Day and the International Day of the Girl in 2023 with a dedicated focus on helping close the giving gap by directing 100 percent of its grantmaking to women’s and girls’ organizations in New York City.

This year, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute was excited to partner with Amplify Her Foundation to host a powerful Give to Women and Girls Day event that brought together philanthropists, nonprofits, corporate allies, and gender equality advocates virtually and in New York City. The event resulted in more than $1.4 million raised for women and girls as of December 2024.

Data alone won’t solve the funding gap for women and girls, but it can serve as a powerful signpost and tool to guide philanthropy toward increased impact. Supporting women’s and girls’ organizations can complement and enhance existing funding strategies. No matter your focus, integrating a gender lens into your giving approach can drive meaningful progress across all areas of interest. Together, donors and funders who are passionate about supporting women and girls can ensure that the organizations serving them receive the resources they need to thrive.

Jacqueline Ackerman is interim director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.