Women's Philanthropy Grows 223 Percent

The Foundation Center and the Women’s Funding Network released a report yesterday called Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women’s Funds on the growing impact of philanthropy by women for women and children’s programs.

Key findings:

• The study found that between 1990 and 2006, giving directed to women and girls by the broader foundation community climbed 223 percent, after adjusting for inflation, compared to an overall giving increase of 177 percent.The nation’s private and community foundations increased their giving for activities targeting women and girls from an estimated $412.1 million in 1990 to nearly $2.1 billion in 2006.
• Giving by the 55 women’s funds analyzed in the report also rose an inflation-adjusted 24 percent between 2004 and 2006, while foundation giving overall increased 14.8 percent in the same period.
• The over 145 member funds of the Women’s Funding Network provide an estimated $60 million a year in grants and leverage millions more through their wider relationships and connections.
• Women’s funds take a comprehensive approach to social change, focusing their giving on human rights, health, and economic empowerment.

Although the study ends in 2006, the women’s funds continued to grow in 2007 ($2.3 billion) and 2008 ($2.4 billion.)

About these ads