The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University has released their second report, Causes Women Support. Using the same data set, methodology, and analysis as previously, the report examines the differences between men and women’s giving by charitable area.

According to the study introduction:

The prevailing perception of women’s giving is that women are more likely to give, but they give smaller amounts than men. Research in this area offers some support for this belief. Men and women do exhibit different charity choices and patterns of donating money. Males tend to concentrate their giving among a few charities, whereas females are more likely to spread the amounts they give across a wide range of charities (e.g., Andreoni, Brown, & Rischall, 2003; Piper & Schnepf, 2008). That is, “women are more egalitarian in their giving, while men are more strategic” (Brown, 2006). Previous research also indicates that women tend to give to organizations that have had an impact on them or someone they know personally (Parsons, 2004; Burgoyne, Young, & Walker, 2005). Subsequently, much of the empirical research indicates that men and women exhibit different charity choices and patterns of donating money. However, research has been inconsistent as to the differences in charity choice. The purpose of this study is to undertake a more comprehensive perspective of men and women’s giving by examining the likelihood of giving across all charity subsectors, using a nationally representative sample of U.S. households.

Among the findings:

• Female-headed households are more likely or as likely to give as male-headed households in every charitable subsector.
• The top five areas in which female-headed households are significantly more likely than their male counterparts to give are the international, community, religion, health care, and youth & family areas.

The findings in the Women Give 2010 Causes Women Support report reinforce the concept that gender matters in philanthropy. The results document that women and men are equally and deeply engaged in the community. Fundraisers, philanthropic advisors, and others can use this research to help donors more closely align their giving to their passion.

The complete study is available for download.