Women are the nurturers of our nation. As nourishing people, they are defenders of fairness and social justice. These are the values implicit in raising children and protecting a family. They have been defenders, too, against harm to women that undermines family values.
Women are often subtle in their acts of charity. They are less interested in having places named for them. They are driven more altruistically to right a cause and empower women and girls. Americans are incredibly generous, yet when it comes to giving help to the causes of concern for women and girls, only 1.6 percent of charitable giving goes to nonprofits addressing women’s concerns related to health, breast cancer research, entrepreneurship, gender equality, childhood malnutrition, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. The University of Indiana, through the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy tracks this charitable giving.
In 2019, just over six billion dollars was given to women and girls programs. That sounds like a lot, however total charitable giving in the U.S. was $396.5 billion dollars. There are 45,000 organizations dedicated to women’s concerns. That is 3.3 percent of the total 1,375,714 charities in our country.
So, who gives dollars to women’s causes?
Wealthy women are the greatest contributors to remedy the concerns of women. MacKenzie Scott (formerly Bezos), the third wealthiest women in the world, established Bystander Revolution to combat bullying. Oprah Winfrey supports The Angel Network and participates with the Clinton Foundation and America’s Food Fund founded by Laurene Powell Jobs and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Husband and wife teams often work together identifying the charities of choice. Melinda Gates’ personal efforts focus on empowering and educating women worldwide. In her book, Moment of Lift, dedicated to women’s fight for equality, she says “equality can’t wait.” Spanx founder Sara Blakely contributes grants to women small business owners, the backbone of our culture. “It’s my greatest mission in life to empower and elevate women,” she says.
Barnard, Wellesley, and Radcliffe colleges are counted among the top 10 givers to women’s causes, as is Planned Parenthood and YWCA chapters. Two corporations have a long giving history to address women’s concerns. Avon has contributed one billion dollars to “speak out against domestic violence” as well as form the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. Proctor and Gamble promotes gender equality internationally and was the first official sponsor to step up and side with the U.S. women’s winning soccer team fight for equal pay, even donating $23,000 to each player to help close the gap.
In terms of giving charitable contributions, women’s causes are way behind the favored religious and collegiate gifts. But as Sara Blakely says, “When you help women fulfill their potential, magic happens.” All research confirms that empowering women also impacts peace on earth.
Hillary Clinton calls women empowerment toward equal partnership a security concern. Despite new information on sex trafficking and domestic abuse, no increase in contributions to fight these issues has been forthcoming.
So, what will it take to step up to the plate—to choose to give to combat the causes of concern to women (who are one-half of our global population)? What do you think about making “magic happen?” And women helping women?
