The Women & Girls Index: Measuring giving to women’s and girls’ causes

Women’s and girls’ issues have received increased attention in recent years, but for a number of reasons, quantifying charitable giving to these causes has been challenging.

Until now. With the creation of the Women & Girls Index, which identifies 45,000+ organizations in the United States dedicated to women and girls, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute can measure giving to these organizations from individuals, foundations and corporations.

Key Findings

1. More than 45,000 organizations dedicated to women and girls received a total of $6.3 billion in charitable contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations in 2016. These organizations comprise a relatively small portion of total charitable organizations (3.3%) and overall charitable giving (1.6%).
2. Women’s and girls’ organizations can be found in every nonproft subsector. The greatest portion of these organizations appear in the human services subsector.
3. WGI organizations that focus on general women’s health receive the largest amount of philanthropic support ($1.2 billion in 2016). Women’s and girls’ organizations addressing reproductive health, as well as family and gender-based violence, are also top recipients of philanthropic support.
4. On average, WGI organizations are smaller than other charities, across a range of measures.
5. Women’s and girls’ organizations received approximately 3.1% of donor-advised fund grant dollars between 2012 and 2015. This suggests a greater focus on giving to women and girls among those who use this giving vehicle than among donors overall.

To learn more and read the full report, click here.