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
- 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%).
- Women’s and girls’ organizations can be found in every nonproft subsector. The greatest portion of these organizations appear in the human services subsector.
- 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.
- On average, WGI organizations are smaller than other charities, across a range of measures.
- 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.