Boomer and Millennial Women Donors Motivated by Different Factors, Study Says

Title: Women and Giving: The Impact of Generation and Gender on Philanthropy

Organization: Fidelity Charitable

Summary: While women play a central role in their family’s giving decisions, there are big differences between how baby-boomer women and millennial women give and think about their philanthropy, the study found. Boomer women are much more confident and strategic in their giving than millennial women, who more frequently reported making giving decisions based on their emotions, according to the study.

The survey polled 3,200 donors about how they view and carry out giving.

Among the findings:

• Three-quarters of millennial women said they were more likely to give based on the emotional tug of a cause rather than a strategic plan, and 23 percent were more likely to give spontaneously.
• When it came to the top causes they supported, both generations ranked hunger and access to nutritious food first. But boomer women ranked developing treatments and cures for diseases second and access to basic health services third. Millennial women placed access to basic health services second and protecting and preserving the environment third.
• Slightly more than half of millennial women said they encouraged others to donate to the same charities they supported, compared with only 30 percent of boomer women.
• Regarding the charitable deduction, 37 percent of boomer women reported thinking carefully about the tax deductions related to their giving, compared with 29 percent of millennial women.