For the first time in history, women are on the verge of controlling the majority of personal wealth. The unprecedented transfer of wealth to women is projected to reach $30 trillion in the next decade. What is unprecedented about that figure is certainly how much wealth will be transferred, but even more importantly, how women will direct that wealth. Women spend more money on their families and their households and on socially responsible products. Across income levels and generations, women are more likely to give, and give more than their male counterparts. With women at the helm of financial decision-making, I see a future of philanthropy that is collaborative, joyful, democratic, and rooted in trust.
Melinda French Gates and MacKenzie Scott are two women who often make headlines with their philanthropy—both for how much, but just as importantly how they give. Two weeks after her departure announcement from the Gates Foundation, French Gates laid forth her bold plan to move $1 billion to women’s rights groups in under two years, a bold way to move the needle on the stagnant 2% of charitable giving that goes to the causes of women and girls each year. This is in addition to her venture capital investments in women, a field where the statistics are eerily similar. Similarly, MacKenzie Scott has mobilized a staggering $17 billion to 2,300+ nonprofits globally since 2020, largely through unrestricted seven-figure donations rooted in the growing calls to center on the knowledge, relationships, and expertise of leaders on the frontlines of social change. Brava.
But it’s not just billionaire women changing the landscape of philanthropy—women of all wealth levels have been leading how philanthropy can be done differently for decades through an approach called “giving circles.” This model brings together a circle of a dozen up to a few hundred people, everyone pools their donations and everyone has an equal voice in the decision-making process of where that money will be donated. New research from Philanthropy Together, in partnership with lead researchers at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University and Colmena-Consulting, shows participation in collective giving grew to 4,000 giving circles in the United States, contributing over $3.1 billion to social good causes between 2017 and 2023—and most of the groups are mostly made up of women.
A throughline of collective giving research is the critical role that women play in the movement. Among group leaders, 84% reported that more than half of their membership consisted of women. With 60% of groups entirely composed of women, female leadership is an integral aspect of more than half of all groups. Among all groups, 43% of leaders reported that the basis of their group’s identity was their identification as women.
Women in giving circles are teachers, lawyers, tech leaders, moms, students, and so much more. They come from all backgrounds, faiths, political ideologies, geographies, and ages and are united by a common vision for a brighter future for the world. As a member of Peninsula Latina Giving Circle and the CEO of a platform that connects collective giving models, I’ve personally seen the power of collective giving. We are a circle made up of women from San Francisco to San Jose, coming together to celebrate our communities, culture, and vibrant ways of life. We aren’t Melinda or MacKenzie in our wealth, but we pool and give $30,000 each year to support grassroots community-based organizations, led by and serving people of color. We gather around my kitchen table, and with laughter, good food, and hard-but-loving conversations, we share our many different ideas and viewpoints and eventually agree on where that funding will go. 53% of giving circle members reported that being part of collective giving improved their ability to have constructive conversations with differing viewpoints, demonstrating how these groups foster open dialogue and civic engagement. By changing how we give to be in collectives, we can also mend the very social fabric of our country.
With women influencing funding priorities in collective giving, the In Abundance report shows that one in five groups designed their giving processes explicitly to promote gender equity and justice. What’s more, giving circles are about more than just giving money. Members are also more likely to volunteer, become more civically engaged, and gain a deeper sense of purpose and belonging within their sisterhoods of givers.
The wealth transfer wave is coming, and with it a different way of giving. Giving boldly like Melinda, giving with trust like MacKenzie, and giving with joy and with one another like my giving circle sisters. All women have a role to play to step into their power and their vision, and together, we can all be so much more powerful. I hope you join a giving circle in your neighborhood or start your own.
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