The average amount given by donor households has been relatively steady from 2000 through 2020, but single women’s giving increased overall and to secular causes during the COVID-19 period when compared to single men.

Data show that married couples are most likely to give, followed by single women, and then single men and that holds true not just during a 20-year period but for each individual year tracked.

And while the declining donor numbers is a hot topic and true for both men and women from 2000-2020, the decline started later and was less pronounced for single women, compared to single men.

Those data points are from a new study of 20 years of gender and giving trends in a new report “Women Giving 2024” from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute (WPI) at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

This study presents findings for three types of households: those headed by single women; those headed by single men; and those headed by a married couple.

Some of the data changes over time because according to the U.S. Census Bureau younger people are delaying marriage and children or are not marrying or having children at all. The data also shows more young adults are living at home with their parents.

Single women’s giving participation declined during COVID-19, but their average giving amounts increased. According to Jacqueline Ackerman, interim director of the WPI, this indicates that women’s giving rates were more resilient prior to COVID-19, and that their giving during 2020 reversed a long trend. Ackerman is the study’s primary author. Also involved were Xiao Han, applied statistician and Una Osili, Ph.D., associate dean for Research and International Programs and Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies.

Women who lost earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic were less likely to give to charity, appearing less resilient in their giving than single men or married couples.

Research indicates that women’s giving is more resilient during crises, with women donors more likely to prioritize essential needs and community-oriented causes in times of uncertainty. This trend was evident during the Great Recession when women donors maintained higher levels of philanthropic engagement compared to their male counterparts, explained Ackerman.

During crises, women also exhibit stronger tendencies toward informal generosity, such as mutual aid and direct support to individuals, which might not always be captured in traditional philanthropy metrics. These behaviors reflect broader gendered differences in giving motivations and priorities.

Data in the report show that from 2000-2020, the percentage of single men and married couples giving to charity decreased more than 20 percentage points each, compared to 15 percentage points for single women. Married couples’ giving rates declined from 79.1% to 59%. Giving rates for single men dropped from 53.2% to 32.9%.

While single women’s giving participation rates also declined from 56.4% to 41.7%, this drop was 14.7 percentage points, significantly less than other households.

The percentage of married couples giving to secular causes declined 25.1 percentage points, from 67.1% to 42% during the study period. In contrast, single men and single women saw a slightly smaller decline in giving rates to secular causes. Single men’s giving participation dropped from 41.5% to 24.5%, a 17-percentage point decline. Single women’s giving participation declined a similar 16.5 percentage points, from 46.9% to 30.4%. Married couples are consistently the most likely to give to secular causes, followed by single women, and the single men—though the difference between the three groups shrank during the study period.

The study also included data on how households’ charitable giving varied based on their individual experiences during the pandemic — such as COVID infection, the ability to work from home, being laid off, or experiencing lost income. While many experiences influenced charitable giving trends as seen in the 2024 Giving Environment study, they usually did not influence households differently depending on gender.

The one exception where gender matters is for households experiencing income loss during the pandemic. Single women who lost earnings were less likely to give compared to single men or married couples. This was true overall and especially for secular giving but was less significant for religious giving.

Ackerman said that additional research is needed to understand why job loss was associated with declining donor rates for single women but not for other groups. One possibility is that these households might be more likely to have young children, and the pandemic forced many mothers to exit the workforce to care for children or elder care at home.

“Women have not dropped out of the donor pool because they are no longer generous. Something happened during COVID to change these rates,” said Ackerman.

The full 22-page report can be found at Women Give 2024 Research Report.pdf (2.38 MB).

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Source From Non Profit Times