I've just started to do some research on women and philanthropy for an upcoming presentation...


...and so have been focusing on what it takes to inspire women to give money to their various alumni associations, churches or charities.
While I was online digging around for research, I came across a recent Tom Peters post about the gender breakdown of the people he saw working on a Charles River spring clean-up day. Many more women than men, it turns out, gathered for that hands-on cause.
So this made me wonder: All things being equal, even finances (one can dream), would women be more likely to contribute time or talent versus treasure (aka money) in order to "give back"?
My theory is that women do seek a bit more personal connection along the path to their charitable giving, and, like the buying process, there is a more meandering path toward check writing - if it ever occurs. More and more women have or will have the finances at some point, and they certainly DO write checks. But, perhaps a lot of women also seek more engaging/hands-on forms of donation, along the way to signing a check or in place of a monetary gift altogether.
Let me super-simplify below:
A donor who considers things from a more linear perspective (masculine tendency) may go about it this way: "There's a need. Let me fill it with my check. Done."
A less linear/more "connecting"/relationship-based (feminine tendency) donor may be thinking: "There appears to be a need. Let me connect a bit more with the organization and see what the people are like and who the other participants are. Then, maybe once I've done a bit of hands-on work and formed some personal relationships, I'll understand the scope of the need better and possibly be motivated to write a check."
Of course, there are many variables involved in why/how people give - and each organization has to really get to know their unique donor pool.
Still, if brands are learning to allow for a women's typically longer, more complex purchasing process, maybe the same applies to fundraising organizations? If women play a large role in your "market," and if you can avoid getting caught up in the end dollar goal and focus in on your means of engagement towards that end, doesn't that give you more opportunity to connect and raise greater amounts of money in the long run? (I'd love to hear reader thoughts on this, in comment form or in a direct email to me -- as I am in the early exploration stage on this topic.)
The anecdotal truths of spring clean-up days may have much to teach fundraisers. It isn't an either write a check or do the work proposition. Hands-on engagement and connecting with an organizations' community can actually be a very solid step toward a monetary donation AND it can be an extremely significant gift on its own.