Survey finds women’s philanthropy shifts toward local, personal giving

A new report from HSBC suggests that affluent women in the US are redefining both wealth and charitable giving, moving away from high-profile donations and toward a more personal, community-focused approach.

The study, titled “The Giving Shift: Global Living, Local Giving,” was conducted in partnership with Know Your Value and Ipsos. It surveyed women with at least $100,000 in investable assets, revealing that three in five respondents consider financial giving to be extremely or very important.

However, the nature of that giving is changing: rather than focusing on prestige or recognition, women are prioritizing causes that address immediate human needs and support those closest to them.

Top areas of giving include family (41%), human services such as food insecurity and disaster relief (36%), and health or medical causes (30%). The report also highlights generational differences, with Gen Z and Millennial women placing greater emphasis on philanthropy compared to older generations. Younger respondents are more likely to support education, civil rights, mutual aid, and public spaces within their communities.

Human services, which include assistance towards food insecurity and disaster relief, emerged as a top two giving category across generations.

The importance of giving also appears to grow with wealth. The survey found 23% of women with $100,000 to $500,000 in assets see giving as extremely important, compared to one-third of those with at least $1 million.

The survey also delved into women's confidence in achieving their wealth goals. On that score, 61% of Gen Z women and 53% of Millennials felt self-assured, compared with 56% of Gen X and 42% of Baby Boomers. Through a racial lens, over 60% of affluent Black and Hispanic women reported confidence in meeting their financial objectives, outpacing their White peers at 47%.

Diving into the objectives driving each generation, the survey revealed Gen Z women are focused on achieving financial independence, while millennials had their eyes on generating passive income through investments. Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, meanwhile, were aligned in prioritizing increasing their net worth.

Those findings fall in line with the results of another survey from JPMorgan Wealth Management, which found 64% of Gen Z and millennial women associate money with "freedom," compared to 73% of women respondents overall who say it gives them "security." 

“Women are no longer measuring wealth by size alone but rather defining it by purpose, impact, and control,” said Racquel Oden, US head of international wealth and private banking at HSBC.

She added that the report “validates what we’ve been seeing with our clients – affluent women want strategies that support their financial independence, while enabling them to give meaningfully, starting with their own families and communities.”