When it comes to giving, high-income women are in the driver’s seat

High-income women are the main drivers of philanthropy in their households, according to research released today by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, a charitable-donor-advised-fund program established by Fidelity Investments. Charitable giving is often a joint decision, but when there is a prime decision maker identified, it is more likely to be a woman. A full 92% of men said that their spouse is the primary influence regarding giving, compared with 84% of women who said the same. The study involved a random sample of 1,003 adults who donated at least $1,000 in 2007. “The overarching theme is that women are more and more in the driver’s seat of these decisions,” said Sarah Libbey, president of the $3.7 billion Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. “This [research] is another opportunity to remind advisers that if they are not talking about philanthropy with their clients, they are missing a piece of the pie.” Women with annual income of $150,000 or more use a variety of giving vehicles. “The high-income women are more likely to explore more sophisticated giving strategies,” Ms. Libbey said. “They are also more likely to donate securities.” Of the women surveyed, 16% said that they have used a donor-advised fund, charitable remainder trust or private foundation, compared with 10% of high-income men or 9% for the group of men as a whole. Also, 7% of women said that they have donated securities, compared with 3% of men and 4% of all donors surveyed. Still, most people write checks directly to charities, Ms. Libbey said. "While donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle, they still represent less than 3% of overall giving in the U.S.," she said. The study also found that women are more likely to donate to health and science causes, with 15% of respondents indicating that preference, compared with 7% of the entire group. They also tend to give more money during a tough economy, with 35% of women saying this, compared with 27% of all donors. The online survey was conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 by independent market research firms Chrysalis Research of Kirkland, Wash., and Research Data Technology of Woburn, Mass., on behalf of Boston-based Fidelity.