Women are a growing force in global philanthropy — as individual major donors, as leaders of foundations and giving circles, and as advocates for more equitable grantmaking practice. Research consistently shows that women give differently than men: more collaboratively, with greater attention to community needs, and with stronger focus on equity and social change. Understanding women-led philanthropy matters both for philanthropists seeking to engage more effectively and for nonprofits seeking to build relationships with women donors.
Women give more, relative to resources
Research shows that women give a larger proportion of their income to charity than men with equivalent resources. The Women's Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University has documented this across income levels, wealth bands, and demographic groups — the pattern is consistent.
Women give more collectively
Women are significantly more likely to participate in collective giving — giving circles, women's funds, community philanthropy — than men. Collective giving models, which pool resources for larger grants and engage donors in the grantmaking process, align with giving patterns and motivations common among women donors.
Women focus more on equity
Women philanthropists disproportionately fund organisations led by women and communities of colour, and are more likely to apply gender and equity lenses to their grantmaking. This isn't universal — but the aggregate pattern is consistent across research.
Women's funds
Women's funds are foundations specifically dedicated to funding women's rights, gender equity, and women's leadership. They exist at local, national, and global levels:
Women-focused community foundations
Many community foundations have established women's funds — donor advised funds aggregated toward women's issues — within their structures. Boston Women's Fund, New York Women's Foundation, and dozens of others operate as "in-house" women's funds within community foundations.
Women's giving circles are among the most distinctive and fastest-growing forms of collective philanthropy:
How giving circles work
Members pool resources — typically each contributing a set annual amount ($500-$5,000 is common) — and make collective grant decisions, often after extensive learning about community needs and site visits to potential grantees. The collective approach enables larger grants than individual members could make alone; the participatory process builds philanthropic knowledge and engagement.
Learning and community
Giving circles are explicitly educational as well as grantmaking. Members learn about the sector they're funding, visit grantee organisations, hear from community leaders, and develop philanthropic knowledge and networks. Many describe their giving circle as transformative — shifting from writing a cheque to active philanthropic engagement.
Prominent women's giving circles
What is gender-lens grantmaking?
Gender-lens grantmaking applies an explicit gender analysis to funding decisions — asking how grants affect women and girls, whether women have equal access to resources and decision-making, and whether funded organisations address gender-based barriers.
Gender lens doesn't mean only funding women's organisations — it means thinking about gender dynamics in all funding decisions. A gender lens in education funding asks: do girls have equal access to quality education? Does school design account for girls' safety? Are women teachers equitably represented?
Gender-lens investing
Gender-lens investing extends the analysis to investment portfolios: investing in companies with strong gender equity practices, women-owned businesses, or products and services that address women's specific needs. Many foundations have added gender-lens criteria to both their grantmaking and their endowment investment policies.
Growing leadership
Women now lead many of the world's major foundations — including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Melinda French Gates), Ford Foundation (Darren Walker, but historically significant women leaders), MacArthur Foundation, and many others. Women are disproportionately represented in programme officer and grants management roles, though often underrepresented at CEO and board levels of major foundations.
The pipeline
The philanthropy sector's workforce is majority women at the programme level — but top leadership and trustee roles remain disproportionately male. Diversity and inclusion efforts within foundations are improving this, but the shift is slow.
Women's organisations in NZ and AU
New Zealand and Australia have strong women's rights organisations — YWCA Aotearoa, Women's Refuge, Rape Crisis, WIRE (Women's Information and Referral Exchange), and many others — that need and benefit from gender-focused philanthropy.
Gaming trusts and gender
Gaming trusts in NZ and Australia are significant funders of women's sports, women's community organisations, and gender-based violence services. Some trusts have specific funding streams for women's organisations.
Philanthropic foundations
Several NZ and Australian foundations have explicit gender equity or women-focused funding priorities. The Tindall Foundation, Foundation North, and several others have made grants to women's rights and gender equity organisations.
If you want to start one
Identify 10-20 women with shared philanthropic interest. Decide on membership contribution levels, governance structure, and focus area. Many giving circles start informally and formalise over time. Philanthropy New Zealand and Philanthropy Australia have resources for starting giving circles; the Women's Philanthropy Institute has a comprehensive toolkit.
If you want to join one
Community foundations often host women's funds and giving circles — contact your local community foundation. Philanthropy New Zealand and Philanthropy Australia list giving circles in their directories.
Tahua's grants management platform supports women's funds, giving circles, and gender-lens grantmakers — with collective decision-making workflow, grant tracking, donor management, and the reporting tools that help women's philanthropic organisations work effectively together.