Women have always been central to New Zealand's philanthropic tradition — as volunteers, community organisers, and donors. But women's philanthropy is evolving: from supporting organisations others lead, to founding giving circles and women's funds; from reactive giving to strategic philanthropy; from individual giving to collective action. Women's philanthropy in New Zealand is a growing force, increasingly visible and increasingly influential in shaping where philanthropic resources go and how they're deployed.
Women as philanthropists
Research consistently shows that women give at higher rates than men relative to income, across income levels. Women who control significant wealth — through inheritance, divorce, or their own careers — are increasingly exercising independent philanthropic authority rather than deferring to male partners or professional advisors.
New Zealand women in senior corporate, legal, and entrepreneurial roles are reaching philanthropic capacity at earlier ages than previous generations. The growing number of women in foundation governance — as board chairs, trustees, and grant decision-makers — is shifting the priorities and practices of organised philanthropy.
Distinctive philanthropic priorities
While generalisations are always limited, research suggests that women philanthropists tend to prioritise:
- Gender equity and women's rights
- Children and family wellbeing
- Community and social cohesion
- Longer-term, relationship-based approaches
These priorities are not inherently different from men's, but the emphasis and framing often is. Women's leadership in philanthropy tends to shift portfolios toward these areas.
Giving circles — groups of donors who pool resources and make collective grantmaking decisions — have grown in New Zealand. Several specifically focus on women donors:
New Zealand Community Trust Women's Fund: Some community trusts have established or supported women-focused funds.
Philanthropy NZ network: The peak body's women's philanthropy network connects women practitioners.
Local giving circles: In Auckland, Wellington, and other centres, informal women's giving circles — some focused specifically on women's issues, others on broader community priorities — are operating.
Foundation North / Auckland Foundation: These major funders have engaged with women's philanthropy through events, resources, and grants.
Giving circles provide:
- Collective capital: Pooling modest individual gifts into significant grants
- Shared learning: Members learn from each other about effective philanthropy
- Community: Social connection among like-minded women
- Influence: Collective voice on philanthropic issues
Gender-lens grantmaking explicitly considers how gender affects the issues being funded and who benefits from grants. It includes:
Women's organisations as grantees: Ensuring women-led organisations and organisations serving women and girls receive appropriate funding — not just a generic equity aspiration, but an explicit analytical lens.
Gender analysis of all grants: Asking, for any grant: who benefits? Who makes decisions? How are women's interests represented? This applies even to grants on ostensibly gender-neutral topics like environment, arts, or sport.
Funding women's economic empowerment: Grants specifically targeting women's economic participation — microenterprise, employment support, financial literacy, childcare access — recognise that economic power is central to gender equity.
Funding violence prevention and response: Family violence, sexual assault, and coercive control disproportionately affect women. Funders who take gender seriously invest in this space.
Addressing the funding gap: Research consistently shows that women-led organisations and organisations serving women receive significantly less philanthropic funding than comparable organisations serving men. Gender-lens grantmaking actively addresses this gap.
Women are significantly increasing their representation in foundation governance and management:
Board leadership: Many New Zealand foundations now have women chairs and majority-women boards. This shift in governance representation is gradually shifting priorities and practices.
Executive leadership: Women leading New Zealand community trusts, gaming trusts, and private foundations are bringing distinctive perspectives and approaches to philanthropic practice.
Programme staff: The grants management profession in New Zealand is predominantly female — a gendered dynamic that creates its own implications for power, pay, and professional status.
Women-led organisations underfunded: Despite progress, women-led organisations and those serving women continue to receive less philanthropic funding than those serving men or led by men. Conscious gender analysis in grantmaking can address this.
Rural women: Women in rural communities face distinctive challenges — isolation, limited services, masculine culture — that are often invisible to urban-focused funders.
Tāhine Māori philanthropy: Māori women's giving and leadership in philanthropy is a distinct and important field — connecting philanthropic practice to tikanga, whānau obligations, and mana wāhine frameworks. This intersection is underexplored and underresourced.
Women's economic security in later life: Women are at significantly greater risk of poverty in retirement than men — due to career breaks, lower lifetime earnings, and longer life expectancy. Grants addressing women's economic security in later life deserve more attention.
For women wanting to start a giving circle:
Tahua's grants management platform supports women's giving circles and women-led foundations — with the simple, accessible grant management tools that make collective philanthropy easy to organise and account for.