It used to be that men, with their longer tradition of giving, were less interested in giving time; they clearly understood quid pro quo donations and were far better at leveraging their gifts. Again, as women’s roles in the workplace have changed they too have less time to volunteer. We have not seen data on whether women understand the need to reciprocate or how they leverage their giving.
Older women are still very interested in proper acknowledgement and are often offended when their ability to give is underestimated. Among development professionals, however, it is generally acknowledged that men are often “courted” more than women and typically receive “higher” levels of cultivation.

Here’s more:
• Men typically know more about the tax advantages to giving.
• Women feel responsibility to give and are more concerned about the organization’s finances.
• Women typically do not like to pledge. If they do they will generally pay off the obligation early.
• Women like to give “many” gifts …spreading it around in smaller amounts.

Christine Owens, a senior associate at BCC & Associates, has 30 years of broad-based experience in non-profit management and fundraising. She is a specialist in strategic planning, board training and development, capital campaigns, corporate relations and major gifts. She has held senior positions in campaigns raising millions of dollars for institutions and organizations such as, Georgetown University, Catholic University of America, Washington University’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Brooklyn Hospital, American Chemical Society, and the Potomac School. Christine is an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching in the graduate program of Non-Profit Management. COwens@BCC-associates.com