The Women’s Philanthropy Institute today released Gender and Crowdfunding which examines overall gender differences in how women and men give to crowdfunding campaigns. The report uncovers notable insights on women crowdfunding donors, including their characteristics, motivations, views on crowdfunding and future giving.

Funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gender and Crowdfunding finds that nearly 1 in 3 women (31.1%) give to a crowdfunding campaign in a typical year, and 40.8% have given to a crowdfunding campaign at some point in the past. What’s more, of these donors, nearly one-third (31.3%) plan to increase their contributions to these campaigns in the near future, while the vast majority (94.6%) plan to maintain or increase their contributions—giving reason for optimism about women’s giving to crowdfunding campaigns. 

“Gender and Crowdfunding paints a picture of what the modern crowdfunding donor looks like. This report reinforces that women are generous and that they use many tools to be generous, whether that is crowdfunding, volunteering, or traditional charitable giving,” said Jeannie Sager, director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. 

Women crowdfunding donors tend to be younger, have higher levels of education, and are more concentrated in the Western U.S., compared to women who do not give to crowdfunding campaigns. The study also examined what might hold women donors back from using their influence to promote generosity through crowdfunding. For example, they are willing to share about causes and projects on social media but are reluctant to directly ask the people in their networks to give. Women also say that crowdfunding can highlight and help donors connect to projects, but they express concerns about transparency and accountability.