Gender Differences In #GivingTuesday Participation

Understanding the role gender plays in philanthropy empowers organizations to engage their donors most effectively and increase their giving. This is true throughout the year and particularly on #GivingTuesday, a day designated to maximize philanthropic giving. Since it began in 2012, #GivingTuesday has grown significantly in participation numbers and total dollars donated. #GivingTuesday, celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, provides a unique opportunity for nonprofit organizations to incorporate nontraditional fundraising methods into their efforts and to engage with donors online. For nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, a successful #GivingTuesday requires understanding how and where donors tend to give. Previous research by the Women's Philanthropy Institute (WPI) shows that gender is an important factor to consider in fundraising – women and men often differ in their giving patterns and how they respond to fundraising appeals.1 Focusing on whether women and men give or behave differently specifically on #GivingTuesday adds to the understanding of how and why women and men give, providing fundraisers with valuable information that can help further personalize their donor outreach. Early studies on #GivingTuesday have focused primarily on giving overall as well as general aspects of #GivingTuesday, such as its growth, its social media impact, and its attraction to millennial donors.2 However, few assessments have looked thoroughly into how, why, and where women participate in #GivingTuesday in comparison to men. This report will explore #GivingTuesday data through the gender lens