Fundraisers should treat female philanthropists differently from male philanthropists to build successful relationships, according to Nicky Macintyre, chief executive of Mama Cash, the international women’s fund.

Speaking at the International Fundraising Conference in the Netherlands, Macintyre called for distinct trends among female philanthropists to be recognised and researched. 

She said that female donors differ from male donors in five key areas, and that women philanthropists are:

• Driven more by cause rather than influence and recognition
• Relationship-orientated and want more personal involvement with organisations
• More willing to give time and energy, such as visiting grantees
• More likely to combine money with activism and to fund ‘harder causes’
• More likely to take more risks, give to smaller projects and monitor results in a variety of ways

“Some of my colleagues argue that we should not generalise about women as donors; however, I’m going to stick my neck out and say that I think there is truth in generalisations about women donors,” she remarked. 

Macintyre also said that there is not enough research on women and philanthropy, or recognition of women donors. She said that more research is needed and highlighted Philanthropy UK’s recent Women & Philanthropy report, which explores key characteristics of women philanthropists.

In the report, Susan Mackenzie, director of Philanthropy UK, said, “Women’s philanthropy is not comprehensively reported in the press, and there is still little research on gender differences in philanthropy. Women are underrepresented in giving statistics, such as the Sunday Times Giving Index, which reflects how wealth is attributed, and so generally do not capture the influence, in major philanthropy, of women in decision making by couples and families.”