Foundation giving targeting women and girls  has grown more than overall foundation giving in recent years, along with women's funds’ giving, a new US report, Accelerating Change for Women and Girls: The Role of Women's Funds, says.

A 223% rise in giving directed to women and girls by the broader foundation community, adjusted for inflation, was seen between 1990, when it was $412.1m (£242.2m), and 2006, when it reached nearly $2.1 bn (£1.3 bn). The overall increase in giving over the same period was 177%.

There was an inflation-adjusted increase of 24% in giving by the 55 women’s funds, which invest in women-led organisations and programmes, analysed in the report between 2004 and 2006, compared with foundation giving overall which increased 14.8% in the same period.

"This study underscores that investments in women and girls can have big social returns. It suggests that women and women's funds will be increasingly involved in reshaping philanthropy and bringing to the fore important issues,” said Bradford K. Smith, president of the Foundation Center, who produced the report in conjunction with the Women’s Funding Network.

"Women are a rising force in philanthropy," said Christine Grumm, president and CEO of the Women's Funding Network. "This report demonstrates the power women-led solutions have in creating sustainable change in communities."

Key findings of the study include:

• Women's funds take a comprehensive approach to social change, focusing their giving on human rights, health, and economic empowerment.
• In contrast, foundation giving for women and girls is primarily focused on health.
• Foundation giving targeting women and girls remains a small percentage of their overall giving.

Rosa, the first UK women's fund for women and girls, was launched last year.

The report is available on the Foundation Center website.

More information on women and philanthropy can be found in Philanthropy UK’s  special report ‘Women and Philanthropy’