Marriage and Charitable Contributions

An income boost from a raise or bonus can affect a couple’s charity giving differently—depending on which partner got the raise.
A recent study shows that there are differences between the genders in their charity contributions behavior—what charities the couples support, and who is giving to causes focused on women and girls.
The study found that when the male partner enjoys an increase in income, the couple is most likely donating to religious, youth, international, or combined-purpose charity organizations…and they also tend to give larger amounts to these organizations.
However, when the female partner sees a rise in income, the couple has a higher chance to focus on and give to those charities that focus on basic human needs—such as shelter for the homeless or Red Cross.
Previous research always looked at household charitable contributions by married couples as an individual unit, but this study allowed researchers a chance to delve more deeply into influencing factors that drive couple’s donations based on gender.
For example, causes that support women and girls—45% of all donors in this study said they gave to these causes. However, data on gender differences in charitable contributions found that half of female donors and 2 out of 5 male donors gave to these causes.
High net worth couples—those households with $250,000 or more in income showed surprising data—men and women had the same top priorities for charitable contributions.
Among other interesting pieces of data—women were likelier than men to say that their political or philosophical beliefs were the main motivator in their charitable contributions. They were also likelier to give because they were a volunteer or on the board of a charity organization. This study also found that single women were more likely than single men to make charitable contributions, as well as that women were more likely to spread their giving across more organizations and that men tended to concentrate their giving.