Women's Foundation of Boston

Women’s Foundation of Boston Releases First-Ever Greater Boston Women and Girls Philanthropy Index

Based on the Women’s Philanthropy Institute’s national model, WFBoston’s proprietary index measures philanthropic giving to Boston-area nonprofits solely serving women and girls

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Boston, MA – November 8, 2022 – The Women’s Foundation of Boston (WFBoston) is proud to announce the release of its inaugural Greater Boston Women and Girls Philanthropy Index, the first local database of its kind, benchmarking and evaluating women- and girls-focused philanthropic giving against overall philanthropic giving in Greater Boston. As the primary vehicle for investing in women and girls in Greater Boston, WFBoston creates, funds, and accelerates economic empowerment, leadership and mentoring programs that equip women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders.

Using a model created by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, WFBoston engaged a team of professional volunteers for six months to build its proprietary index. WFBoston plans to use the database to help refine its long-term strategic goals, as well as inform and inspire others in Greater Boston’s philanthropic community to increase giving to nonprofits that serve women and girls. Research shows that when philanthropic support for women and girls increases, it leads to economic growth for women and girls and lifts whole communities. WFBoston plans to update its index annually. 

“The national Women & Girls Index from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute was eye-opening and inspired us to launch WFBoston five years ago,” said Christina Gordon, Co-Founder and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Boston. “As a data-driven grantmaking organization, we knew we needed to look at real data to understand the status of philanthropic giving in Greater Boston. The Greater Boston index will help shape our organization’s future and show our community the importance and impact of our work.” 

“Since we created the Women & Girls Index, organizations serving women and girls have consistently received less than 2% of total charitable giving in the U.S.,” said Jeannie Sager, director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. “To change that, we need to draw attention to this funding gap not only nationally, but locally. We are thrilled that WFBoston built this index based on our model, and hope it inspires other women’s foundations and funds to use the Women & Girls Index to make a case for support in their communities.” 

WFBoston’s 2022 Greater Boston Women and Girls Philanthropy Index findings: 

  • The percent of philanthropic giving to nonprofits serving women and girls in Greater Boston is aligned with national statistics
  • Local giving to nonprofits serving women and girls as a percentage of all philanthropic giving is 2.16%, having increased in 2021 following three-years of decline
  • In 2021, there were nearly 8,800 nonprofits in Greater Boston, 368 of which (4.3%) solely serve women and girls 
  • Higher education dominates philanthropy to women and girls, both in total dollars donated and in organizational assets 

The full methodology and results of WFBoston’s 2022 Greater Boston Women and Girls Philanthropy Index are available on the WFBoston website.

About Women’s Foundation of Boston:

The Women’s Foundation of Boston, Inc. is a nonprofit public charity that creates, funds, and accelerates high-impact economic and leadership programs that equip Greater Boston women and girls to be financially independent and successful leaders. WFBoston is becoming the primary vehicle for investing in women and girls in Greater Boston and is building a fast-growing network of female nonprofit and business leaders.