Last month, as we celebrated Women’s History Month and commemorated a full year of the COVID-19 crisis, I wondered about the pandemic’s effect on women donors as they make their philanthropic decisions.

Happily, I had a source I could ask. I proudly belong to the Society of 1918, an amazing women in philanthropy group at William & Mary. In existence since 2016, the Society of 1918 was spearheaded by women volunteer leaders who wanted to see more women around the table during board meetings. We have seen tremendous response from women aged 20 to 95, all of whom support William & Mary financially. As of March 2021, we are 490 strong and growing! Plus, we have raised over $4.4 million for an endowment to benefit a diverse constituency including current students, alumnae, parents, faculty and staff.  In William & Mary’s recent $1 billion For the Bold campaign, women gave a whopping $531 million, individually or with their spouses or partners. Finally, we have made great progress on our goal to see more women serving on William & Mary volunteer boards, growing in five years from 36% to 47% of board members.

With enthusiastic support from William & Mary’s advancement leaders, Vice President Matthew Lambert and Senior Director of Engagement and Inclusion Initiatives Val Cushman, and the help of my WASHBURN & McGOLDRICK colleagues, last month I conducted a survey of the Society of 1918 members to ask them how this past year affected their philanthropic decisions. We were particularly interested in learning what influenced or affected their giving and whether their priorities and giving levels changed. Nearly 40% of the members responded. Here are some highlights from the survey:

• 52% gave more and 36% gave as much as the previous year, compared with only 11% who gave less and 1% who stopped giving.
• 42% gave to more charities, 37% gave to the same charities, and only 8% gave to fewer charities.
• 86% gave to causes they truly care about, where they felt they can have the greatest impact; 63% indicated that affinity with the organization motivated them to give.
• Education, health and social justice were their top three priorities.

In addition to the Society of 1918 survey, I had the opportunity to interview four women philanthropists, including two members of the Society of 1918 and two members of NC State’s Wolfpack Women in Philanthropy, another recently formed women’s group with philanthropy as one of its pillars.  The interviewees span four decades from the early 1980s to 2017 and come from different geographic regions and diverse backgrounds. Much of what I heard during the interviews mirrored comments made in the survey. Common themes emerged:

• Women are being more strategic about their giving. They truly focus on charities where they can have the biggest impact or things they care about. The older participants are committing more by blended outright and future planned gifts.
• They are giving to more local needs and to support underrepresented women in their area: “I give to help remove roadblocks for what I want to achieve for other women.”
• Giving to their alma maters has either increased or stayed the same, not decreased. All have become more involved and engaged with their universities, which has led to giving more.
• They all really value belonging to a group of inspiring women who are philanthropic and want to make a difference. The Society women were attracted to a cause that is for women by women. They benefit from the lifelong connections they are making.
• Belonging to their alma maters women in philanthropy group has made them more aware of the institutions’ needs and of areas where their gifts will have the greatest impact.
• Encouragement from leading women donors and high-level university officials influenced some of the interviewees’ decisions to participate in women in philanthropy groups.
• Two were introduced to philanthropy as students, either as a phone-a-thon caller or as a members of student advancement organizations. These experiences instilled in them a greater awareness of the importance of giving back after graduation.

Based on the thoughtful insights from these generous women, I offer the following six tips for creating and sustaining a successful “women in philanthropy” program at your institution:

1. Involve more women in leadership and volunteers roles to inspire their participation and giving.
2. Understand that many women are inspired to assist other women facing hardships, whether related to COVID and its economic impact or other challenges.
3. When appealing to women philanthropists, recognize in both your messaging and approach how they strategically focus their giving to address needs they can affect positively.
4. Realize that the competition for women’s philanthropy has become keen, and make sure your stewardship of their gifts is impeccable.
5. Build advocates among your institution’s volunteer and administrative leaders to support and sustain your women in philanthropy program.
6. Start educating students early. When students understand the difference that donors have made at their school, they are more likely to start as young alumnae donors and continue throughout their lifetimes.