Fidelity likes the ladies

For fundraisers, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund’s recent study of gender differences in giving habits may seem like a throwback to the future. Like the vacuum salesmen of yore or Zero Mostel courting Broadway benefactors in “The Producers,” we’re advised to ask if we may kindly speak with the lady of the house.

Fidelity didn’t put it quite that baldly. Without actually using the words “wymyn” or “grrrls,” Fidelity dressed the study in the language of feminism: “Women are more likely than men to report they assumed the role of primary or sole decision-maker with regard to how much was donated to charity and which charities received donations over the past two years.”

What that comes down to, of course, is a restatement of the wisdom of the ancients (the ones who created soap operas): that women typically control a household’s discretionary income.

The study further confirmed stereotypes by finding that rich women are the best givers of all. (Do you go to a theater? Any theater? In the playbill, dollars to donuts, there will be a report on a fundraising gala that will consist largely of photos of ruddy-cheeked matrons beaming at one another. Them’s the ones.) Aside from being likely to give more dollars, such women have several attributes that may make them particularly good prospects for long-term relationship-building: they are likeliest to use giving vehicles that require forethought, such as donor-advised funds; likeliest to donate securities; likeliest to work with a financial adviser; and least likely to request anonymity.

Perhaps most important, high-income women were most likely to agree with the statement “In challenging economic times I typically give more because the need is greater.” Thirty-five percent of high-income women said this sounds like them, versus 25% of high-income men.

The study defined high-income as $150,000 or more in “household income” and made no distinction between women who clawed their way to success and those who married it. From charities’ perspective, it may not matter. Whether you’ve come a long way, baby, or not, we’re glad to know you.