Browsing by Author "Pactor, Andrea"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 17
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    All in for Women & Girls: How women’s fund and foundation donors are leading through philanthropy
    (2019-07-23) Dale, Elizabeth J.; Watkins, Betsy; Mesch, Debra; Osili, Una; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Pactor, Andrea; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Skidmore, Tessa
    To date, studies of women’s funds and foundations have been qualitative in nature, and have studied the organizations more than their donors. This study examines, in a comprehensive and quantitative manner, the impact of women’s fund and foundation donors on women’s and girls’ causes. Previous research has shed light on women’s funds and foundations, on giving to women and girls, and on the impact of high-net-worth donors. This report addresses the intersection of these three factors to ask: What unique role do high-net-worth donors to women’s funds and foundations play in catalyzing support for women’s and girls’ causes?
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    Charitable Crowdfunding: Who Gives, to What, and Why?
    (2021-03-31) Osili, Una; Bergdoll, Jon; Pactor, Andrea; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Houston, Peter
    The growth of online giving signals a promising future for crowdfunding and offers donors another avenue for their generosity. This report provides details about how crowdfunding fits within the philanthropic landscape, who crowdfunding donors are, their motivations for using this giving vehicle, how they differ from typical charitable donors, the kinds of causes they support, and both donor and non-donor perceptions of this giving vehicle. Additionally, results from survey questions about charitable behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and national reckoning on social and racial justice enhance the report.
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    Charitable Giving Around the 2016 Election: Does Gender Matter?
    (2018-10-09) Osili, Una; Mesch, Debra; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Pactor, Andrea; Bergdoll, Jonathan
    This study aims to provide insights on donations during the unique time period around the 2016 U.S. presidential election, using gift data from an online donation platform. Did giving to charitable organizations increase after the election? What causes benefited from post-election philanthropy? This study also seeks to understand whether there were gender differences in giving around the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
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    Encouraging Giving to Women's and Girls' Causes: The Role of Social Norms
    (2018-12-11) Mesch, Debra; Dwyer, Patrick; Sherrin, Steven; Osili, Una; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Pactor, Andrea; Ackerman, Jacqueline
    Using an experimental methodology, the study investigates how social norms can directly influence giving to women’s and girls’ causes. It also examines whether social norms may have differing impacts for men and women. These findings can help nonprofits and fundraising professionals apply a social norms approach to encourage giving.
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    Gender Differences in #GivingTuesday Participation
    (2017-12-12) Osili, Una; Mesch, Debra; Preston, Linh; Okten, Cagla; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Pactor, Andrea
    Understanding the role gender plays in philanthropy empowers organizations to engage their donors most effectively and increase their giving. This is true throughout the year and particularly on #GivingTuesday, a day designated to maximize philanthropic giving. Since it began in 2012, #GivingTuesday has grown significantly in participation numbers and total dollars donated. #GivingTuesday, celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, provides a unique opportunity for nonprofit organizations to incorporate nontraditional fundraising methods into their efforts and to engage with donors online. For nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, a successful #GivingTuesday requires understanding how and where donors tend to give.
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    Giving by and for Women
    (2018-01-30) O'Connor, Heather; Mesch, Debra; Osili, Una; Pactor, Andrea; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Dale, Elizabeth; Small, Diana
    In an effort to understand who leads philanthropy that benefits women and girls and how these donors are unique, we embarked on a landmark study of high-net-worth women donors. We wanted to deeply understand giving by and for women, and what, in particular, sets these donors apart. We wanted to understand what these donors hope to achieve, and how others—both men and women—might be inspired to make gender equality a focus of their philanthropy.
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    Giving to Women and Girls: Who Gives, and Why?
    (2016-05-24) Mesch, Debra; Osili, Una; Pactor, Andrea; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Dale, Elizabeth
    Within academic research, individual philanthropy directed to women’s and girls’ causes has been understudied. This study highlights new data to understanding who gives to women’s and girls’ causes and their motivations for support. We conducted a two-part, mixed-methods study in the United States. First, we fielded a brief survey among a nationally representative survey panel. Second, we conducted seven focus groups among United Way and women’s fund donors who actively funded women’s and girls’ causes as well as donors who focused on other areas in their giving. In the survey, we find that among people giving to charity, half of women and 40 percent of men self-report giving to at least one cause that primarily affects women and girls. Women are both more likely to give to women’s and girls’ causes and give larger amounts to these causes, and are more likely to report giving to domestic violence organizations, women’s centers, LGBT rights, cancer care and research, and economic opportunities for women and girls. In the focus groups, women report giving to women’s and girls’ causes based on their personal experiences, including experiencing discrimination and having children, and because they believe giving to women and girls provides the best social return. Barriers to giving to women’s and girls’ causes include the complexity and scalability of women’s issues, the sex-segregated nature of women’s giving, and the connection to political issues which are often embedded in women’s causes. While this study provides valuable new research, more research is needed to understand generational differences among donors and how organizations focusing on women and girls can increase donor support.
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    How Women & Men Give Around Retirement
    (2018-07-24) Osili, Una; Mesch, Debra; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Pactor, Andrea; Han, Xiao; O'Connor, Heather
    This study is the first known research to examine how retirement affects charitable giving. It looks at single men, single women, and married couples to analyze whether gender differences in giving or volunteering emerge among individuals at retirement. Additionally, it examines how giving changes during a range of years before and after retirement, with the understanding that preparing and undergoing such a life change is a process rather than one moment in time.
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    How Women and Men Approach Impact Investing
    (2018-05-22) Osili, Una; Mesch, Debra; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Preston, Linh; Pactor, Andrea
    The term impact investing evokes widespread interest, but few people have a deep understanding of the topic, and even fewer practice impact investing. What is impact investing? Who uses this investment strategy, and what are their objectives? Impact investing is relatively new and has developed rapidly over the last decade. The term itself was introduced in 2007 when the Rockefeller Foundation convened leaders in the fields of finance, philanthropy, and development, with the aim of building an industry of investing for impact.1 While a great deal has been written about the subject, most of this work comes from the world of finance and asks questions about financial return, comparing impact investing with investing purely for profit. The practice of impact investing is evolving exponentially, in contrast to research on this still-underexplored subject.
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    The Women & Girls Index: Measuring Giving to Women's and Girls' Causes
    (2019-10-03) Mesch, Debra; Osili, Una; Skidmore, Tessa; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Pactor, Andrea
    Partially due to the absence of a technical definition of giving to women and girls—such as a formal subsector classification—this area of philanthropy has not been rigorously studied. Therefore, it has not been possible to answer these questions, let alone determine whether giving to women and girls is growing. To fill this gap in knowledge, the Women’s Philanthropy Institute developed the Women & Girls Index (WGI)—the first systematically generated, comprehensive index of charitable organizations dedicated to women and girls in the United States. This report introduces the WGI and uses this tool to provide those who study and practice philanthropy with a clearer picture of the characteristics of women’s and girls’ organizations and patterns of giving to this population. This picture reveals that while gender issues may be receiving increased public attention, charitable giving to women’s and girls’ causes does not necessarily reflect these societal conversations.