Report: Christian Women and Charitable Giving

Women Doing Well released the first findings from the 2025 Women, Wealth, and Faith report, which examines Christian women and philanthropy. The research reveals that women don't view giving as isolated decisions, but as deeply collaborative acts involving spouses, families, and organizations they trust.

"Women now control more than half of the personal wealth in the United States, and by 2030 that number will climb to 70%," says Julie Wilson, President of Women Doing Well. "Our research shows that women are highly engaged in giving decisions—but engagement doesn't always translate into confidence or fully integrated planning. Through the Women, Wealth, and Faith study, we're uncovering what motivates women to give generously, what barriers hold them back, and how trusted advisors and organizations can help women move from intention to action with alignment, confidence, and long-term impact."

In 2012, Women Doing Well commissioned the first and largest study of its time to examine philanthropy specifically among Christian women. In the subsequent decade since that initial report, the field of faith and philanthropy has only grown. This report presents the initial findings from the new follow-up study, which builds on the original research, revisiting themes related to women’s wealth and faith. The report was conducted to understand how women’s generosity movements and donor demographics have shifted with time and shaped faith-motivated individuals and families.

The Women, Wealth, and Faith report presents findings from a national survey conducted for Women Doing Well by Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in collaboration with Blue Trust. The data comes from approximately 1,300 online interviews with Christian women recruited through Women Doing Well, Blue Trust and other partners, the majority of which are married (73%) and over 45 years of age (73%). Data was collected from October to December 2025.

Key findings analyzed in Theme #1: The Partnership Effect – Why women value collaboration

Key findings include:

Women are leading household giving decisions—even when they say they're "deciding together."
- While 72% of married couples report making decisions jointly, nearly half of those women (46%) say they actually have a larger role than their spouse in those decisions. And among couples who don't decide together, women are overwhelmingly the primary decision-makers.
Women believe they're the best-equipped to lead generosity in their households.
- More than half of married women (54%) agree they are the best-equipped person in their household to make giving decisions—even when finances and decisions are shared with a spouse.
Financial structure matters—but not in the way you'd expect.
- Most married respondents (75%) have completely combined finances, yet giving is still a source of conflict for one-third of couples. Interestingly, households with hybrid financial arrangements (some combined, some separate) report more frequent conflict around giving (36%) than those with fully combined or fully separate accounts.
Faith and values drive women's giving—not just financial capacity.
- Nearly all respondents (98%) rated "values" as important or very important when making giving decisions, and 95% said the same about faith. Family influence also ranked high, with 79% of women citing family as important in shaping their generosity.

What's Next: More Monthly Insights

From April through July 2026, Women Doing Well will release findings monthly, exploring four themes that reveal how Christian women approach generosity, what motivates them, and how organizations can partner with them effectively. The full executive report will be released in July 2026.

Source: Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

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