“Women’s voices are needed now more than ever,” says Julie Wilson, president of Women Doing Well, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping women to live and give generously while making a positive impact on the world around them. Through research, conversations and community outreach, the group helps women align their financial resources and God-given talents with their passion, purpose and financial goals as they plan for the future.
Over the years, the fields of faith and philanthropy have grown tremendously, with more organizations vying for a piece of the pie.
“Women now control more than half of the personal wealth in the United States, and by 2030 that number will climb to 70%,” adds Wilson. “Our research shows that women are highly engaged in giving decisions—but engagement doesn’t always translate into confidence or planning.”
Women Doing Well has been tracking what motivates women in their charitable giving for 14 years. In 2012, the group commissioned the first and largest study of Christian women’s giving of its time, to understand what motivated women to give to certain charities, and conversely what held them back.
Women Doing Well recently released its findings from the 2025 Women, Wealth, and Faith report—a follow-up to their 2012 study examining Christian women and philanthropy. The new data reveals that faith and family are the strongest drivers of generosity among Christian women. However, nearly one-third feel overwhelmed by fundraising requests, one in three are uncertain that their donations will be used wisely, and women 45 and under are 1.5 times more likely to cite concern about their financial future as a barrier to giving than women over 45.
Other key findings include:
- Women overwhelmingly feel confident in their giving purpose and feel well-equipped to give. The findings show that 90% of women somewhat or strongly agree that they feel confident in their giving purpose, while 89% of women somewhat or strongly agree that they feel well-equipped to give.
- 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 have a larger role than their spouse in those decisions.
- Faith and values drive women’s giving—not just financial capacity. Almost 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.
- For women, experience breeds confidence when it comes to financial giving. A majority (86%) of women 45 and under reported feeling their donations had truly made an impact in the areas they cared so deeply about. Nearly all (91%) reported their donations tied into their larger life purpose.
Women Doing Well encourages women to identify the 15 causes they are most passionate about giving their time and money to, and then honing in on the top two or three.
“There’s lots of organizations working hard to understand what you need, but you need to show up. You need to get off the sidelines, and you need to get in the game and you’ve just got to start somewhere. You’re never going to feel ready,” Wilson says.
The study showed the more experience a woman had in identifying and directing her charitable giving, the more confidence she gained and the more money she ultimately gave.
“This is like a muscle, you have to grow it. So find a group of women, or men and women, that will do it with you, because it’ll just be easier for you to engage that way.”
Furthermore, the study revealed just how much personal experiences matter. Close to half of women named “being personally exposed to needs” (43%) and “being involved with nonprofit organizations” (43%) as the most important resources for developing their giving.
Wilson and her organization are leading by example. She cites her personal story as the motivation behind her passion to spread the word about Women Doing Well and its important place in society.
“I discovered my purpose long before women were doing so well out in the working world, when I was burnt out from a nonprofit job,” she says. “What I realized was my jobs had been ‘steady state,’ and I needed to be in leadership positions.”
Wilson urges all women, regardless of age or income bracket, to identify their passion, purpose and plan and focus their energies primarily on donating to causes they hold dear, so as not to get overwhelmed.
“There will be many wonderful charities that just may not be in alignment with your personal values, purpose and passion. Trust there is someone else who will say yes to these, and then go give confidently and boldly to the things that you are called to give to.”
Wilson says their research proves how important personal experience and real-world exposure is when it comes to what drives women to give to certain nonprofits. This extra level of involvement was a key factor driving women’s philanthropy in the long run.
Through July 2026, Women Doing Well will release findings, 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.
