Paul Martin's Business Update - July 7th, 2014

In the increasingly competitive world of raising funds for charities, a target worth renewed emphasis is women.

That comes from a report on the world of philanthropy in this country conducted by TD Bank. The report examined changing demographics and how women are becoming a much more powerful force in deciding where to direct charitable funding.

Women control about one-third of the household wealth in this country, roughly $3.2 trillion, according to the report. And more of them are looking at charities as beneficiaries with more than $3 billion in donations in 2012 – an increase of 50 per cent over a decade earlier.

Charities, the report states, would do well to target women donors more aggressively and invite more women to sit on the boards of charities.

There were a few interesting facts on the way women see philanthropy in the report. First, there are more than 300,000 women with the wherewithal to make a ‘major’ gift in Canada. And women are more likely to support a local charity and they generally support no more than three worthy causes annually.