How Women Will Reshape Family Philanthropy

BY AILEEN P. WERKLUND
CM Wealth CHIEF CLIENT OFFICER, Partner

Over the next two decades, philanthropy among ultra‑high‑net‑worth families will be reshaped by a historic transfer of capital and the rising influence of women heirs who are taking active roles in family finance and governance. As of 2018, men were the primary financial decision makers in two-thirds of families with investable assets between $100,000 and $5 million, according to a study by McKinsey and Dynata.  Women’s share of leadership is growing, and projections show women will control $32 trillion, or 38%, of wealth by 2030. As wealth passes from deceased husbands to younger and longer-living wives, and as generations of highly educated women become caretakers of family wealth, more women will serve as executors, board members, and foundation leaders.

That shift in ownership and decision‑making power will do more than redirect dollars; it will change how families define purpose, measure impact, and partner with communities and nonprofits. From the vantage of a multi‑family office advising several generations of the same families, this is not an abstract prediction but an operational reality. Today’s women arrive at the table with professional experience, networks, and a values orientation that informs how they want to use capital. Where past philanthropic practice often emphasized naming gifts and institution building, many family leaders now define success more directly in terms of social outcomes, beneficiary voice and intergenerational stewardship. That reorientation alters priorities across investment committees, family charters, and the cadence of grantmaking.

The ‘Both-And’ Approach to Giving

A defining pattern among these heirs is a “both‑and” approach to giving—pairing rapid, responsive support for immediate needs with sustained investments in upstream solutions that address root causes. In practice, this dual posture looks like simultaneous commitments to emergency cash assistance and to long‑term initiatives in education, maternal, and community health; workforce development; and policy advocacy. Families structure layered capital strategies that combine traditional grants with program‑related investments (PRIs), impact allocations, and mission‑aligned investments that bridge philanthropy and the market. This blended portfolio demands longer decision horizons and different diligence rubrics than single‑grant cycles.

Impact Extends Beyond Donation

Money alone understates what many women bring to the leadership of multi-generational wealth. Nonfinancial capital—time, expertise, networks and credibility—has become a powerful multiplier. Family leaders may pair relatively modest grants with board service, strategic planning support for nonprofit leaders, introductions to institutional funders, and pro‑bono marketing expertise. These contributions unlock increased organizational capacity, diversified revenue, and improved governance, producing outsized outcomes relative to the dollars alone. Nonprofits that can quantify how advisory support and networks accelerate impact are more competitive partners for families seeking multi‑dimensional engagement.

Collaboration is another feature of the evolving landscape. Women heirs often prefer pooled models—giving circles, multi‑donor funds and participatory grantmaking—that combine resources, share risk, and surface grassroots expertise. Collective vehicles democratize decision‑making and enable families to underwrite larger, more experimental endeavors than individual donors might fund. 

Heightened Measure, Increased Flexibility

Any acknowledgment of women philanthropists for making giving more inclusive should also take into account generational differences, as younger philanthropists have increased expectations on rigor and transparency. Younger heirs frequently seek measurable outcomes and clear reporting to better understand return on investment. Crucially, many also favor trust‑based philanthropy: multi‑year, unrestricted grants that allow grantees to adapt. (Unrestricted grants jumped by 57% during the pandemic and have remained popular.) This apparent tension—to increase both measurement and flexibility—can be resolved by pragmatic evaluation, a compact set of core indicators aligned to a family’s theory of change, plus qualitative feedback from beneficiaries, and investment in independent learning rather than burdensome reporting.

This focus on measurement and yet flexibility may prompt families to rethink vehicles and governance. Donor‑advised funds remain attractive for simplicity and tax efficiency, but they are often used in concert with professionalized foundations, mission‑aligned funds, and impact allocations to meet strategic objectives. Families are formalizing charters, succession plans, and structured onboarding for next‑gen members to preserve previously achieved purpose while inviting fresh leadership. Advisors play an essential role in drafting policy documents, aligning legal and tax structures to mission, and establishing participatory governance that balances heir engagement with fiduciary safeguards. 

New Areas of Focus

The changing face of philanthropy also highlights a persistent gap: funding to organizations dedicated to women and girls remains disproportionately low relative to need. Analysis by sector groups and advocacy organizations documents that only a small share of philanthropic dollars specifically target women‑ and girls‑focused causes. For example, a 2024 study from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy highlights that, while giving to women’s and girl’s causes surpassed $10 billion for the first time last year, it stands at just a 1.9% share of giving overall. As more women inherit and steer capital, there is opportunity to direct resources toward gender‑equitable solutions and to support grassroots groups led by women and girls.

The Multi-Family Office is Equipped for Philanthropy’s More Female Future

As women heirs take the helm of family finances and governance, philanthropy is poised to become more collaborative, more strategic, and more oriented toward systemic impact. That evolution creates both opportunity and responsibility: opportunity to deploy capital with greater coherence and leverage, and responsibility to ensure that giving centers communities, respects grantee autonomy, and measures progress in ways that matter. For families preparing for the wealth transfer, the immediate steps are pragmatic—convene the table to articulate shared values, choose instruments that match goals, codify governance and succession, and commit to learning alongside the communities you support. For multi‑family offices like ours, the mandate is to provide the architecture—governance, measurement, deal structuring and convening—that converts intent into durable impact. When her name is on the ledger, philanthropy will increasingly read as a collaborative, strategic plan for equitable change.