The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy recently released a study about how parents imbue their children with philanthropic values. The study also asked whether this transmission of generosity results in different giving patterns for sons and daughters.

By first exploring whether parents’ giving trends to charitable organizations translated to their grown children, the study then examined how often and how much parents gave. It also assessed the parents’ wealth level, questioning whether those factors related to their adult children’s charitable giving, too.

Surprisingly, the results showed that the relationship between giving patterns of the adult children varied depending on whether the children were sons or daughters. There was a stronger relationship between parents’ and daughters’ philanthropy than parents’ and sons’ giving. It seems that parental demonstrations of giving matter more for daughters.

Fortunately, both sons and daughters whose parents give to charity are more likely to give, and that correlation holds true as parents’ wealth increases.

Simply put:

• Adult children – both sons and daughters – whose parents give to charity are more likely to give to charity themselves.
• The relationship between parents’ and adult daughters’ giving is stronger than the relationship between parents’ and adult sons’ giving.
• Parents’ giving frequency matters more for adult daughters’ giving than for adult sons’ giving.
• Children give higher amounts to charity when their parents give more, but there is no gender difference between the amount daughters and sons give, and the amount parents give. When a parent gives more to charity, their children give more to charity.
• For children with higher-wealth parents, the likelihood that sons will give does not depend on whether their parents give, but the likelihood of daughters’ giving is highly influenced by their parents’ giving.

Not-for-profit organizations and foundations are taking note that family giving patterns matter. Women Give 2018 confirms what many organizations have already known: that parents have the ability to influence children, and that children carry a philanthropic mindset they learned at home into their own adulthood. We must find ways to ensure that these values are passed on to both sons and daughters.

What can you do to pass on a legacy of giving? As Women Give 2018 demonstrates, children learn by their parents’ example. When parents give, so do their kids.

To read the full report, click here.