Millionaire women most often choose local religious institutions as
beneficiaries of their largesse. Educational institutions also rank highly: One
out of three dollars self-made millionaire women bequeath to charity goes to
education. They remember college as an environment where they found an equal
chance to succeed. Surprisingly, only about 7 percent of their giving goes to
the arts and humanities.Give and Take
“It is possible to do well financially and to do good things for others,” one
affluent businesswoman told me. “These are not mutually exclusive goals.” In
fact, my studies show that higher levels of charitable giving correlate with
wealth-accumulating factors. I looked at two groups of high-income female
business owners with comparable ages and incomes: those who give 10 percent or
more of their annual income, and those who give 1 percent or less. The
10-percent donors tend to: - Accumulate more wealth for every dollar of their income ($9.52 versus $7.29);
- Spend less on impediments to building wealth, such as houses, clothes, cars and
income taxes;
- Allocate more to building wealth, including investments and fees for financial
advice.
Early training seems to be a causal factor. Parents emphasized education,
demonstrated frugality and trained their daughters to lead in helping those less
fortunate. Beverly Bishop, who made her fortune selling Chevrolets in Atlanta
for 30 years, learned by example to take the initiative when people need help.
Her mother took in an evicted neighbor and his family, and her Sunday table was
often crowded with Cuban exiles. Today, Bishop donates about 30 percent of her
income to charitable causes, more than she pays annually in interest, insurance,
cars, clothes and vacations combined. Bishop does it because it makes her feel good. And that, she says, is one of the
primary rewards she reaps from her wealth.  | Thomas J. Stanley, PhD, is the author of Millionaire Women Next Door: The
Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen (Andrews McMeel). |
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