Women and wealth: how to connect them for your campus.(fundraising for colleges through wome philanthropists)

Thanks to greater career opportunities, savvy investments and longer lives, women are sitting on a pile of money that has the potential to change the world.

The combined net worth of the 1.6 million female top wealth holders is $2.2 trillion. The average net worth of those women is $1.38 million, slightly higher than for the same group of men. A Boston College study found that among married women executives at Fortune 500 companies, 75% actually out-earned their husbands.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

With much of this wealth potentially available to higher education, it's important to engage women as donors and advocates for your program, said Debra Engle, VP for development and Karlene Jennings, director of development for the university library, both at Iowa State University. They spoke it at the University of Nebraska conference on Women in Educational Leadership in September.

Should women be a priority?

"There are a lot of people in my business asking if we should be focusing on women," said Engle. "Statistics say 'yes.' And we count on faculty to be strategic partners with the development office."