Women make more influential, innovative and sophisticated philanthropists than men, a new report from Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund shows.

While 92% of men name their spouse as an influence on the household’s charitable giving, only 84% of women returned the compliment. Women are more likely to name a range of influences including their extended family, 24%, friends, 23% or co-workers, 17%.

“In many ways, women are shaping the future of philanthropy,” says Sarah C. Libbey, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. “Women have always had a hand in their household’s charitable outreach. But that role is evolving as women increasingly create their own wealth and become the beneficiaries of wealth transfers because they live longer.”

Nearly half of women surveyed want to pass on their tradition of giving to their children, with 48% seeing this as ‘critical’; 39% of men said this was ‘critical’.

Four categories of charitable givers were identified by Fidelity for both the male and the female donors that took part in the survey:

Mainstream contributors represented 52% of those surveyed. They are the least likely to give more in challenging economic times. They are likely to keep the same number of charities and decrease the amount they give when the going gets tough.

Empathetic givers represented 29% of survey respondents. They give the most in challenging times. They are the most interested in created a family tradition of charitable giving.

Reactive contributors represented 15% of respondents. They give the smallest donations as a percentage of income. They are the most likely to cut back on charitable giving in challenging economic times.

Pioneering givers represented only 4% of survey participants. They are most likely to give to support new causes. They give the most money as a percentage of income. They are more likely to be influenced by philanthropists in the news and the most likely to want guidance from financial advisors regarding charitable giving.

Fifty four per cent of pioneering givers, who tend to make more sophisticated giving decisions than other types of givers, are women. More women seek guidance from a financial professional (12% as opposed to 9% of all donors), the survey showed. They are more likely to use securities for donations (7% compared to 4%) and also more likely to use innovative giving vehicles including donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts and private foundations (5%, compared to 2% of all donors), according to the report.

More information is available on the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund website.