Poll Finds Slip in Giving by Wealthy

A declining proportion of wealthy people believe that philanthropy is important, according to a new survey of those with a net worth of $1-million or more, excluding their primary residences.

The proportion of respondents who said they felt obligated to contribute to their communities declined to 69 percent, from 79 percent in 2001, the survey found.

In addition, total annual giving among the wealthy has shrunk, on average, from $7,000 in 2000 to $5,700 last year, according to the survey.

Conducted by Phoenix Companies, a corporation in Hartford, Conn., that manages the assets of wealthy people, the survey also found less interest in philanthropy among the wealthy than in previous years. Forty-five percent of respondents said they took steps last year to distribute some of their wealth to charity, compared with 49 percent in 2000 and 52 percent in 1999.

Phoenix said that declining confidence among respondents that they will be able to retain their wealth could explain the falloff in their philanthropy. Only 40 percent of those surveyed said they believed their wealth was secure for the long term, down from 56 percent in 1999.

The survey results are based on an online poll of 1,649 adults whose names were drawn from a list of Internet users who regularly fill out surveys for Harris Interactive, a research company in Rochester, N.Y., that Phoenix hired to conduct its survey.

A summary of the survey results is available free at http://www.phoenixwm.com or by sending an e-mail request to laura.deame@phoenixwm.com.