July 25, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The economic downturn in California’s Silicon Valley has produced mixed results for charities: The percentage of people who donate to charity slipped from 83 percent in 1997 to 78 percent in 2001, but those who did donate last year gave a greater share of their income — 3.3 percent, compared with 2.7 percent in 1997, says a report by Community Foundation Silicon Valley.
The share of income that people in Silicon Valley give far exceeds the national average of 1.8 percent, according to “Giving USA,” an annual philanthropy survey.
In addition, the Community Foundation Silicon Valley report said that about half of all respondents volunteered in 2001, the same percentage as in 1997, but the number of hours spent volunteering sank from 16.1 per month when the residents were polled in 1997 to 13.8 last year.
The report was based on results from a random telephone survey of 1,516 people age 18 and over who live in Santa Clara County and parts of Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz Counties.
Respondents were asked about giving patterns from March or April 2001 to March or April 2002. The previous report by the community foundation, released in 1998, compared giving patterns from September or October 1996 to September or October 1997.
Although 10 percent of respondents reported they were unemployed, more than twice the number in 1997, the average household in Silicon Valley gave $2,300 to charity — 40 percent more than the national average, according to a 2001 survey conducted by Independent Sector.
Religious organizations received support from the most donors, 52 percent, compared with 37 percent in 1997. Other charities that received widespread support were human-service groups (51 percent of donors), and schools, colleges, and other education groups (44 percent).
Among the survey’s other findings:
- Donors who have lived in Silicon Valley for at least five years are more likely to volunteer, to give to local causes, and to give large amounts. In fact, 87 percent of donors who gave at least $5,000 have lived in the area for five or more years. In addition, 54 percent of those who gave $5,000 or more said that more than half of their donations went to local causes, compared with 38 percent of all donors.
- More than half of households surveyed reported making contributions to help victims of the September 11 attacks. Sixty percent gave $100 or less.
- Fifty-five percent of women say they volunteer, compared with 43 percent of men. While most households say that charitable decisions are made by both partners, in the ones in which one partner has more influence, it is more likely to be the woman (34 percent) rather than the man (21 percent).
“Giving Back, The Silicon Valley Way,” is available free on Community Foundation Silicon Valley’s Web site, http://www.cfsv.org, or by contacting Rosaline Juan at the foundation; telephone (408) 278-2246; e-mail rjuan@cfsv.org.
