Millennials Drive Big Changes in Giving Patterns, Study Says
By Drew Lindsay
Senior Editor, Special Projects
October 5, 2016 | Read Time: 1 minute
Title: “The Future of Philanthropy: Where Individual Giving Is Going”
Organization: Fidelity Charitable
Summary: Donors’ approach to charitable giving is changing, with millennials most likely to embrace new ideas, according to the report, which draws on a survey of 3,200 Americans whose 2015 tax returns included itemized charitable giving. Millennials are “pushing the boundaries of what giving looks like” and see giving much differently than baby boomers, the report contends.
Among the findings:
- Millennials are more likely than baby boomers to use technology to give, and they typically want information about a nonprofit’s effectiveness. “Over time, the number of people who will make a donation without researching nonprofits will continue to shrink,” the report says.
- Millennials are more likely to view their philanthropy through a global lens. Nearly half said international issues are as important as domestic problems, compared with 36 percent of baby boomers.
- Though boomers and millennials both look first to nonprofits to tackle social problems, millennials are more likely to assign a role to other entities. Thirty-eight percent of millennials, for example, believe social enterprises can solve problems, compared with 22 percent of boomers.
- Fifty-six percent of millennials say their giving is more spontaneous; 72 percent of boomers say their giving is more planned.
