Baby Boomers Give More Than Older Americans

Baby boomers, the oldest of whom turn 60 next year, now contribute more to charities and causes than the

World War II generation does, a new study has found. What’s more, a third of them plan to increase their contributions in the next five years.

“Fund raisers have long expected that the huge number of boomers would reach their peak giving years and provide a surge of income for nonprofits,” says the study’s executive summary. “This study confirms that the transition is now under way.”

The study is based on an online survey of 2,333 American adults that was conducted in July by the DonorTrends Project, a research effort sponsored by Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company, a fund-raising company in Arlington, Va., and the Prime Group, a research and consulting firm in Washington. The responses were weighted to reflect key demographics of the American population.

It found that baby boomers, or those born in the period from 1946 to 1964, who donate gave an average of $1,361 in the previous 12 months to charities, advocacy groups, and political campaigns. That compares with $1,138 for those born before 1946. Moreover, 33 percent of baby boomers said they plan to give more in five years than they do today — compared with only 12 percent of the older group, which the study dubs “pre-boomers.”

The long-range future looks bright too. Forty percent of baby boomers said they plan to leave money to charity in their wills, compared with 23 percent of their elders.

Helping the Needy

Baby boomers resemble older Americans in the way they divide their donations. Both groups direct about 75 percent of their philanthropic dollars to charities in the fields of health, education, social needs, disaster relief, and arts and culture, and 25 percent to advocacy and political groups.

Baby boomers are most likely to support organizations that help needy Americans. Seventy-three percent of them have donated to those charities, followed by organizations that fight disease (69 percent), churches and religious projects (60 percent), and international-relief groups (48 percent).

When asked about advocacy groups, baby boomers ranked human rights and environmental protection as their most popular causes. Forty-one percent said they had supported, or intend to support, organizations that fight for those issues, followed by groups that advocate for the needy (39 percent) and for personal and civil liberties (35 percent).

The study also examined giving habits of the “post-boomer” generation, those born after 1964. They donate less than the older groups — an average of $791 per year — and 52 percent of them gave nothing at all in the last 12 months, compared with 26 percent of baby boomers and 22 percent of the older group. (The figures for average contributions do not reflect the nondonors.)

However, 56 percent of the younger people plan to increase their contributions in the next five years and 54 percent say they will leave money to charity in their wills. Members of this age group contribute differently, channeling more of their dollars — 41 percent — to advocacy groups and political campaigns.

Greg Schneiders, a researcher for the Prime Group, said the “post-boomers” could increase their giving as they age. The survey found that younger baby boomers, those in their 40s, already were giving more than those in their 50s. “If that pattern were to continue, the post-boomers might actually surprise us even more,” he said.

Mr. Schneiders said the survey, which has a 3 percent margin of error, will serve as a benchmark for annual surveys on the giving patterns of different age groups. He said one question the researchers hope to answer over time is whether donors behave differently because they are members of a specific generation, or whether they are influenced more by their stage of life.

“Were boomers forged in a different environment and culture,” he asks, “in a way that makes them different from those older and younger than them forever?”

Among the study’s other findings:

• Forty-two percent of baby boomers think the money they contribute is well spent, compared with 36 percent of the older donors and 34 percent of the younger donors. However, when baby boomers stop donating, they are more likely to say it is because they are dissatisfied with an organization’s performance (43 percent versus 32 percent and 29 percent).
• The oldest group is the most suspicious about appeals for their money. Seventy percent say they often don’t donate because they can’t be sure the money will get to the intended people or cause, compared with 53 percent of baby boomers and 40 percent of younger donors.
• Only 8 percent of the oldest age group have made an online contribution to a charity, compared with 13 percent of baby boomers and 19 percent of the younger donors. “For now, direct-response fund raisers should hold on to their postage meters,” wrote Roger Craver, president of Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company, in the executive summary. However, he added that “prime donors” — college graduates and those earning more than $100,000 a year — are more likely to make online donations than other groups.

The executive summary of “Boomers! Navigating the Generational Divide in Fundraising & Advocacy” is available free online at http://www.donortrends.com.