May 12, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Ninety percent of Americans in a new survey said they gave to charity in the past year. Forty-two percent of people gave between $100 and $1,000 in the last 12 months, while nearly a quarter said they gave less than $100.
The poll of 1,000 Americans was conducted by Freelanthropy, a fund-raising consulting business in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
When asked what causes they were most likely to support in the future, respondents to the poll put health and human services at the top of their lists, followed by education. Religious causes, environmental protection, and arts and culture followed.
Among the other findings:
- In deciding where to give in the future, men said they were more likely to give the most to education, but women said they would give the most to environmental causes.
- People who make $25,000 or less annually give the biggest percentage of their incomes to charity compared with wealthier people. Forty percent of people who make $25,000 or less donated $100 to $1,000 dollars in 2004 and said their future gifts are most likely to go to social-services groups.
- The causes that are likely to attract donors’ support vary greatly by age. People over 65 said they were most likely to make future gifts to religious causes, while young people said religious groups were the least likely to get their gifts. People age 18 to 24 and those age 45 to 64 said they were most likely to give the most to health and social-service charities, while people 25 to 34 said education groups were their top causes.
To obtain a copy of the study, contact Freelanthropy, 15260 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 2000, Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403; press@freelanthropy.com.
