How Americans Give: Differences Among the Generations

September 1, 2005 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Types of Organizations That Get Support
	Born before 1946	Born 1946-64	Born after 1964	Total
An organization helping needy Americans	76%	73%	57%	67%
An organization fighting a disease	69	69	43	59
A church or project/cause supported by their religion	54	60	45	53
An international disaster-relief fund	51	48	35	43
An animal-protection and humane organization	64	45	27	38
A school or university	24	34	29	30
A political campaign or party	30	27	16	23
A civic, arts, or cultural organization	23	28	16	22
An issue-advocacy group	18	26	14	19
Advocacy Causes That People Have Supported or Expect to Support
	Born before 1946	Born 1946-64	Born after 1964	Total
Human rights	29%	41%	40%	38%
Environmental protection	42	41	34	38
Family values	20	33	39	33
Personal and civil liberties	29	35	33	33
Equal opportunity, nondiscrimination	27	31	34	32
Advocacy for the needy	17	39	28	30
Gun-owners rights	46	32	20	29
Women’s rights and equality	27	25	30	28
Right-to-life	25	25	23	25
Tax reduction	33	28	17	24
Labor union	21	23	21	22
Peace, arms reduction, conflict resolution	9	18	22	18
Government integrity	16	21	16	18
Gun control	12	14	12	13
None	12	11	20	15
Views on Charities and Giving
	Born before 1946	Born 1946-64	Born after 1964	Total
I have contributed to my favorite charity or cause for more than two years	73%	67%	41%	58%
Often I do not make a contribution because I can’t be sure the money will get to the people or cause it’s intended for	70	53	40	52
I contribute to a few favored charities or advocacy groups year after year	58	54	35	48
I feel like contributing to a charity, cause, or campaign is part of being a good citizen	40	45	38	41
I prefer to support well-established organizations rather than new ones	37	39	37	38
On the issues and causes I care about, I consider myself pretty familiar with the groups doing the most effective work	45	41	30	38
Over all, I think the money I contribute is well spent	36	42	34	37
I focus my giving on local community needs, rather than national or international purposes	45	41	28	36
If I haven’t already heard about a charity or cause in the media, or by word of mouth, I won’t contribute to them	45	39	27	36
I like to feel that I’m a member of groups I support, and not just a contributor	36	33	32	33
Most of the money I contribute to charity I give through my church or synagogue	38	35	25	32
I follow certain issues closely, and limit my giving to organizations working on those issues	39	27	23	28
I tend to donate on impulse, when I hear about an issue that bothers me or seems especially urgent	24	21	27	24
I tend to donate once at year end rather than respond throughout the year to emerging needs and special appeals	25	19	19	20
I would rather contribute to charities, causes, and campaigns online than through e-mail	4	8	15	10
I “shop around” for charities or advocacy groups as my interests change	5	7	11	8
Why People Stop Giving to Charities
	Born before 1946	Born 1946-64	Born after 1964	Total
I can no longer afford to contribute	67%	63%	63%	64%
My interests or priorities change	47	39	36	40
I found a different organization that I thought might be more effective	35	39	34	36
The organization did something I disagree with	34	37	34	35
I am dissatisfied with the organization’s performance	32	43	29	35
I’m not sure that my contribution makes a difference	38	31	32	33
The problem or issue was solved	12	12	14	13
I haven’t been asked to contribute again	6	11	17	12
The organization hasn’t kept me sufficiently informed	7	9	18	12
The organization hasn’t done enough to involve me	8	5	12	8
Other	13	11	12	12
SOURCE: Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company