The Rich Worry That Charities Are Wasting Their Donations, Survey Finds

Title: Trends in Philanthropy: How and Why the Wealthy Give

Organization: SEI Private Wealth Management and Scorpio Partnership

Summary: Many wealthy Americans of all ages value philanthropy and give generously, according to the study, which defined the wealthy as those with over $1 million in assets and the ultra-wealthy as having more than $10 million.

But they worry that they are not giving enough money to make a difference or that nonprofits are wasting their donations.

Among the wealthy people surveyed, those under 40 and those with assets of more than $10 million are the most generous in terms of the share of wealth they contribute. Among the findings:

• Wealthy people said on average they donated 13 percent of their wealth to charity every year.
• People with more than $1 million in assets who are under 40 donated more than twice that amount, or 27 percent, to charity.
• One-quarter of that group and almost 33 percent of those over 40 and with assets over $10 million said “making the right impact with giving” was the leading source of anxiety related to their wealth.
• When it comes to their philanthropy, the top concern of the wealthy was that the nonprofits they support might waste their donation.
• About 52 percent of respondents said their philanthropic giving keeps them up at night.