Monday, April 7th, 2003

News Updates

Economic Concerns Hurt Giving & Volunteering

A new report by Independent Sector in Washington, D.C., shows that when people are concerned about their personal economic situations, overall giving declines by almost half and volunteering decreases as well. The report, Giving in Tough Times: The Impact of Personal Economic Concerns on Giving and Volunteering, reveals the strong influence of economic concern on the giving and volunteering habits of American households.

A household concerned about its finances gives an average of $1,060, compared to $2,040 given by a household without those financial concerns. Economic concerns translate into significant reductions in giving and affect a variety of groups including volunteers, homeowners, renters, couples, singles, the religiously devout, nonitemizers, and those who itemize their federal tax-returns.

Giving in Tough Times highlights the extent to which the most generous givers -- households with incomes exceeding $75,000 -- decrease their giving. This income group cuts its annual contributions by 33 percent from more than $3,600 per household to less than $2,500 when they have economic concerns. This pattern is also seen in their average annual household contributions to religious congregations, which are cut by 42 percent from $1,890 to $1,100.

The survey findings include:

• In terms of dollars, households that give the most (incomes of more than $75,000) when not concerned, decrease their giving the most when they become concerned about their finances;

• The most consistent givers to religion are households that have the least to give and donate the least of all income groups; and

• Giving to secular organizations declines when households are concerned but the decline is less than the decline in giving to religion.

Giving in Tough Times is based on analysis from Independent Sector’s Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 2001 national telephone survey of more than 4,000 adults. The survey was conducted during the relatively stable economy of the spring and summer of 2001, but provides insights into the significant impact personal economic concerns can play in giving decisions.

“Because Giving in Tough Times measures levels of personal economic concern, the findings provide an indication of the financial challenges nonprofit organizations will face in the future,” said Peter Shiras, interim president and CEO and senior vice president of programs, Independent Sector. “These trends do not portend well if the current economic conditions cause more people to be concerned about their finances.”

An additional, troubling finding the survey reports is the reduced propensity of the economically concerned to volunteer. Conventional wisdom would dictate that when donors reduce their financial support to nonprofits, they increase the one resource they have more of -- their time. However, the report shows that Americans who are not concerned about their finances volunteer more than Americans who are concerned (53 percent versus 40 percent).

When volunteers with incomes exceeding $75,000 are not concerned about finances, 61 percent of them volunteer, but when they become concerned, only 56 percent volunteer. Volunteers with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 volunteer at a rate of 61 percent when they are not concerned versus 51 percent when they are concerned. Volunteers with incomes in the $25,000 to $50,000 range reduce the time they give to nonprofits from 47 percent to 35 percent, while lower-income volunteer rates decline from 36 percent to 27 percent.

“While this report documents the challenges nonprofit organizations may face in the future, this is not a picture of gloom and doom. Nonprofits are resilient organizations by their very nature; they must be to withstand fluctuations in the economy. We know Americans care about the important work these organizations accomplish and will be as generous as they can in supporting the work of nonprofits,” added Shiras.

For more information, go to on the Web to: www.IndependentSector.org.

Copyright © 2006 The NonProfit Times.