The Pentera Blog
Giving and Volunteering Can Improve Donor Health, but Only When Motives Are Selfless
So now you can tell your donors: Charitable giving and volunteering can truly be good for your health!
That's the conclusion of new research presented last year at a panel discussion moderated by Pentera President & CEO Claudine A. Donikian. The research is by psychologist Sara Konrath, an associate professor at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The panel on philanthropy research also included well-known planned giving researcher Russell James of Texas Tech University.
Konrath concluded that volunteering for nonprofits can actually extend one's life and that giving to charity can enhance donors' sense of well-being—but in both cases the benefits occurred only if the donors were helping for the most selfless reasons.
Reasons are other-oriented or self-oriented
Konrath identified reasons for volunteering and giving that were "other-oriented" (such as because you care about others or because you trust the organization) and reasons that were "self-oriented" (such as to promote your career, receive tax benefits, or feel good about yourself). There was a significant difference in health and well-being depending on the type of motivation.
Volunteering for selfless reasons can literally extend your life
"Older adults who volunteer are healthier and even less likely to die than older adults who do not volunteer; these findings are very strong and come up in many, many studies," Konrath explained. "We wondered if it was the behavior itself or the mindset. Our findings were striking: We found that older adults who volunteer for some other-oriented reason have a 30 percent lower chance of dying in the next four years. But those who volunteer for some sort of personal benefit actually have a slight rise in mortality risk. The only volunteers who experienced physical benefits were those who were focused on others."
Giving for selfless reasons increases well-being
Konrath found that "people who donated for other-oriented reasons have higher well-being, and to some extent they have better health."
"Donating for egotistical reasons or for tax benefits is unrelated to well-being or health," Konrath said. She also said that people who cite finances as the reason they don't give to charity actually have lower well-being and health.
Konrath's study on the motives for giving included outright gifts, not planned gifts. But other research has found that those who make a certain type of planned gift—a charitable gift annuity—do live longer than the general population and even longer than those who set up commercial annuities. That's one reason why CGA rates are based on a formula that makes all donors one year younger than they actually are and also female (since females have a longer life expectancy).
Giving and volunteering really do improve your health.
