The Pentera Blog
More Wealthy Donors Give, and More Rely on Nonprofits
More wealthy donors than ever are giving to charity, and those donors are relying more and more on nonprofit personnel (including planned giving professionals)—consulting with them more than they do with accountants or attorneys.
The findings of the latest Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, published by the U.S. Trust division of Bank of America and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, paint a rosy picture for nonprofits. The 2014 version of the study is the fifth in a series that does a survey every two years of American households with income above $200,000 or net worth above $1 million (excluding the family home).
Highest percentage ever given to charity
The study found that 98.4 percent of high-net-worth households gave to charity in 2013, the highest level ever recorded in the study series. About 65 percent of the general U.S. population gives to charity.
The amount given was also up significantly from recent years, though not yet to pre-recession levels. High-net-worth households gave an average of $68,580 in 2013, an increase of 28 percent from 2011 but not close to the 2005 average of $91,928.
More trust in nonprofit personnel
The percent of wealthy donors who consult with nonprofit personnel has more than doubled in just four years, to 49.2 percent in 2013.
For the first time the number consulting with nonprofit personnel exceeded those consulting with accountants; 44.5 percent consulted with accountants in 2013, down significantly from 67.5 percent in 2009.
Consultations with attorneys also declined, to 28.8 percent in 2013 from 40.8 percent in 2009.
Volunteering strongly predicts giving
Among the wealthy, volunteering is becoming an ever-increasing predictor of giving. A trend in the study series is that the giving gap is widening between those who volunteer and those who do not.
In 2013, high-net-worth households with family members who volunteered averaged gifts of $76,562, while those who did not volunteer gave an average of $44,137. That differential—74 percent more from those who volunteer—has never been larger during the study series; in 2011 the differential was 15.5 percent.
In addition, wealthy volunteers are giving more than in the recent past, with their 2013 gifts averaging 23 percent more than in 2011.
A rosy future
More than 35 percent of high-net-worth donors plan to increase their giving in the next three to five years, up from the 24 percent who made that prediction two years earlier. Of those planning to give more, an overwhelming 85 percent expect an increase in their financial capacity to give.
"This year's study, more than ever, tells us that when wealthy donors are intentional about and engaged in their giving—when they find that meaningful intersection between their ideas and ideals—they give more, are more impactful and more personally fulfilled," Claire Costello, national philanthropic practice executive for U.S. Trust, said in a news release.
The comprehensive study has many other results. Here are links for the executive summary and the full report:
Executive summary:
Full study:
http://www.philanthropy.iupui.edu/files/research/2014ustrustfinalreport.pdf
