Report: Do Couples Make Giving Decisions Together?

Is it February already? Man, this year is flying by! Today is Feb. 14th, so Happy Valentine’s Day! In celebration, let’s explore some information on how couples donate to charities. Fidelity Charitable recently released a report called “How Couples Give,” which was based on survey responses from 694 Fidelity Charitable donors who are either married or live with their significant other.

Here are some key findings from the study:

• 81 percent of donors discuss giving decisions with their spouse.
• 60 percent of donors who discuss giving decisions with their spouse usually agree, while 11 percent disagree occasionally.
• Men and women have different perspectives on who takes the lead role in giving decisions.

When it comes to having a discussion with their spouse on giving decisions, the majority of donors consulted with their spouse on which charities to support (76 percent) and how much monetary support to give to a specific charity (70 percent).

“Couples are most likely to discuss giving decisions regarding which charities to support and how much support to send specific nonprofits—two actions that also comprise the most frequent giving choices a donor makes. These types of decisions are often the core of donors’ ongoing charitable interests and naturally involve more coordination between spouses,” the report said.

Financial planning keeps donors on track and ensures success when saving money, so it’s ideal for donors to give themselves a charitable budget for the year. Approximately 52 percent of donors in the study made the decision to set an overall charitable giving amount to give each year with their spouse and 37 percent made the decision without their spouse. In addition, 31 percent of donors decided which assets to contribute to Fidelity Charitable with their spouse, while 64 percent did not decide with their spouse.

While donors and their spouses may agree or disagree on how much to donate per year, they will more likely than not have the same incentives for giving. The top three reasons donors and their spouses give are the cause of the organization is important to them (50 percent); giving is part of their values or their family’s values (44 percent); and they feel a sense of gratitude for what they have in their life (42 percent).

In terms of who makes the decisions on giving, men and women have different views on particular giving tasks.

Here’s the breakdown:

• 67 percent of men and 54 percent of women said they share decision-making equally with their spouse on which charities to support.
• 65 percent of men and 55 percent of women said they share decision-making equally on how much monetary support to give to a specific charity.
• 66 percent of men and 63 percent of women said they share decision-making equally on an overall charitable budget to give each year.
• 49 percent of men and 73 percent of women said they share decision-making equally on which assets to contribute to Fidelity Charitable.
• 63 percent of men and 52 percent of women said that within the past 12 months, they gave to organizations important to them and their spouse.