Study: What Are the Giving Patterns of Wealthy Philanthropists?

There are a number of charities out there that tend to target high-net worth philanthropists, and these philanthropists have the opportunity to play a big role due to the fact that they willingly give in large amounts. In 2015, 91 percent of high-net worth philanthropists donated to a charity (U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy) and $323 billion was donated to charities by individuals in the U.S. (Giving USA). In addition, high net-worth philanthropists are estimated to give $29.6 million to charity in their lifetime (Wealth-X).

And while this may be information that we all know, the more intriguing piece of information is understanding these individuals’ giving patterns. That’s what The Philanthropy Workshop (TPW) was set to find in its “Going Beyond Giving: Perspectives on the Philanthropic Practices of High and Ultra-High Net Worth Donors” research study.  TPW surveyed 219 people to understand the experiences, practices and behaviors of high and ultra-high net worth philanthropists.

Here’s what they found:

• 68 percent of respondents were female and 32 percent were male.
• 53 percent fell between the ages of 52 and 70, 31 percent fell between 36 and 51, 10 percent fell between 19 and 35, and 6 percent fell between 71 and 88.
• 25 percent had a net worth of $100 million, 22 percent had a net worth of under $10 million, 22 percent had a net worth between $10 and $25 million, 17 percent had a net worth between $25 and $50 million and 16 percent had a net worth between $50 and $100 million.
• 25 percent considered their philanthropy a full-time role, while 51 percent said part time and 24 percent said hobby.
• The top three funding issues were education (20 percent), health (17 percent) and economic opportunity (13 percent).

To download the full PDF of the study, click here.