Survey Says Diversity in Giving Changing Landscape American Philanthropy

By Joe Boland

Donors come from all demographics. There is no "typical" donor in the nonprofit sector. Diversity is a fact of life when it comes to philanthropic individuals, and the diversity of today's donors continues to evolve.

In order to take a look at the current fundraising landscape, nonprofit software provider Blackbaud recently released its latest study, Diversity in Giving: The Changing Landscape of American Philanthropy. The study, conducted in October 2014, surveyed 1,096 U.S. adults who say they have donated to a nonprofit in the past 12 months. What it found is that "nearly three-fourths of donors today are non-Hispanic whites, despite the fact that whites make up only 64 percent of the population. Conversely the study finds that both African-Americans and Hispanics are under-represented in the donor universe. Asian donor participation appears congruent with the Asian population size."

The report notes that this does not suggest that any one group is "more generous" than other racial and ethnic groups. There are myriad factors at play on the numbers.

One particularly interesting part of the report is that there are three core values that donors tend to agree on regardless of race or ethnicity. They are:

The impulse to help those in need is universal. Majorities across all sub-groups believe it is important to support nonprofit organizations. Roughly one in three donate time, as well as money, by volunteering.
Religion and faith are both drivers and indicators of giving. Religious organizations capture a significant proportion of all money donated. Moreover, donors who report being actively engaged in a faith community are more likely to give—and to give more—to the full spectrum of nonprofits and causes.
Wealthier individuals donate more in absolute terms than those with midlevel or lower incomes. Analysis suggests that household income is a primary predictor of how much individuals give regardless of race or ethnicity. This is based on total amount donated, as opposed to percentage of income donated. Other studies suggest that middle and lower income donors generally donate a higher percentage of their income than wealthier individuals.

Download the full report here to learn more: blackbaud.com/nonprofit-resources/diversity-in-giving-study