Knowledge gap stands in the way of increased giving, survey shows

• Date: 01 January 2018
• Published date: 01 January 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30401

6

JANUARY 2018NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Fundraising

Knowledge gap stands in the way of increased

giving, survey shows

A recent survey from Fidelity Charitable shows

that about two-thirdsof Americans would like to give

more to charity, but concerns about personal nances

and questions about the impact their donations might

have are keeping them from doing so.

In Overcoming Barriers to Giving, Fidelity found

that a signicant knowledge gap exists that is limit-

ing individual donations to charity. Nearly half of

those surveyed said a larger tax deduction would

be a signicant inuence for them to give more. But

many of these donors likely aren’t taking advantage

of all the tax deductions already available to them.

According to the survey, just 41 percent of donors

said they pay close attention to tax deductions related

to giving, meaning that about 60 percent of donors

are missing out on signicant tax advantages that

could help them increase their giving without taking

a perceived hit on their nances, Fidelity said.

The other major obstacle to increased giving is

concern about impact, the survey found. More than

80 percent of donors cited concerns ranging from

unease about determining an organization’s cred-

ibility or trustworthiness to frustrations that some

nonprots do not always explain how a charitable

donation will be used.

On the other hand, Fidelity said, two-thirds of

donors said that having greater insight into the ways

that their donations will benet causes they are be-

ing asked to support—or simply greater knowledge

of the nonprot’s needs—would inuence them to

give more.

Giving circles increasingly popular, engage diverse demographics,

data show

Collective giving groups, also known as giving circles,

have seen strong growth in popularity over the last de-

cade, research shows, tripling in number since 2007 and

engaging donors from a wide array of backgrounds.

The research, conducted by the Collective Giving

Research Group and the Women’s Philanthropy Institute

at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philan-

thropy, looks at the current scope and scale of giving

circles and similar models of collaborative giving, in

which groups of individuals collectively donate money

and sometimes unpaid time to support organizations

or projects of mutual interest.

Per the study, giving circles have engaged at least

150,000 people in all 50 states and raised as much as

$1.29 billion.

According to the research:

• Giving circles engage donors from a wide

range of income levels. The minimum dollar amounts

required for participation range from less than $20 to $2

million, and the average donation amount was found to

be $1,312 in the latest survey. That’s down considerably

from 2007, when the average donation was $2,809, the

groups said.

• Most giving circles are identity-based. Accord-

ing to the research, about 60 percent of giving circles

are formed around a specic identity, including groups

based on gender, race, age or religion. They attract

many types of people, including those who may not

typically engage in institutional philanthropy.

• Giving circles are especially popular among

women. The numbers show that women dominate

giving circle membership, making up 70 percent of all

members.

• Giving circles are increasingly connected to

each other. The latest research shows an emergence

of giving circle networks—over two dozen and counting.

Nearly half of all giving circles participate in a network

or similar alliance group, helping them to pool resources

and achieve greater impact.

According to the researchers, the ndings “provide

strong evidence that giving circles are an increasingly

signicant philanthropic force, engaging a greater diver-

sity of donors, including women, people of various ethnic

and racial backgrounds, and donors of all wealth levels.”

To access the report in full, visit https://philanthropy.

iupui.edu. ■

(See BARRIERS on page 8)