Poll: A quarter of Americans plan to increase charitable giving after Trump win

• Date: 01 February 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30282
• Published date: 01 February 2017

FEBRUARY 2017

7

NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Nonprot Research

Foundation leaders acknowledge

lack of progress in addressing social challenges

New research by the Center for Effective Philan-

thropy nds that about two-thirds of foundation CEOs

believe in the potential of their organizations to make

a signicant difference in society, but most say they are

failing to take full advantage of their opportunities

for impact.

On an optimistic note, much of what surveyed

CEOs see as standing in their way is under their con-

trol to change, and they see several ways that they can

move their organizations closer to their missions and

overall goals.

The report, The Future of Foundation Philanthropy:

The CEO Perspective, captures foundation leaders’

views on challenges and concerns about the changing

landscape in which they work, practices they believe to

hold the most promise for helping foundations reach

their potential, and the most-pressing issues that will

inuence foundation philanthropy in the coming years.

The report is based on surveys of some 200 founda-

tion CEOs who were asked a series of questions about

their sector, such as:

• What is the current state of foundation

philanthropy?

• How prepared are foundations to deal with

changes they believe will affect society?

• What are their concerns about the future of foun-

dation philanthropy?

• How do foundations need to change to address

society’s future needs?

Wealth inequality is high on foundation leaders’

list of pressing issues, cited by 65 percent of founda-

tion CEOs the CEP interviewed for the study. Other

issues noted by the CEOs include climate change and

In response to the recent U.S. presidential elec-

tion, 25 percent of Americans either already have

increased or plan to increase their support for non-

prots and charities, according to a new survey from

humanitarian group CARE.

In the survey, which was conducted by Harris Poll

on CARE’s behalf, some 15 percent of Americans

said their stepped-up support for charitable orga-

nizations has or will come through donations, with

additional support coming in the form of increased

time volunteering (14 percent) and/or advocating (16

percent) on behalf of nonprots or charities. Younger

Americans seem to be driving the trend, with millen-

nials (those ages 18–34) and Gen Xers (those ages

35–44) twice as likely to say they have increased or

will increase their support for a charity because of the

presidential election than those ages 45 and older (34

percent vs. 17 percent), the survey showed.

A little more than half of those who are increas-

ing their charitable support said they are doing so

because it is one way they can affect change, 41

percent cited a belief that the United States needs

to remain engaged in the world and 40 percent said

the organizations they care about are under threat.

The survey also looked at what types of nonprof-

its would benet from the planned giving increases.

Per the report:

• 50 percent said they would direct additional

donations to children’s charities.

• 35 percent said it would go to groups support-

ing women’s reproductive rights/family planning.

• 28 percent said it would go to groups focused

on women’s empowerment/women’s rights.

Groups focused on access to health care, LGBTQ

rights, race relations and international humanitarian

aid/global poverty also were high on the list, CARE

said, cited by about a quarter of those who planned

to increase their giving.

To read the survey results in full, go to http://www

.care.org. ■

Poll: A quarter of Americans plan to increase charitable giving

after Trump win

(See CHALLENGES on page 8)