Charitable Giving and Financial Advice

In this holiday season, many households give money or donate time to help others who are less fortunate. Although "Charity begins at home," we find that MacroMonitor data following the 2008–09 Great Recession and subsequent economic recovery suggest that the overall amount that households give to charity does not change meaningfully, whereas the number of households that give to charity does increase marginally. That is, the number of households that give between nothing and less than $500 annually has increased between 2012 and 2014; the number of households that give more than $500 has not changed between 2012 and 2014.

It is interesting to note that among the many differences between givers and nongivers, a clear correlation exists between charitable giving and having good financial hygiene—that is, having wills, living wills, and powers-of-attorney estate plans in place, for example. In addition, giver households are more likely than nongiver households to always (or sometimes) seek advice before making major financial decisions and are more likely to have financial advisors—financial intermediaries are more often accountants, lawyers, and financial planners than brokers, bankers, or insurance agents.

For detailed findings about households that give more than $2,000 annually, the MacroMonitor details the demographics, financial-product-and-service ownership and use, institution and intermediary use, trust, and selected financial attitudes. Institutions interested in learning more about charitable givers should contact us for more information.