Much Less Generous than They Realize
The average American donor mentally inflates their generosity to charities and ministries by a factor of nearly four times what it really is. That’s why our latest report is titled The Average American Donor: Far Less Generous Than They Think.
At Grey Matter Research, we are specialists in serving donor-supported organizations. We surveyed over 1,100 donors to non-profit organizations. We looked at how much money they actually give to non-profits, what level of generosity this represents, and what level of generosity they think it represents. The report is free upon request.
This Study Is Different
Other giving studies explore the totality of American giving. The Average American Donor differs in two important ways. First, we focus on the generosity of typical donors to non-profits. We did not include foundations, corporations, or the super-rich, with large gifts that tend to skew averages. Second, we included both faith-based and non-faith-based organizations, but excluded giving to local churches and places of worship. That type of giving is very different in motivation and in methods than supporting 501(c)(3) organizations.
Overestimating Generosity
Generosity is the amount donors give in proportion to their household income. The average American donor to non-profits gave 1.22% of their income in the last 12 months. That is a significant drop from 2017.
When asked to estimate their own generosity, the average estimate was 4.6% – an inflation of 277% over reality. Eighty-six percent overestimate their generosity, including 55% who are way high.
Most Common among Christians
Although in reality they are among the most generous Americans, Christians – especially Protestants – are the donors most prone to overestimating their generosity. This may be because many churches teach about tithing (giving 10% of one’s income), which gives many Christians a standard they feel they are expected to reach.
Few Give Sacrificially
Most donors are not struggling financially. Only 2% say their household finances do not even meet daily needs, with another 14% saying their daily needs are met but they have no money for luxuries or extras. These 16% truly give sacrificially. Forty-five percent feel they have enough money for some luxuries or extras, while 39% have enough for numerous luxuries/extras beyond daily needs.
Correspondingly, just 6% of donors say their giving represents a big sacrifice to their household, while most (54%) call it a small sacrifice. Four out of ten tell us their giving is no financial sacrifice at all. And had they not given that money, the most common thing they would have done with it is put it in savings.
I Need to Give More
Clearly, many donors have the financial capacity to give more if they choose. And four out of ten tell us they know they should give more than they do.
Then why don’t they give more? Donors have a variety of explanations (and most cite multiple reasons), but it generally comes down to three issues: financial uncertainty or struggles (58%), uncertainty about where to give and/or whether it’s really making a difference (54%), and simple recognition that they need to do better (43%).
Going into Detail
In The Average American Donor, we not only look at donors as a whole, but by various critical factors:
- Gender
- Age
- Religious faith
- Household income
- Financial comfort level
- Amount given
- Generosity (proportion of income given)
We also provide some food for thought regarding how to apply this research in a fundraising setting.
Learn more about donor generosity in The Average American Donor: Far Less Generous Than They Think, from Grey Matter Research. The Average American Donor is free by request – just e-mail ron@greymatterresearch.com.
How Can We Help You?
Grey Matter makes reports such as these publicly available, but most of our work is for individual clients, whether the topic is donating, branding, religious beliefs, consumer behavior, or anything else.
Just a few recent projects:
- A tracking study for a faith-based organization to measure their target market’s awareness and consideration of their brand, along with perceptions of their work.
- A national survey of Latino donors to help a donor-supported organization communicate appropriately with this population segment.
- Research for a fundraising agency to explore the impact of imagery and messaging on donors who would consider helping the homeless.
- Qualitative research to help a donor-supported media organization understand their donors’ experiences.
What do you want to learn? What upcoming decisions could you make in a more informed manner if you knew what your target market thinks and feels about your organization, why they give (or why they stopped giving), or what they want, need, and expect from you? We answer these kinds of questions for non-profits, faith-based ministries, companies, and the agencies and consultants which serve them.
How can Grey Matter help you?
We have A Passion for Research That Makes a Difference. Talk to us about how we can make a difference for you.