Generosity Comes from Parenting
Our latest study is Raising Givers: Passing Generosity from Generation to Generation. The report details the massive impact parenting has on the next generation when it comes to raising givers – people who practice generosity in a variety of ways, and who are more generous than others.
How massive is that impact? Some donors grew up very frequently seeing one or both parents giving money to non-profits. They give twice as generously today compared to those who rarely or never saw their parents do this.
Some very frequently saw their parent(s) donating to a church or other place of worship. They are 238% more likely to be giving to a place of worship today as adults.
Building on Our Prior Work
Over a decade ago, Grey Matter Research released our study Heart of the Donor. We learned the single greatest predictor of someone being a donor is their parents’ generosity. It’s how frequently their parents gave money, explained where it was going and why, and encouraged them to give, even as children. In Raising Givers, we take it a step farther.
Grey Matter Research specializes in serving donor-supported organizations. We surveyed over 1,100 donors to non-profit organizations. We examined how today’s donors were raised, what impact it has on generous behavior today, and how they are raising (or did raise) their own children.
Raising Givers is free upon request (ron@greymatterresearch.com).
Passing It Along
Raising Givers also found people who were raised in a home filled with generous behavior are likely to pass this along to their own children. For example, some donors had parents who very frequently encouraged them to give, even as children. They are 96% more likely to encourage their own children to give than are donors who rarely or never experienced this growing up.
In many ways, this shouldn’t be surprising. We know from other research that smokers tend to raise smokers. Drinkers tend to raise drinkers. Parents who are obese tend to raise children who become obese. It’s important to recognize parenting doesn’t just risk having a negative impact on children. Parenting also fosters a very positive impact by raising givers.
How Does This Impact You?
Okay, it’s great to know that parents have such an impact. But how does this affect the work you’re doing for your own organization?
It doesn’t necessarily have to involve massive initiatives. For instance, Grey Matter Research has conducted a lot of research among child sponsors. We’ve heard over and over how, growing up, their parents kept a picture of their own sponsored child on the refrigerator. This simple but daily reminder led many to sponsor a child when they started giving.
The report provides some ideas to get you thinking creatively. For example, do you offer a holiday gift catalog? If so, do you offer a special section of gifts designed for parents to give their children? Is it positioned as a way to raise money, or as a way parents can foster generosity in their children? Is the information you send to the gift recipient child-centered, or just what everyone else receives?
Do you have a place on your website where parents can explore the importance of your cause with their children (and do you promote that)? Do you offer tips or talking points for how parents can discuss with their children challenging topics you address, such as homelessness, mental health, or disease?
In many places of worship, children depart the regular service to go to separate kid-friendly teaching and activities – if yours does this, are children present when the offering is taken, or have they already left?
Many donor-supported organizations are trying very hard to reach younger donors. Imagine if instead of reaching them, you could actually develop them!
Learn more about the role of parenting (and what role you might play in this) in Raising Givers: Passing Generosity from Generation to Generation, from Grey Matter Research. Raising Givers 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.
- Research for a fundraising agency to explore the experiences of Christian mid-level donors.
- A global survey of Jewish people, about how their Jewishness impacts their lives.
- 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.