BBB’s Give.org Study: People who stopped donating say wealthier should give instead

Arlington, VA (June 29, 2023) – According to new research from BBB’s Give.org, 59.1% of people with household income above $70k who stopped giving to charities over the past five years agree with the statement “there are people out there with significantly more money who should give to charity instead of me.”

The standards-based, charity-evaluation group today released the Give.org Special Donor Trust Report: Donor Participation. The report, a survey of more than 2,100 adults in the United States and more than 1,000 adults in Canada, explores why some donors disengage with charities and possible ways to encourage greater participation moving forward.

“News about declining numbers of households contributing to charities is concerning as this makes the sector more vulnerable and less pluralistic” said H. Art Taylor, President and CEO of BBB’s Give.org (and Co-Chair of the Generosity Commission’s Policy Task Force), “Unfortunately, our survey also shows that people who stopped or decreased their giving to charities over the past five years are least likely to say they might increase their giving moving forward.”

Other report highlights include:

• 71.6% of Matures report maintaining or increasing their contributions, as compared to 42.2% of Gen Zers.
• 76.9% of Boomers who stopped donating said they could not afford to, compared to only 27.3% of Gen Zers. On the other hand, 45.4% of Gen Zers who stopped contributing said they did not feel like they had been asked, compared to only 3.8% of Boomers.
• Finances aside, among people with household income above $70k who stopped donating, the most frequent explanation was not trusting the soliciting charity (17.4%).  Among people with household income above $70k who decreased their contributions, the most frequent explanation was preferring other ways of being generous (25.0%).
• Among those who stopped contributing to charities, only 1 in 4 (25.5%) think that donating to charity has a stronger impact on society than shopping at socially responsible businesses. In contrast, 58.3% of people who increased their contributions to charity believe donating to charity has a stronger impact.
• Comparing across generations, Gen Zers are most likely to say they continue to give because they “want to be part of something bigger” (47.0%). Boomers are most likely to say “everyone should contribute what they can” (34.2%) and Matures are most likely to say their faith or religion calls for it (27.5%).

For a free copy of the report, go to Give.org/DonorTrust.

BBB’s Give.org urges donors to give thoughtfully by taking the time to investigate charities before making a donation and to visit Give.org to verify if a charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

Generational age ranges used in the Give.org Donor Trust Report: Generation Z (18-24), Millennial (25-40) Generation X (41-56) Boomers (57-75), Matures (76-93).

ABOUT BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE: BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB’s Give.org) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of nationally soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 holistic standards that address charity governance, results reporting, finances, fundraising, appeal accuracy and other issues. National charity reports are produced by BBB’s Give.org and local charity reports are produced by local Better Business Bureaus – all reports are available at Give.org.

ABOUT BBB: The Better Business Bureau has empowered people to find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust for over 110 years. In 2021, people turned to BBB more than 200 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on 12,000 charities, for free at BBB.org. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

MEDIA CONTACTS: For more information, journalists should contact Elvia Castro (703-247-9322 or ecastro@give.org)