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Helping Others
Young Give Time, Seniors
Give Money
Jan. 14, 2004 - Young adults, aged
18-34, and seniors, aged 65 and older, hold decidedly different views
about the importance of volunteerism. While 58 percent of young adults
say giving time to a charitable cause is most important, just 28 percent
of seniors agree. Conversely, 29 percent of seniors say "money" is the
most important gift one can give to a charitable organization, while 23
percent of young adults and 18 percent of those aged 35-49 agree,
according to a nationwide Thrivent Financial for Lutherans survey.
Despite their different perspectives,
young Americans and seniors volunteered in 2003 at about the same level.
Forty-four percent of young adults reported they had volunteered with a
nonprofit, school or church over the past 12 months, while 39 percent of
seniors did so. This compares with 54 percent of those aged 35-49 and 52
percent of those aged 50-64.
Twice as many Americans believe it is
more important to volunteer one's time than give money to charity. The
survey also found Americans' relationship to faith groups and faith
practices dramatically influences Americans' giving of time and money to
nonprofit organizations. Support of nonprofit organizations is primarily
driven by Americans' belief in the organization's mission, the survey
revealed.
Half (50 percent) of Americans believe
that giving one’s time is more important than giving money. Twenty-two
percent say money is the most important gift to charitable causes while
23 percent say time and money are equally important.
"This research suggests that there's an
emotional, visceral connection to volunteering that just cannot be
duplicated by writing a check," said Brad Hewitt, Thrivent Financial
senior vice president of charitable programs and volunteerism. "Smart
nonprofits can tap the goodwill of the American public by offering
opportunities for their supporters to gain new experiences and develop
relationships while doing good for others."
Volunteerism tends to increase with
income and education levels, as well. Two-thirds (67 percent) of college
graduates reported volunteering in the past 12 months compared with 35
percent who have a high school diploma or less. Similarly, 62 percent of
those earning $75,000 or more reported volunteering compared with 30
percent of those earning less than $20,000, 40 percent of those earning
$20,000 to $34,999, 52 percent of those earning $35,000 to $49,999, and
54 percent of those earning $50,000 to $74,999.
A Matter of Faith
Those committed to prayer and regular
attendance at religious services are most likely to report having
volunteered with a non-profit organization, church or school during the
past 12 months. Below is the percentage of Americans who have
volunteered in the past 12 months among those who:
* Pray daily (58 percent)
* Pray frequently (39 percent)
* Rarely or never pray (28 percent)
* Attend religious services weekly (66
percent)
* Attend religious services once or
twice a month (47 percent)
* Attend religious services a few times
a year (36 percent)
* Never attend religious services (25
percent)
Those who pray and attend religious
services also reported that they are more likely to increase the amount
of money they will donate in 2004 to nonprofit organizations. While 22
percent of all respondents said they planned on giving more to nonprofit
organizations in 2004, 30 percent of those who attended religious
services every week said they would do so versus 12 percent of those who
never attend services. Similarly, 25 percent of those who pray every day
reported that they will donate more money in 2004 versus 17 percent of
those whom rarely or never pray.
Faith Groups Receive Financial Support
Faith groups -- churches and synagogues
-- are most likely to receive financial support from Americans.
Fifty-seven percent of all Americans say they financially support faith
groups. Pre-retirees, aged 50-64, are most likely to give to faith
groups while young Americans, aged 18-34, are least likely to do so (66
percent versus 48 percent). Women are slightly more likely than men to
give money to faith groups (62 percent versus 53 percent), while those
in the South (62 percent) are slightly more likely than those in the
Northeast (50 percent), West (54 percent) or Midwest (59 percent) to
fund faith groups.
Other types of charitable organizations
that Americans report funding include:
* Schools, colleges and universities (33
percent)
* Medical research (30 percent)
* Social service organizations (27
percent)
* United Way (27 percent)
* Environmental organizations (17
percent)
* Political organizations (12 percent)
* Arts organizations (11 percent).
Every type of tax-exempt organization
saw a decline in the percentage of Americans providing them financial
support in 2003 compared to five years earlier (1998), with the
exception of political organizations, which held steady at 12 percent.
Support for the United Way declined 13 percentage points from 1998 to
2003 (40 percent versus 27 percent) while support for arts organizations
declined just 3 percentage points.
Fourteen percent of Americans said they
do not give money to charitable organizations.
Mission Matters Most
Belief in an organizationˇ¦s mission is
the driving force behind Americansˇ¦ charitable giving. Americans
reported the following reasons for giving money to nonprofit
organizations:
* Belief in the organizationˇ¦s mission
(76 percent)
* Religious beliefs (39 percent)
* Always have/tradition (21percent)
* Tax deduction (7 percent)
* Work/peer pressure (5 percent)
Those earning $75,000 or more were most
likely to give for the tax deduction (15 percent) and due to the
organizationˇ¦s mission (88 percent). Rural residents were most apt to
give to charity because of their religious beliefs (47 percent).
"Americans are increasingly interested
in values-driven organizations," said Hewitt. "Regardless of whether
they choose to support these charitable causes through financial gifts
or through the gift of time, Americans can do more through focused
planning that frees dollars and hours for the organizations they care
about."
Telephone interviews were conducted for
Thrivent Financial by Harris Interactive between November 20 and
December 4, 2003 among a nationwide sample of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18
and older. Figures for age and education were weighted where necessary
to align them with their actual proportions in the population.
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