DALLAS – Donors say they plan to give more to charity this holiday season than in 2012, according to a study released by Dunham+Company. The percentage of donors who said they would give more increased from 6 percent in 2012 to 9 percent in 2013. But the real shift came in what older donors said they would give.
Although the majority of donors 60 and older said they would give the same amount to charity this holiday season, four times as many indicated they were more likely to increase their holiday giving compared to last year. In 2012, just 3 percent of this age group indicated they would increase their giving over the holidays. This year, that percentage jumped to 12 percent.
In spite of downturn in consumer confidence, charitable giving should be up.
“Uncertainty over the economy and personal finances, which were of concern to donors a year ago, don’t to seem to be playing as much of a role this holiday season compared to last year,” said Rick Dunham, President and CEO of Dunham+Company, which commissioned the study by research firm Campbell Rinker. “This is good news, especially since consumer confidence was down in November to a seventh-month low, according to The Conference Board.”
The donors who attend religious services most frequently (almost every week or more) intend to increase their giving this holiday season. In 2012, only 5 percent said they would increase their holiday giving and 18 percent said they would give less. This year, 13 percent said they would increase their giving and those intending to give less dropped to 15 percent.
Donors also indicated that their personal financial situations and uncertainty over the economy are less likely to impact their holiday giving this year. In 2012, 34 percent of donors said that the uncertainty over the economy would reduce their holiday giving compared to only 24 percent in 2013. This shift was most notable with donors 65 and older: Only 19 percent said the uncertain economy would cause them to reduce their holiday giving this year. In 2012, 33 percent said the same.
The Dunham+Company study was part of a Campbell Rinker Donor Confidence Survey conducted Nov. 5-18, 2013, among 493 U.S. adult donors who had given at least $20 in the previous year. The online responses were weighted by age to reflect the general U.S. population per the 2010 census. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.6 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
Dunham+Company serves more than 50 nonprofit organizations on four continents with offices in the U.S. and Australia. For more information, please visit http://www.dunhamandcompany.com.