Will nonprofits raise more money than last year during their year-end fundraising campaigns? According to a national poll conducted by the American Red Cross, seven out of 10 Americans plan to donate more money to charity this year even in this economic downturn for a third straight holiday season.
“Despite the difficult economy Americans want to give to help others in need,” said Red Cross President and CEO Gail J. McGovern. “With so many people out of work, they want to give something that means
something.”
Check out some of the key survey results
- 80 percent of respondents felt their finances are either the same or worse than they were last year.
- Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe that because of the economy, it’s important to give something to charity a 10 percentage point increase over the 58 percent who felt that way last year.
- More than half (55 percent) say they feel bad about spending money on gifts people might not use.
- 79 percent agreed that they would rather have charitable donation in their honor than get a gift they wouldn’t use.
Why aren’t some people donating money to charity this holiday season? 49 percent of the people who will not be donating this holiday season say it’s because they can’t spare the money right now.
Do Men and Women View Charity Giving Differently?
In short yes. The survey found men and women varied significantly on their views regarding charity and gift giving during the holidays. Women tended to be more concerned about giving meaningful and practical gifts, with 61 percent of women feeling bad about spending money on gifts people might not use – 13 points higher than the 48 percent of men who responded that way.
While more women than men say charity gets them into the holiday spirit, men are more likely to donate more. About 32 percent of men plan to donate more than $100, compared to 20 percent of women who plan to donate that much.
Men and women also differ on the effects of the bad economy. Nearly two thirds of women say the economy has helped them focus on what’s important during the holidays, 17 points higher than the 49 percent of men. In addition, more than 71 percent of women say they feel badly they can’t give more to charity this year, compared to 51 percent of men.
COMMENTS