Colorado Business and Family Lawyer Blog

The Center on Philantrophy at the University of Indiana recently released the results of a study that surveyed over 10,000 Americans regarding their charitable donations. One of the more interesting conclusions reached by researchers was that contributors with higher income and education levels were more likely to report that they give to charities in order "to make the world a better place" rather than "to meet basic needs". A similar trend was observed in the motivation for giving among young donors. It's hard to imagine how the world becomes a better place without also ensuring that as many individuals as possible are able to meet their basic needs. However, the take home lesson for nonprofit fundraisers and marketing professionals may be the need to better communicate how basic sustenance is tied to larger social themes (such as women's equality or environmental conservation), particularly when they are targeting young, higher income or highly educated prospective donors.