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Non-profits Developing A Bad Reputation32% of Americans Negative in Harris PollWhile a Third of Adults Think the Nonprofit Sector in the United States is Headed in the Wrong Direction, a Vast Majority of Households have Donated to Charities in the Past Year. One-third of U.S. adults (32%) have less than positive feelings toward America's charitable organizations(1) and the same number (32%) thinks that the nonprofit sector in America has pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction, according to a survey by Harris InteractiveŽ. While a majority of adults may have positive feelings toward nonprofits (68% give them a score of 51 or higher out of 100) and most (92%) households have contributed to a charity in the last year (up from 80% in October 2005), only one in 10 (10%) strongly agrees that charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donated funds. Almost half (48%) somewhat agrees with this sentiment, while slightly more than one- quarter (27%) somewhat or strongly disagrees that these organizations use donated funds honestly and ethically, and another 15 percent are not sure. These are some of the results from the latest Harris Interactive DonorPulse survey, conducted quarterly, designed to track trends related to charity and philanthropy in the United States. This latest survey was conducted online in the United States between January 11 and 17, 2006 among 2,720 adults ages 18 and older, of whom 2,523 donated money to a charitable organization in the past year, and 1,672 volunteered their time to a charitable organization in the past year. The next wave of the DonorPulse survey will field in May. Financial contributions Despite their ambivalence about the direction they see the sector headed in, the vast majority of Americans continue to make cash donations to individual nonprofit organizations. The survey also suggests that 2006 charitable contributions will remain steady based on people's expectations of what they will give this year. * More than nine in 10 adults (92%) say they or someone in their household
made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization in the past
year, up from 80 percent when last asked in October 2005.
* About half (49%) of those who made contributions during the past year
gave less than $500, while six percent say they donated $5,000 or more.
* In 2005, the largest percentages of donors gave to churches and
religious organizations (50%) and disaster relief organizations (47%),
followed by community groups and programs (35%), human service
organizations (34%) and organizations that serve youth and children
(30%).
* Of those who are considering making contributions in 2006, 68 percent
say they expect to give about the same amount they did in 2005, while 17
percent say they expect to give more and 16 percent say they expect to
give less.
David Clayton, Vice President of the Nonprofit and Social Issues Research Group at Harris Interactive, comments, "This survey highlights the American public's tremendous commitment to the principles of charity and philanthropy. It also suggests that nonprofits could communicate more to the public about the real improvements in individual lives and communities that their altruism translates into." Volunteer efforts Some adults choose to do their part by donating their time. About two-thirds (64%) of those who have participated in a volunteer activity do so at least once per month with 36 percent volunteering on a daily or weekly basis. Clayton goes on to say, "Even with some ambivalence and concern about some dimensions of the nonprofit sector, people are definitely showing their support as they invest significant amounts of discretionary time and money." Differences by age Throughout the survey there are noticeable differences in attitudes toward charitable organizations and the amount of time and money donated by age. Some of these include:
* Younger adults are more likely than older adults to have positive
feelings toward charitable organizations. For example, 83 percent of
those ages 30 to 39 and 88 percent of those ages 18 to 24 give
charitable organizations a score of 51 or higher (out of 100), compared
to only 53 percent of those ages 65 and older.
* One-third (33%) of those ages 65 and older somewhat or strongly disagree
with the statement that most organizations are honest and ethical in
their use of donations, compared to only 20 percent of those ages 30 to
39.
* Three-quarters (75%) of those ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 29 that they or
members of their household have made a financial contribution in the
past year, compared to 95 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 65 and
older.
* Just over half (52%) of those ages 18 to 24 and 59 percent of those ages
25 to 29 volunteer at least monthly, compared to 64 percent of those
ages 50 to 64 and 72 percent of those ages 65 and older.
TABLE 1
ATTITUDES TOWARD CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS-BY AGE
"Please rate your overall feelings about nonprofit organizations,
including charities, private foundations, faith-based organizations and other
philanthropic groups, from 1 to 100. '1' means you have very negative feelings
for non profit organizations and '100' means you have very positive feelings
for them?"
Base: All adults
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
1-50 (Net) 32 12 28 17 28 38 47
1-10 6 1 6 1 6 9 9
11-20 1 1 - * 2 2 1
21-30 4 - 6 2 2 4 6
31-40 3 * 3 2 2 3 4
41-50 18 11 14 13 17 19 26
51-100(Net) 68 88 72 83 72 62 53
51-60 4 2 2 7 3 5 4
61-70 6 10 5 5 7 6 6
71-80 26 22 34 32 32 25 19
81-90 17 29 13 22 17 11 15
91-100 14 25 17 16 13 15 9
Means 68 80 70 76 69 64 60
* Less than 0.5%.
TABLE 2
PERCEPTIONS OF HOW NONPROFIT SECTOR IN AMERICA IS DOING-BY AGE
"In general, do you think the nonprofit sector in America is on the right track or has pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction?"
Base: All adults
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Right track 30 36 38 35 33 29 21
Wrong
direction 32 16 19 23 34 38 37
Not sure 38 48 43 41 33 33 42
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 3
USE OF DONATED FUNDS-BY AGE
"Based on what you know, please rate your agreement with the following
statement: 'Most charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use
of donated funds.'"
Base: All adults
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Agree (Net) 58 60 58 70 61 55 50
Strongly agree 10 6 11 15 11 10 6
Somewhat agree 48 54 47 55 51 45 44
Neither agree
nor disagree 15 24 20 10 14 13 17
Disagree (Net) 27 16 22 20 24 32 33
Somewhat
disagree 22 16 18 19 18 25 29
Strongly
disagree 5 * 4 1 6 7 5
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
* Less than 0.5%.
TABLE 4
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
"In the past year, have you or any members of your household made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization, including charities, schools, churches, hospitals, museums, etc.?"
Base: All adults
TREND Yes No
January 2006 % 92 8
October 2005 % 80 20
May 2005 % 80 20
TABLE 5
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS-BY AGE
"In the past year, have you or any members of your household made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization, including charities, schools, churches, hospitals, museums, etc.?"
Base: All adults
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Yes 92 75 75 92 93 95 95
No 8 25 25 8 7 5 5
TABLE 6
CHARITABLE DONATION AMOUNTS-BY AGE
"Thinking about all your charitable contributions to religious organizations, churches, charities, or other nonprofit organizations, etc., approximately how much money in total did you (or any members of your household) donate to churches and other charitable or nonprofit organizations in the past year?"
Base: Donated to nonprofit organization(s)
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Zero/Nothing - - - - - - -
Less than $250 33 52 54 40 31 31 23
$250-$499 16 4 11 16 21 19 15
$500-$999 13 11 8 17 13 12 12
$1,000-$1999 12 5 3 10 13 12 16
$2,000-$2,999 6 1 3 5 4 6 9
$3,000-$3,999 4 2 - 4 2 4 6
$4,000-$4,999 2 6 - 2 1 2 1
$5,000-$7,499 3 * 5 1 4 3 5
$7,500 or more 3 3 - 2 5 3 3
Decline to
answer 8 16 17 4 5 7 10
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
* Less than 0.5%.
TABLE 7
VOLUNTEERING FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS-BY AGE
"Taking all of your volunteer activities together, on average, how often do you volunteer?"
Base: Have participated in any volunteer activity
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
At least monthly(Net) 64 52 59 61 64 64 72
Daily 5 1 2 4 5 7 5
At least weekly,
but not daily 31 26 23 28 27 30 42
At least monthly,
but not weekly 28 24 35 28 32 27 25
Less than monthly
(Net) 36 48 41 39 36 36 28
At least quarterly
(every three
months), but not
monthly 16 20 17 20 16 16 12
At least semi-
annually, but
not quarterly 10 8 11 10 13 10 10
annually 10 21 12 9 7 9 7
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 8
FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS-BY AGE
"Thinking about your charitable contributions over the past year, to which type of organization(s) have you donated money? Please select all that apply."
Base: Donated to nonprofit organization(s)
Age
Total 18-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-64 65+
% % % % % % %
Churches or religious
organizations 50 43 48 38 46 54 58
Disaster relief
organizations 47 43 42 45 48 45 51
Community groups
and programs 35 23 14 35 34 37 37
Human service
organizations 34 37 28 30 36 36 34
Organizations that
serve youth and
children 30 20 14 31 35 32 27
Educational
organizations 24 15 10 30 27 23 23
Other healthcare
organizations 14 4 20 15 15 13 17
Conservation and
environmental
organizations 13 9 17 13 13 12 14
Arts and culture
organizations 13 8 14 18 13 9 15
Organizations that
serve the aging
and elderly 12 1 1 7 10 12 22
Hospitals 7 7 2 6 6 6 11
Other 2 - * 2 1 2 1
Don't know * - 3 - - * *
None/Nothing * 2 - - - * *
Declined to
answer/No answer * - - - * * *
Note: Only responses with 1% or more included.
* Less than 0.5%.
TABLE 9
DONATION EXPECTATION FOR 2006
"Compared to 2005, how much do you expect to donate to charity in 2006?"
Base: All Adults
Total
%
More than 2005 (Net) 17
Much more than in 2005 1
More than in 2005 15
About the same as in 2005 67
Less than 2005 (Net) 16
Less than in 2005 10
Much less than in 2005 6
Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States between January 11 and 17, 2006 among 2,720 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online. All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting. With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided. With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,720 adults one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. Sampling error for the sub-samples of those who have donated money to a charitable organization in the past year (n=2,523) and those who have volunteered their time to a charitable organization in the past year (n=1,672) is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated. These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
J26413
Q335, Q340, Q345, Q355, Q360, Q365, Q370
About Harris InteractiveŽ
Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris PollŽ and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value. Press Contact:
Jennifer Cummings
Harris Interactive
585-214-7720
(1) Respondents were asked to rate their overall feelings about nonprofit
organizations from 1 to 100 with '1' meaning they have very negative
feelings for non profit organizations and '100' meaning they have very
positive feelings for them. Thirty-two percent of adults gave a score
between 1 and 50, which translates to a less than positive rating.
The Harris PollŽ #33, April 27, 2006
By David Clayton, PhD, Vice President, Nonprofit and Social Issues Research Group, Harris InteractiveŽ Source: Harris Interactive Related PagesNonprofit Mistakes - Judith Rothbaum on how to avoid three common mistakes at your nonprofit organization - Know your donors and make sure they know your non-profit group well. Organizing Charity Events - Advice on how to organize a special charity event for your nonprofit - Organizational tips and planning suggestions. Non-profit Organizations Fundraising - Basic strategy advice on fundraising for non-profit organizations - How to information on capital campaigns and charity events. Strategic Philanthropy - How to grow your business by helping others - Strategic philanthropy allows you to help groups that are raising funds and promote your business at the same time. |
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