92% of Americans Give to Nonprofits

Harris Interactive recently released their latest research on giving in America. The research was conducted in January 2006 with 2,720 adults. The findings follow.

Most Americans (92 percent) donated money to a nonprofit in 2005:

• Fifty-seven percent donated less than $500.
• Twenty-one percent donated between $500 and $4,999.
• Six percent donated over $5,000.

Religious organizations and disaster-relief organizations were the primary benefactors of these donations.

More than two of every five donors (44 percent) gave only to religious organizations:

• Forty-four percent donate only to religious organizations.
• Forty-one percent donate to both religious and secular organizations.
• Eight percent donate only to secular organizations.

Most donors anticipate that their 2006 donations to nonprofits will remain unchanged:

• Sixty-seven percent anticipate their donations will remain the same as in 2005.
• Seventeen percent anticipate their donations will be more than in 2005.
• Sixteen percent anticipate their donations will be less than in 2005.

About two out of five Americans (39 percent) have gone online to evaluate a charity prior to making a donation. Generally, they are looking for information on how the charity spends its money and what the charity has accomplished.

To which type of organization(s) did you donate money in 2005?

What sort of information are you looking for online?

The Merits of Marketing (marketing.scouting.org) is a resource for local councils, developed by the Marketing & Communications Division of the National Council, Boy Scouts of America.