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Embarking on a Republic of Benevolence? New Survey Findings on Charitable Giving

Boston College

John J. Havens

Boston College

In this article, the authors provide a tentative answer to a vexing statistical question about the level of charitable giving in the United States: Why does the Indepndent Sector's (IS) Survey of Giving and Volunteering consistently estimate personal contributions to nonprofit organizations to be 65% to 75% lower than correspondingestimates reported by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC). The authors' analysis of several additional surveys suggests that there is sufficient new evidence to conclude that average annual household giving is closer to an AAFRC-based estimate of $1,167 than to the IS's published estimate of $696. This would herald the good news that levels of charitable giving are indeed higher-at least 34% and perhaps up to 48% higher-than previously reported from survey data. These findings indicate that a substantial upward revision in the perceived amount of annual charitable giving is in order.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, 237-242 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764098272007


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