Perceptions Of Gift Giving
The Ketchum agency and insurer Liberty Mutual have done a study on the “culture of giving,” reported here by the Center for Media Research.
The study looks broadly at giving — when people give, why, how they like to show their appreciation and so forth. It provides fascinating context for the more specific matter of charitable giving.
And there are some specific findings on charitable giving attitudes. For example:
- 30% of adults say they will donate money to charity rather than purchase some gifts this holiday season;
- Four in five adults say they appreciate it when people make a donation to a charity rather than purchasing a gift for them;
- More than half of adults agree that it’s more responsible to make a donation to a charity on behalf of someone than to purchase a gift for them;
- Three in four adults say they would volunteer their time to charity as a gift if they thought others would value this type of responsible giving;
- Nine out of ten adults ages 18-29 say they would volunteer their time if they thought others would value this type of giving.
Most of you are already well along with your year-end fundraising. But I sure hope you haven’t overlooked the huge opportunity to tap into many individuals’ readiness to give donations in place of gifts.
Tom
P.S. One commenter on the original CMR article notes that survey respondents are prone to saying one thing, and doing another. That’s true. But even discounting these numbers, there’s plenty of sentiment out there for doing something more meaningful than just buying another present. Fundraisers would be remiss to overlook that sentiment.
Behavioral Science Q & A
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