Ranks of Volunteers Swell to a Record but Donations Dip, Survey Finds

Household Giving to Charity

Comparisons of People Who Itemize Tax Deductions and Those Who Do Not

Views on Charitable Organizations

Giving and Volunteering in America

	1993				1995				1998
	Percentage who gave to charity	Average contribution	Percentage of income donated	Volunteers	Percentage who gave to charity	Average contribution	Percentage of income donated	Volunteers	Percentage who gave to charity	Average contribution	Percentage of income donated	Volunteers
All	73.4%	$880	2.1%	48%	68.5%	$1,017	2.2%	49%	70.1%	$1,075	2.1%	56%
Sex
Male	70.3%	$996	2.2%	44%	65.3%	$1,057	2.1%	45%	67.5%	$1,154	2.1%	50%
Female	76.2%	$781	2.0%	51%	71.4%	$983	2.3%	52%	72.7%	$1,002	2.1%	62%
Race
White	76.6%	$907	2.1%	51%	72.6%	$1,083	2.3%	52%	74.5%	$1,174	2.2%	59%
Non-white	54.2%	$659	2.0%	28%	51.8%	$651	1.6%	36%	53.6%	$639	1.5%	38%
Black	51.0%	$663	1.8%	29%	52.8%	$668	1.6%	35%	51.9%	$658	1.8%	47%
Hispanic*	65.4%	$353	1.3%	32%	56.9%	$547	1.4%	40%	62.9%	$504	1.1%	46%
Age
18-24	57.8%	$514	1.2%	45%	57.1%	$287	0.6%	38%	49.2%	$478	1.2%	46%
25-34	66.0%	$520	1.4%	46%	66.9%	$743	1.6%	51%	66.9%	$768	1.5%	55%
35-44	80.4%	$978	1.8%	55%	68.5%	$1,342	2.6%	55%	74.4%	$1,071	1.9%	67%
45-54	80.8%	$1,241	2.5%	54%	78.5%	$955	1.8%	55%	77.2%	$1,375	2.2%	63%
55-64	82.0%	$1,037	2.4%	47%	71.7%	$1,791	3.6%	48%	69.3%	$1,345	2.5%	50%
65-74	76.8%	$1,135	3.9%	43%	73.0%	$980	2.8%	45%	78.0%	$897	2.5%	47%
75 and   over	70.7%	$666	3.2%	36%	61.5%	$839	3.7%	34%	74.1%	$1,242	4.6%	43%
Income
Under   $10,000	47.9%	$207	2.7%	34%	47.3%	$295	4.3	35%	48.2%	$329	5.2%	42%
$10,000-   $19,999	66.9%	$332	2.3%	37%	51.1%	$425	2.8%	34%	56.1%	$495	3.3%	42%
$20,000-   $29,999	68.1%	$668	2.7%	53%	64.9%	$578	2.3%	45%	61.4%	$552	2.2%	44%
$30,000-   $39,999	81.4%	$715	2.0%	56%	71.8%	$722	2.1%	46%	71.8%	$734	2.1%	54%
$40,000-   $49,999	83.5%	$572	1.3%	55%	75.3%	$576	1.3%	53%	78.8%	$951	2.1%	67%
$50,000-   $74,999	94.0%	$1,042	1.7%	61%	81.5%	$1,170	1.9%	60%	78.4%	$1,379	2.2%	64%
$75,000-   $99,999	86.8%	$1,720	2.0%	58%	79.7%	$1,582	1.8%	65%	83.1%	$1,394	1.6%	64%
$100,000   and above	92.3%	$3,213	3.2%	68%	88.6%	$3,379	3.4%	69%	89.1%	$2,550	2.2%	70%
Marital status
Married	80.5%	$1,031	2.2%	52%	78.0%	$1,248	2.4%	56%	77.3%	$1,336	2.3%	60%
Single	58.7%	$517	1.3%	41%	54.9%	$479	1.3%	40%	51.8%	$581	1.3%	45%
Divorced, separated, or widowed	66.9%	$648	2.4%	40%	57.9%	$685	2.6%	41%	67.1%	$603	2.0%	52%
Employment status
Employed	78.6%	$968	2.0%	52%	70.3%	$981	1.8%	52%	71.2%	$1,072	1.9%	59%
Full-time	79.2%	$956	2.1%	50%	70.7%	$1,063	2.0%	50%	72.8%	$1,090	1.9%	58%
Part-time	75.5%	$1,020	1.6%	61%	68.6%	$629	1.4%	58%	64.1%	$984	2.0%	66%
Not employed	64.8%	$710	2.4%	41%	61.0%	$1,010	2.6%	46%	63.0%	$1,258	2.8%	54%
Retired	73.7%	$903	3.5%	41%	66.6%	$1,279	4.1%	40%	73.7%	$1,044	3.1%	45%
Education
High-school graduate or less	63.1%	$580	1.5%	37%	59.3%	$627	1.7%	36%	61.1%	$584	1.7%	42%
Technical, trade school, or some college	80.5%	$779	1.8%	53%	74.1%	$977	2.1%	54%	72.3%	$963	1.9%	61%
College graduate	89.6%	$1,493	2.8%	67%	82.3%	$1,720	2.8%	71%	82.0%	$1,748	2.5%	72%
* Hispanics may be of any race.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT SECTOR

	Agree	Disagree
The need for charitable organizations is greater now than five years ago.	74%	18%
Charitable organizations are more effective now in providing services than five years ago.	62%	22%
Charitable organizations play an important role in speaking out on important issues.	69%	24%
Charitable organizations play a major role in making our communities better places to live.	76%	18%
Most charities are honest and ethical in their use of donations.	62%	28%
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT SECTOR

	Percentage of all respondents	Average household contribution	Average household income	Percentage of income donated to charity
All itemizers	40.5%	$1,277	$61,782	2.1%
Itemizers who claim charitable deductions	29.0%	$1,655	$67,220	2.5%
Itemizers who do not claim charitable deductions	9.9%	$270	$47,186	0.6%
Non-itemizers	51.4%	$367	$33,775	1.1%
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT SECTOR