Baby Boomers Plan to Increase Their Giving This Year, Survey Finds

By Suzanne Perry

Baby boomers say they plan to give 25 percent more to charity by the end of 2006 than they donated in 2005, with an average donation of $6,000 — higher than that of any other generation, according to a new survey by the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

The survey found that boomers — people born from 1946 to 1964 — planned to donate about $100-billion in 2006, up from an estimated $79-billion the previous year.

The survey, conducted through online interviews last fall, polled 1,015 people who were at least 25 years old and expected to make a minimum donation in 2006 of $1,000 if they were 30 or older, or $250 if they were under 30.

Over all, those responding planned to make average contributions of $5,000 in 2006. Fifty-three percent said they would give about the same amount to charity in 2006 as they did in 2005, with only 10 percent expecting to give less. Almost 90 percent said they give to the same charities every year.

The survey found that donors underestimate their ability to maintain their giving levels after retirement.

Forty-three percent of the working people surveyed, and 47 percent of baby boomers, said they believed they would have to cut back their giving after they retired. However, the poll found that only 20 percent of retired people age 60 or over actually had to do so, while 32 percent were able to donate more.

When asked to name the reason people give to charity, 51 percent of those surveyed picked "a feeling of social responsibility."

Forty-two percent said "it feels good to help," 40 percent cited membership in an organization, and 34 percent named tax savings. Older people were most likely to select the "feeling of social responsibility" as a motivation — 69 percent of those 70 years or older did so, compared with only 28 percent of those ages 25 to 29.

The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund administers so-called donor-advised funds, which allow people to put money into a tax-free account and donate it to charities of their choices. The gift fund said its grants to charity were at record levels, surpassing $945-million for the 12 months ending November 30 — up almost 13 percent over the same period a year earlier. Contributions to the fund for the same period were $1.2-billion, up 21 percent.