Single women were more likely than single men or couples to decrease their giving during the first two months of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report. While their reasons varied, nearly 40 percent said they had done so because they were uncertain how the public health crisis would affect the economy — and by extension, their finances.
Only about 30 percent of single men and 32 percent of couples decreased their giving for that reason.
The report’s authors say that finding tracks with other recent studies that show women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and its negative effects on the economy. That is in contrast with the Great Recession, which had a bigger impact on men, according to the report, Covid-19 Generosity and Gender: How Giving Changed During the Early Months of a Global Pandemic.
Researchers at the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at Indiana University conducted the survey in mid-May. The report, which had 3,405 respondents, cautions that the findings represent an early snapshot of Covid-era giving. It’s not a complete picture because the pandemic has not yet been contained and its impact on people and the economy will continue to shift in the coming months and possibly into next year.
The study cited other reasons single women reduced their giving:
- A third did so because they were uncertain about the further spread of Covd-19, compared with 24 percent of single men.
- Nearly 32 percent did so due to reduced income because of social distancing and business shutdowns, compared with 23.4 percent of single men.
- More than 30 percent did so because of “reduced interaction with community,” compared to 24 percent of single men.
More than half of the people surveyed — 56 percent — said they engaged in some kind of charitable activity during the first couple of months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In some cases, that took the form of direct donations of cash or goods to a charity, individual, or business in need. In other cases, people gave indirectly, doing things like ordering take-out from local restaurants or continuing to pay for services such as housekeeping.
When the study’s researchers looked at people’s giving in more detail, they found that 68 percent of U.S. households said they did not give directly to a nonprofit or to a struggling individual or business during that time period.
For the 32 percent of people who did give directly, the average amount donated was $347. That is slightly higher than the $314 average contributed by the 28.5 percent of people who gave directly for disaster aid in 2018, according the report.
Among other findings:
- Just over half of U.S. households — 51.7 percent — said they gave indirectly to individuals or businesses during the early months of the pandemic.
- Age was a significant factor in determining how likely a U.S. household was to give indirectly during the first months of the pandemic. Younger households, especially those with 18- to 29-year-olds, were nearly 60 percent more likely to give indirectly than households that were primarily made up of people 65 or older.
- The report found that 18 percent of households increased their giving to charities focused on basic needs and health care during the early days of the pandemic, while 19 percent decreased their giving in those areas.
- Twenty-one percent decreased their giving to religious groups, and just 7 percent increased their giving to those groups.
The study’s authors recommend that charity leaders and fundraisers communicate clearly with donors about the specific actions their nonprofit is taking to respond to all the ways the pandemic is affecting people and why their cause still needs donors’ support and attention.
The report says nonprofit leaders should expect that the new norm of connecting with donors virtually will continue long after the pandemic has been contained. Older donors or those whose health might make them more vulnerable to infection will be more nervous than younger donors about attending in-person charity events. With that in mind, nonprofits should incorporate creative virtual events and communications into their post-pandemic fundraising strategies.