Giving and volunteering rates among young college graduates have been falling in recent years, driven in part by social and demographic trends that point to continued declines, according to a new report.
The share of young college graduates (ages 22 to 35) who give to charity declined from 59.8 percent in 2011 to 55.7 percent in 2015; volunteering fell from 33.6 percent to 31.2 percent during that period.
The report, titled “Shifting Milestones, Fewer Donors and Volunteers” was produced by the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute.
The study used data from the General Social Survey conducted by the University of Chicago, the U.S. census, and other sources.
College graduates typically give and volunteer at higher rates than other groups, so the decline will likely be worrisome for fundraisers.
One bit of good news from the study: A higher percentage of Americans than ever have college degrees, somewhat offsetting the decline in the rate of giving among those graduates.
Troubling Signs
Nathan Dietz, senior researcher at he Do Good Institute, said he and his colleagues were intrigued by data from “Giving USA” that showed small but troubling declines in giving rates.
“It’s not a disaster yet, but this is unsustainable,” Dietz said.
So the researchers decided to explore giving trends among younger adults to look for clues to what might be going on long-term with giving, he said.
Along with educational achievement, getting married and having children also are strongly correlated with giving and volunteering rates. There are worrisome trends in those areas that may be suppressing giving among college graduates: People are getting married later in life, if at all, and having fewer children, the study notes.
The marriage rate among young adults (ages 22 to 35) has declined from 48 percent in 2002 to 38.3 percent in 2015. The rate of parenthood during that period declined from 46.4 percent to 39.8 percent.
The report focuses on “milestones that traditionally mark the transition to adulthood and their correlation to charitable giving and volunteering.”
Those milestones include achieving full-time employment, living independently, getting married, and having children.
Delays in reaching some of those milestones appear to be related to the trends in giving, Dietz said.
“There’s something wrong with the process that used to be the traditional on-ramp for doing good,” Dietz said.
Dan Parks is managing editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Nathan Dietz, senior researcher at the Do Good Institute.
