Amid rising antisemitism, a new study shows that American Jews who have experienced bias are far more likely to give to charities of all kinds than those who haven’t.
While the study was conducted before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, the authors say it provides plenty of useful information about what motivates American Jews to give to secular and nonsecular charities alike.
That’s because two-thirds of Jewish households surveyed gave to nonreligious causes, compared with 59 percent of non-Jewish households. The Israel-Hamas war means that more American Jews are likely giving more to organizations focused on Israel-related advocacy or relief to those affected by the hostilities, at least for now.
Three quarters of Jewish households donated an average of $10,588 to charities of all kinds, and one in four gave to Israel-related causes in 2022, according to the newly released survey of 3,115 households by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the Ruderman Family Foundation, which commissioned the report.
The survey, which was conducted in March 2023, is the most comprehensive look at American Jewish giving trends in the past 10 years — and could provide a valuable foundation for understanding what comes next, even if it does not include giving since October 7, which may be more subject to volatility related to the crisis and less representative of typical giving patterns.
“We now have a very accurate baseline with which to compare” how giving will continue to shift in the years to come amid the continued conflict and rising antisemitism in the United States, said Patrick Rooney, an economist at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, who was the main researcher of the report.
American Jewish donors who personally experienced antisemitism — which has seen a troubling surge in recent years — give an average of almost 10 times more money to charity than those who hadn’t experienced antisemitism. Donors who expressed concern over rising antisemitism also gave roughly five times more to charity on average than those who were unconcerned.
Most of the charities that Jewish households supported were not affiliated with any religion or with Israel, according to the survey, a finding consistent with similar studies from more than a decade ago.
Over 65 percent of Jewish households gave to nonreligious causes, with charities that serve basic needs like food banks and homeless shelters as well as health care and education providers especially likely to receive support.
In contrast, more than three-fifths of non-Jewish households gave to religious charities — like churches and mosques, Catholic Relief Services, and Jewish federations — compared with only 53 percent of Jewish households.
That trend may have shifted somewhat since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which sparked a wave of Jewish philanthropy for Israel-related causes, says Hanna Shaul Bar Nissim, a visiting scholar of philanthropy at Indiana University and deputy director of the Ruderman Family Foundation, who estimates that Americans have donated at least $750 million to Israel since the Hamas attack.
That doesn’t mean that everyday donors will stop giving to their local food bank, homeless shelter, or alma mater, but it may shift priorities for certain donors, at least temporarily. In recent months, several prominent donors have opted to pull funding from universities over what they see as an insufficient response to campus antisemitism and student protests critical of Israel’s assault on Gaza, while upping donations to Israel-related causes.
Still, the increase in giving toward Israel-related causes is “a very dynamic situation” whose momentum could very well change in the coming months, says Shaul Bar Nissim: “The biggest question is if it’s sustainable or if this is emergency aid that will ultimately die down.”
The report found that those who described being Jewish as important in their lives and those with higher wealth or income were more likely to give to Israel-related causes, as were members of Generation X and millennials. Those generations donated to Israel-related charities at rates of 27 percent and 25 percent, respectively, compared with 17 percent of baby boomers.
While synagogues or temples received support from only about two in five respondents, they were the most likely to receive a Jewish household’s biggest donation in a given year. Those who described being Jewish as “very important” were far more likely to give to their house of worship, with two-thirds donating an average of $4,894.
Other findings from the report:
- Of donations to Israel-related causes, nearly 40 percent were directed toward advocacy, while 29 percent were for short-term trips or study in Israel, 25 percent for religious activities, and nearly 24 percent for food, shelter, and other basic necessities.
- Nearly 30 percent of Jewish households volunteer, with almost half volunteering for more than five hours a month. People with higher levels of education and religious participation were more likely to volunteer.
- Family composition affected how much Jewish households opted to give to congregations. Same-faith Jewish couples had a higher donation rate (65 percent) than those with a mixed-faith partner (25 percent) or those who were single (28 percent). Nearly 60 percent of Jewish households with children at home donated to congregations.
