Fewer Are Donating to Charity

In the past year, 73 percent of Americans aged 18 or older say they donated money to charitable organizations, according to a Gallup survey. This is a record low, below the previous low of 79 percent during the Great Recession. But Covid-19 may have influenced responses to the survey, Gallup cautions. Gallup fielded the survey from April 14-28. Although the survey asked about charitable donations over the past year, some respondents may have said what they are currently doing rather than what they have done.

Charitable donations fell the most among lower-income households. Only 56 percent of households with incomes below $40,000 indicated that they had made charitable donations in the past year, fully 17 percentage points lower than the last time Gallup asked the question in 2017. Among households with incomes of $100,000 or more, the percentage donating money fell by just 5 percentage points during the same time period—from 92 to 87 percent.

When asked whether they will give more or less money to charity in the next year, 25 percent say they will give more. Another 66 percent said they will give the same amount. Just 7 percent will give less. "The duration and severity of the economic downturn will be a key factor in whether Americans are able to fulfill those intentions," Gallup concludes.

Source: Gallup, Percentage of Americans Donating to Charity at New Low