4 Key Findings from new UBS nonprofit study

While some may tend to automatically define philanthropy as nonprofit fundraising donations, the circle is completed when volunteering is added to the equation. For so many having the opportunity to give time and effort to support a cause is viewed as favourably as being able to donate funds. Last week we took a look at how many of the world’s wealthiest support nonprofits in the Coutts Million Dollar Donors Report and today we wanted to look at a study that is a fitting companion piece to that study.

Courtesy of UBS Investor Watch comes a report entitled ‘Doing Well at Doing Good’ that looks at the philanthropic efforts of those with the highest net worth in the United States. The results are both encouraging and revealing plus emphasize the fact that while donations from this demographic are the element that will tend to draw the most attention the opportunity to volunteer holds just as much appeal.

Some basic numbers to get started with and then we’ll look a little deeper at some of the key findings. Almost all of the millionaires studied, some 91%, donated money or volunteered during the last year with a high ratio (55%) having done both. Donations on the whole tend to come about as the result of unplanned giving where a request is addressed when it arrives and as you’d expect the ability to make a difference in this manner often results in a generous contribution. However the eye-opener in the report is the strong correlation between volunteering and the participant then being more likely to feel like an impact is being made which we’ll cover below.

Donating and Volunteering in Depth: As addressed above 91% of those studied gave funds or volunteered time within the last year and on average millionaires donate seven percent of their annual income to charity. On the whole more than half (52%) of those asked plan to to leave a large portion of their wealth to nonprofits when they pass away – estimated at 28% of their overall wealth.  Over a more extended period of time you’ll see from the graphic below that the total contributions are remarkable when asked ‘How much money do you estimate you have donated in your lifetime?’

61% of all those studied reported that they volunteered during the last year with over 60% of those saying that they volunteer at least monthly and 28% weekly.

Feelings about impact: It was a little disheartening to read that only about 20% of those that support charities feel that their giving approach was either ‘extremely or highly effective’. I’m not sure what to read into those results, perhaps they feel that the size of the task(s) requires far more financial or volunteer support although the reports suggests better planning in terms of giving was a key factor. In a related question about double that number (40%) felt ‘extremely or very satisfied with impact on community or broader society’. There was also a strong connection between the positive results and whether or not a person has volunteered (versus made donations only), those who volunteer feel they are making more of an impact.

Cause support by age: A very interesting graphic below shows that the causes supported based on age group amongst those studied has a significant bearing on the charities that receive assistance. The chart speaks for itself but you’ll definitely see a pronounced change as donors age. You’ll certainly see similar results based on age regardless of the income demographic you’re studying.

Planning breeds confidence: On the final graphic below I wanted to feature how the key aspects of the report comes into sharp focus. The data shows clearly that millionaires who are able to plan the full financial components of their own giving will in turn consider that their approach is more beneficial/will feel greater satisfaction with the impact. It seems that the assistance of financial advisors when it comes to philanthropy can provide results that are more organized and bring more sense of positive impact. It’s an interesting point though, if you were to become extremely wealthy overnight just how might you go about organising your support for charities, what steps would you take?

The entire report is certainly worth a look and brings the question forging stronger relationships between nonprofits and their wealthiest supporters into the foreground – it’s a very interesting topic.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including PCI compliant inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.