The wealthy and individual giving

Just came across a report mentioned in the new issue of Youth Today that I thought mentoring programs would find interesting...

PNC Wealth Management has released the new results of their annual survey on how people donate to nonprofits and philanthropic causes. The report, Wealth and Values Survey: The Affluent and Philanthropy, notes that the wealthiest Americans are cutting back the most on their donations.

28% of those with over $500,000 in assets to invest have or are planning on cutting back on their donations, compared to only 13% overall. The overall percentage of respondents who "feel an obligation to give back to their communities" dropped to 55% from 58% the year before.

There are several ways of looking at this for mentoring programs. First, it's entirely likely that the wealthiest Americans took a bigger financial hit in the economic crisis of the past few years (one could also argue that they were in better relative position to weather it).

But I think the key takeaway is that individual giving campaigns are still a viable way for programs to bring in funds, especially if they don't focus exclusively on the "big fish" donors. The vast majority of individual charitable giving, both in total dollars and as a percentage of income, comes from middle and lower class income levels, and it always has. The recent economic crisis seems to have, at least for now, made that difference even more pronounced.

So mentoring programs, remember that more than ever, individual giving is grounded in the power of the masses, not the charity of the few. Plan your efforts accordingly.