American Donors Respond Best To Disasters
Many donors are broke and often confused about how to safely give in an emergency but have found ways to do so.
A majority of Americans (59%) who said that they donated to charity during the past 12 months gave half or more of their monetary donations to charities providing disaster relief. It is 22-point spike from a similar survey conducted by during April 2022 where 37% of American donors had given half or more of their charitable contributions to disaster relief efforts.
And, 52% of those polled responded that when a crisis (e.g., natural disaster, humanitarian crisis, economic crisis) occurs, they do not know where to find reputable information on how to direct a monetary donation to support those in need. Perhaps more concerning, 65% of Americans agree that when a crisis occurs, they do not generally have funds available to give right away.
The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Vanguard Charitable from October 12-16, 2023, among 2,073 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,516 donated to charity in the past 12 months (i.e., donors).
“During a crisis, the desire to provide aid is so strong,” Rebecca Moffett, president of Vanguard Charitable said via a statement. “And we need to do more to help individuals act on that desire, especially those who may not know which charities to support, or how to quickly access funds to donate.”
When it comes to charitable giving in general, the survey results showed that Americans remain committed. Nearly 3 in 4 Americans (73%) reported having given a monetary donation to charity in the past 12 months, on par with the 74% who reported doing so the year before (survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Vanguard Charitable in September 2022).
Strategic Giving Goes Further
American donors with a charitable giving budget give more dollars and are more likely to support disaster relief than those who do not have a charitable giving budget. This is consistent with survey findings in 2021 and 2022. Other responses included:
* Among those who donated money to charity in the past 12 months, those who included charitable giving in their annual budget gave more money, on average, than those who did not ($1,583 vs. $892).
* Among American donors with a charitable giving budget, 74% donated to disaster relief in the past 12 months, compared to 53% of American donors without a charitable giving budget.
* American donors with a charitable giving budget were two times more likely to say the amount of money they donated increased compared to last year than those who did not (34% vs. 17%).
* 61% of American donors with a charitable giving budget are likely to give more money in the next 12 months to charity than they did in the past 12 months (vs. 47% of donors without a charitable budget).
