- One-third of U.S. adults (32%) have less than positive feelings toward America's charitable organizations.
- The same number, one-third, thinks that the nonprofit sector in America has pretty seriously gotten off in the wrong direction.
- Only one in 10 strongly agrees that charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donated funds.
- Nevertheless, a majority of adults may have positive feelings toward nonprofits with 68% giving them a score of 51 or higher out of 100.
- Most households (92%) have contributed to a charity in the last year (up from 80% in October 2005).
Other findings from the survey include:
Financial
- More than nine in 10 adults say they or someone in their household made a financial contribution to a nonprofit organization in the past year.
- About half of those who made contributions during the past year gave less than $500, while six percent say they donated $5,000 or more.
- In 2005, the largest percentages of donors gave to churches and religious organizations (50%) and disaster relief organizations (47%), followed by community groups and programs (35%), human service organizations (34%) and organizations that serve youth and children (30%).
- Of those who are considering making contributions in 2006, 68 percent say they expect to give about the same amount they did in 2005, while 17 percent say they expect to give more, and 16 percent say they expect to give less.
Volunteering
- Two-thirds of those who have participated in a volunteer activity do so at least once per month with 36 percent volunteering on a daily or weekly basis.
Attitudes By Age
- Younger adults are more likely than older adults to have positive feelings toward charitable organizations.
- One-third of those ages 65 and older somewhat or strongly disagree with the statement that most organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donations, compared to only 20 percent of those ages 30 to 39.
- Three-quarters of people ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 29 have made a financial contribution in the past year. However, 95 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 65 and older have done so
- Just over half of people in the 18 to 24 bracket volunteer monthly. But, 64 percent of those ages 50 to 64 and 72 percent of those ages 65 and older volunteer at least montly.
