New National Study from Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University to Offer Unique Perspective of Families' Philanthropic Behaviors Throughout Their Lives
INDIANAPOLIS - A new landmark study from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR) will provide nonprofit sector professionals, fundraisers, policymakers and public officials unique insight into families' philanthropic behaviors as they undergo changes over their lifetimes.
The Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) is the only study that surveys giving and volunteering by the same households over time as families mature, face differing economic circumstances and encounter changes in their family size, health and other factors. It also is the only data available that asks families extensively about their wealth and philanthropy as well as income and other relevant factors.
The COPPS is conducted in conjunction with the ISR's long-running Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which has surveyed the same 5,000 households since 1966. As children of these respondents have matured, they have been added to the sample which now exceeds 7,400 households. In 2001, researchers added the philanthropy component, designed and sponsored by the Center on Philanthropy. These first-round results represent the largest one-time study of philanthropy in the United States that will be beneficial to donors, funders, fundraisers and the nonprofit sector as the households' behaviors are tracked over time in the coming years.
"This new research has several implications for how we study and practice philanthropy and is a major new contribution to the nonprofit sector," said Eugene R. Tempel, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "Nonprofit managers and fundraisers will gain insight into how different generations within families make their giving and volunteering decisions, and what impact parents have on children in the transmission of philanthropic behaviors."
It also will provide an understanding of the effects of public policy, such as changes in tax law, on giving and volunteering, and the effects of changes in income, wealth and life experiences on donations. For example, the COPPS data will examine how changes in marital status, dependents, employment, health, and other factors affect philanthropy.
"We are pleased to work with the Center on Philanthropy on this new philanthropy component of the PSID," ISR Senior Research Scientist Frank P. Stafford said. "The PSID is the longest running longitudinal study of households in the world and by far the most comprehensive in the United States. With the Center's research expertise, this new philanthropy module will provide key statistics to scholars and practitioners working in the philanthropic sector about giving over the life course and changes that come with aging."
Data from the first COPPS survey about giving in 2000 have begun to be analyzed and some of the initial findings include:
Married couples exhibit giving patterns that flow with the life cycle - peak giving happens between ages 40-65 and drops later in life. In contrast, the giving of donors who have never been married grows after age 65. Married couples, on average, gave more between ages 40-65 ($2,905) than donor couples under 40 ($1,499) and over 65 ($2,156).
Donors whose debts equal their personal assets (zero wealth) gave 68 percent of their contributions to religious causes. Donors with wealth between zero and $100,000 gave a lower share of their contributions to religion (52 percent). Among donors with high wealth (above $100,000) and with wealth below zero, where debts exceeded assets, giving to religion was even lower at 47 percent of all giving. COPPS is one of the few national studies to correlate giving to religion with wealth levels.
Households led by individuals who reported excellent, very good, or good health gave in greater numbers and gave greater amounts than those led by people who are in fair or poor health. Healthy donors gave an average of $1,981 while those in fair or poor health gave $1,356.
The Center on Philanthropy will continue to analyze the first round of data. It also will examine future installments of the COPPS data, the second of which is in the field currently. Center researchers hope their colleagues at other institutions also will take advantage of the new data to uncover issues that might offer nonprofit executives and staff helpful tools for their work.
"We hope this signature project will provide answers to questions about donors and how their behaviors change over their lifetimes," said Patrick M. Rooney, director of research at the Center on Philanthropy. "For the first time ever, we will be able to track giving patterns to see how households respond to changes in tax rates and how giving changes over the business cycle."
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University increases the understanding of philanthropy and improves its practice through research, teaching, public service and public affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations. The Center sponsors programs at its headquarters at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and at IU-Bloomington.
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