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Giving by Communities of Color Varies by
Generation, New Study Shows
African American, Asian American and Latino
donors in the New York City region exhibit a high level of giving,
according to a new study. The first-of-its-kind study also found that while there are
differences in giving across ethnic lines, the most substantial
differences are between older and younger generations in all communities.
The study, "Pathways for Change:
Philanthropy Among African American, Latino, and Asian American Donors in
the New York Metropolitan Region," was released by the Coalition for
New Philanthropy, an initiative to advance philanthropy in communities of
color. The study was conducted by the Center on Philanthropy and Civil
Society (CPCS) at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York.
The study was conducted in 2002 and 2003
with 166 African American, Asian American and Latino donors in the New
York metropolitan region. The interviews were designed to learn from donors
the amount of money and time they contributed to nonprofit organizations and
programs; the types of organizations and programs they supported; their
motivations and intentions for giving; their decision-making processes for
giving; and
the ways in which nonprofit organizations can more effectively partner with
these donors.
Among the study's key findings:
- Donors in communities of color are
generous: Among the donors interviewed, total household giving in the year
preceding the interview ranged from $200 to $1 million, with a median
level of giving of $5,000. This surpasses the national averages for
households that give but do not volunteer ($1,620) as well as for
households that give and volunteer ($2,295). Most often funds were kept in the
donor's ethnic community or went to mainstream organizations for programs
targeted to advance minority interests.
- Generational differences are
important:
While there are some differences across racial and ethnic lines (African Americans
gave more to churches, Latinos to community-based organizations, and Asian
Americans to Asian cultural institutions), the most substantial
differences are between the generations born before and after the
enactment of Civil Rights legislation and immigration reforms of the
mid-1960s. While older generations (40 and over) align themselves with
organizations that impact their respective racial or ethnic community, younger
generations have a broader, less racially and ethnically circumscribed
view of community. These younger donors target their support toward
organizations that benefit economically and socially disadvantaged
individuals regardless of race, and favor nonprofits that
provide educational training and that adhere to effective business models
of operations (professionalism, transparency and accountability are
important factors).
- International interest is high: While for
all donors in the study the primary focus of giving was domestic or local
programs or organizations, 13 percent gave one of their two largest gifts
to an international or bi-national program or organization, as compared to
the national average for international affairs of 2.2 percent as recorded
in Giving USA 2004. Remittances, crises or disaster relief donations did
not figure prominently in these gifts, which focused instead on education
and job training programs.
- Giving is motivated by the desire to
affect social change: Donors young and old, across racial and ethnic lines, all
express a
strong desire to affect fundamental social change. Educational programs
and organizations (along with community organizations and churches) are
the key recipients of philanthropy by donors of color, with many
identifying education as a primary tool for affecting social change. Many
donations go to educational enrichment programs; when donations are made
to mainstream educational organizations, they are usually earmarked for
students of color and to provide access rather than institutional support.
However, commitment to advancing social change does not translate into
consistent financial support for political candidates and campaigns, and
interest in politics appears to be declining. Some older donors expressed
disillusionment with the political system, while younger donors expressed
a preference for direct engagement and individual solutions to social
problems.
- Economic empowerment is seen as key to
having an impact: Young professionals see philanthropy as a way to create
pathways for other people of color to enter financial services
professions. They see economic empowerment and participation in the
marketplace as the best way to impact the nation's economic, social and
political policies.
- Volunteering is widespread: Donors of
color also give of their time and talent, with more than 90 percent of
interviewees having volunteered in the year preceding the interview, and
with the primary motivation being to help to improve the lives of others.
- A large, untapped need for
philanthropic advisement: Common among older and younger interviewees of
all three ethnic groups is that they tend not to ask for advice regarding
philanthropy, but say they would like to know more about organized
giving.
"We are excited by the findings of
this study, which not only underscore the strong current of philanthropy
that the Coalition has uncovered through its work in these communities,
but demonstrate that donors of color have specific motivations and needs
that require different approaches," said Erica Hunt, co-chair of the
Coalition and executive director of The Twenty-First Century Foundation,
which is a partner in the Coalition along with the CPCS, the Asian
American Federation of New York, the Hispanic Federation and the New York
Regional Association of Grantmakers. "The study will be a great help
to us in our outreach activities, enabling us to provide valuable advice
to donors and nonprofit organizations as we unroll our programs
nationwide."
For more information on the study and to
download the executive summary, visit the New York Regional Association of
Grantmakers' Web
site.
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