GIVING AMONG WEALTHY
DETAILED IN TWO STUDIES
by Thomas J. Billitteri
reprinted from the The
Chronicle of Philanthropy
Wealthy technology executives gave 6 percent of their after-tax
income to charity last year, donating an average of $20,000
each, according to a new study. Those surveyed said they gave
most frequently to human-service, educational, and religious
groups.
|
FACTS
& FIGURES
People
who attend religious services gave 2.3% of their
income, compared with 1.3% for those who do not.
More Facts
& Figures
|
|
|
|
Ninety-nine percent of the technology executives who responded
to the survey, which was sponsored by U.S. Trust Corporation,
in New York, said that they made charitable contributions
in 1999.
That finding parallels that of another new study of affluent
people, by Bankers Trust Private Banking, also in New York.
The Bankers Trust study, which surveyed people from a variety
of occupations whose assets totaled at least $5-million, found
that more than 97 percent contributed to charities in 1997
and that 65 percent gave to political causes.
In the U.S. Trust Corporation study of technology executives,
more than two-thirds of respondents said that in 1999 they
supported human-services charities, educational groups, and
religious organizations. Sixty percent of them said that they
gave to groups that serve children and youths, and 54 percent
said they gave to cultural organizations. Only about one-fourth
of respondents gave to athletic or animal-welfare organizations,
and 27 percent gave to environmental groups.
The U.S. Trust study surveyed 150 professionals in technology
who are among the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
"The technology sector has been one of the fastest-growing
segments of the U.S. economy in the past decade and one of
the primary generators of personal wealth in this country,"
Jeffrey S. Maurer, president of U.S. Trust Corporation, said
in a statement.
The Bankers Trust survey was conducted among 112 households,
including 30 with a net worth of more than $50-million, by
researchers at the Boston College Social Welfare Research
Institute and the University of Massachusetts Boston Center
for Survey Research.
The Bankers Trust study found that contributions to charitable
and political causes averaged 22 percent of the respondents'
family income, or $1.1-million per family. Amounts contributed
varied widely, however, from $1,700 to more than $36-million,
according to a report on the study.
The study found that the amount and percentage of income
contributed to charity increased with the respondents' level
of wealth.
Among families with a net worth of $100-million or more,
for example, the average contribution was $5.5-million, or
57 percent of income. Among families with a net worth of $5-million
to $10-million, the average contribution was $65,780, or 10.6
percent of income. Families with a net worth of $1-million
to $5-million contributed an average of $13,113, or 3.5 percent
of income.
Ninety-three percent of the respondents indicated that their
giving would increase if they found an additional worthy cause
about which they felt passionately, according to Paul G. Schervish,
director of the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston
College, who coordinated the study.
Eighty-eight percent said that a higher personal net worth
would elevate their giving, while 74 percent said that increased
tax benefits would do so, Mr. Schervish said. Sixty-six percent
said that they would give more if they had better information
about the effectiveness of their donations to particular causes,
he said.
About 86 percent of respondents said that they served at
least one hour in an average month as a volunteer for a charitable
or political cause. The average time devoted to volunteer
service was 15.4 hours a month. Respondents said that they
often served as a member of a charity board of directors or
in another leadership position.
Nearly 90 percent of respondents to the Bankers Trust survey
said that they had a written estate plan. They said that,
on average, they expected 16 percent of their assets to go
to charity after their deaths, 47 percent to heirs, and 37
percent to the government in the form of taxes. Respondents
said that if they had their way, 26 percent of their assets
would go to charity, 64 percent to heirs, and only 9 percent
for taxes.
To receive a free copy of the Bankers Trust study, "Wealth
with Responsibility Study/2000," call the company at
800-454-0353.
To receive a free copy of the "U.S.
Trust Survey of Affluent Americans XVIII" call Allison
Cooke Kellogg at U.S. Trust, 212- 852-1134, or send an e-mail
request to jan_senger@ustrust.com.
|