According to a survey conducted in March by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, about three-quarters of the 1,229 respondents gave at least $1 to charity in the past year. The largest share, 23%, donated between $101 and $500 total. The survey goes beyond what causes the support to explore who they think should receive charitable assistance and who is responsible for helping those in need.
Here are some of the salient findings, with additional data points and insights from Marjorie Connelly, senior fellow for public affairs and media research at AP-NORC.
Two in five donors gave to nonprofits helping people in need in the U.S.
What organizations did the 76% of respondents who gave at least $1 support? At the top of the list were nonprofits helping “people in the United States who need food, shelter, or other basic necessities” (40%) and religious institutions (churches, mosques, or synagogues, (37%), followed by disaster relief (29%), animal welfare (24%), educational (21%), and health care or medical research (19%) organizations.
Lower-income people are less likely to donate but support community members in other ways
Respondents with annual household incomes under $50,000 were less likely to report giving to charity than those making more. The differences in their likelihood of giving varied by issue area. The gaps were largest for disaster relief organizations (21% vs. 35%) and nonprofits helping people in need in the U.S. (30% vs. 47%) and smaller for international aid (14% vs 18%) and civil rights (10% vs 13%) organizations.
At the same time, lower-income respondents were just as likely as more affluent ones to provide non-financial support to members of their communities—for example, by cooking a meal, providing free child care, or giving rides. Thirty-six percent of people making less than $50,000 reported doing so, compared with 34% of those earning between $50,000 and $99,000 and 37% of those making $100,000 or more.
Respondents prioritize charitable assistance for friends, family, and community members
Across income levels, most respondents said it is more important to take care of those closer to them than those at a distance, regardless of whether they themselves provide that assistance. Seventy-two percent of all respondents said it is “extremely” or “very” important to help friends and family members in need; 46% said the same of neighbors and people in their community, 26% of people who live elsewhere in the U.S., and 19% of people who live outside the U.S..
“There is little difference by income in the views of the public regarding the importance of helping friends and family, one’s own community, other Americans, or people living outside the country,” said Connelly.
80% say the government has responsibility for helping people in need
Who, then, is responsible for providing assistance? Eight in 10 respondents—including 90% percent of those self-identifying as Democrats and 70% of those self-identifying as Republicans—said the government has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility to help people in need in the U.S.
While not an apples-to-apples comparison, Connelly pointed to an AP-NORC poll conducted in February that asked about the federal government’s responsibility for helping communities vulnerable to natural disasters. “About six in 10 favor the federal government providing money to local residents to help them rebuild in the same community; providing money to local residents to make their property more resistant to natural disasters; and providing homeowners’ insurance in these communities for people who cannot get private insurance,” she said.
More affluent respondents see nonprofits and the “very wealthy” as responsible for helping people in need
After the government, respondents were most likely to say nonprofits (76%) and religious institutions (74%) have “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility to provide assistance. Seventy percent said the same of “very wealthy people,” 63% of corporations, and 59% of “people like you,” that is, like the respondent. According to Connelly, there was not much difference by income on the amount of responsibility religious organizations, corporations, the government, or people like themselves have to help people in need.
Not so for nonprofits and the very wealthy, however. The higher income bracket were in, the more likely they were to view nonprofits as being responsible for helping people in need, observed Connelly. “Twenty-nine percent of those with incomes under $50,000 think nonprofit organizations have a great deal of responsibility, as do 36% of people with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000 and 41% of those with higher incomes.”
As for the “very wealthy,” “regardless of income, the public thinks very wealthy people have a lot of responsibility to help people in need,” Connelly added, but “more well-off people are slightly more inclined to say so.” Seventy-two percent of people with household incomes of at least $50,000 say very wealthy people have a great deal or moderate amount of responsibility to help fellow Americans, compared with 65% of people with incomes under $50,000.
Who do you think has the greatest responsibility for helping people in need?
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