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 A recent survey conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch found
that women are more generous than men when it comes to charitable
giving, especially with respect to decisions about volunteer
activities and smaller financial donations.
Large financial donations are often made jointly.
Reuters asked Lorna Sabbia, managing director and head of retirement
and personal wealth solutions at Merrill Lynch, for insights into
giving and issues surrounding philanthropy among families and women.
Q: How much are women really driving giving decisions compared with
men?
A: Many men and women are both highly altruistic. However, our
research shows that more women than men contribute financially and
volunteer their time to causes.
The difference may be explainable by their motivations. Women are
more likely than men to say helping people in need brings them
greater happiness than spending money on themselves, and women are
more likely to define success by generosity versus wealth.
Q: How much do issues within a family affect giving, such as
children concerned about parents giving away their inheritance?
A: The best way for children not to feel slighted is by involving
them in the giving process. Not only are you making them personally
invested, but also teaching them important life lessons about
generosity.
You can involve children and grandchildren in a number of ways, such
as a starting a volunteering tradition - the holidays can be a great
time to do so - providing a “giving allowance” that is donated to a
nonprofit of their choice, or asking them what causes they are
passionate about and finding a way to incorporate it into the
family’s philanthropic planning.
Q: What sorts of causes, or types of causes, do women tend to favor?
A: We don’t see many differences between the type of causes men and
women give to, which is not surprising.
It isn’t about gender – we have found, it’s about the individual and
their life experiences. For instance, someone whose family member
has been affected by cancer might give to cancer research.
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However, we did see generational differences. For a long time
religious organizations have been the largest recipient of
charitable dollars, but millennials are giving to educational and
art/culture causes at higher rates – signally a potential shift in
the future.
Q: At what age do donors tend to become more active and why?
A: Retirement is the best time in life to give back, according to
our recent study.
Retirement often presents the perfect recipe for giving – more time,
more savings and more skills. As people stop working full-time and
"empty nest," they gain unprecedented amounts of free time. Combine
that time with a lifetime of experience, skills and talents,
retirees present us with the most available and skilled volunteer
workforce.
Retirees also have accumulated more net worth and therefore give the
highest average amounts to charities. To be specific, retirees
account for 31 percent of the adult U.S. population, but contribute
42 percent of money to charity and 45 percent of total volunteer
hours.
Q: How significant for non-profits is the potential of donors
donating their time in addition to their money, or instead of it?
A: For those without the means to financially give, volunteering can
be a great way to experience the benefits of giving back without
writing a check. This is particularly true among retirees, who might
be on a fixed income, but have free time and a lifetime of skills to
offer. Nonprofits that recognize this opportunity and can tailor
their programs to involve retiree volunteers will benefit the most.
(Editing by Beth Pinsker and Steve Orlofsky)
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