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It’s that time of year when people think about sharing, and a new survey finds that for many of us that includes charitable giving.
The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive for the online giving platform Causes.com, found that 85 percent of Americans have donated to charity. Of those who do give money, about one-third are more likely to do so during the holidays.
Older Americans were most likely to have donated money, with 94 percent of those 55 and over reporting that they had donated at some point. Women were also slightly more likely to have given than men.
Why do people donate to nonprofits?
About half of the donors surveyed said they were motivated by wanting to do something positive for the community. The same percentage said they donated because someone they knew was fundraising for a specific cause, and 41 percent said they gave in response to a natural disaster. (Respondents were allowed to give more than one answer.)
Apparently, very few give for more selfish reasons: Only 17 percent said they did it to feel good about themselves during the holidays, and only 10 percent said they needed the tax write-off.
The recession and weak economic recovery has crimped giving to some charities, even as many nonprofits have said that the need for their services has increased. Last month, the Urban Institute and other organizations released their annual Nonprofit Fundraising Survey on giving so far this yaer.
Of about 2,500 charities surveyed, the report found that 36 percent had seen a rise in giving, while 37 percent had seen a decrease. The rest reported that giving had remained about the same.
The report said international giving was most likely to see an increase, as donors responded to disasters.
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The big corporations want to donate money at our expense. If they want to donate, then why should we pay?
http://littleadvisor.com/blog/archives/429
Charity at this time of the year needs to stop all together. It supports the Christian holiday which is anti USA. I support the Athiest movement so I did not give, Shop, decorate the house, canceled family invitations and asked the boss to stop giving us off the Christmas Holiday and stop paying us for it for it supports the Christians and that is unconstitutional and un american. We need to get rid of thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, Ramandan, and all the other religous holidays for they are offensive.
Tell your boss "No" to the pay and "No" to the day off. Tell those who are in need to stop using a christian holiday as an excuse to receive charity, for we do not support giving for it is a christian thing. DEMAND SCHOOLS STAY OPEN DURING THESE HOLIDAYS, FOR THEY ARE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN WRONG BY CLOSING FOR A RELIGOUS HOLIDAY.
Have you lost your mind ? Forget what you think is "Christian, What about what is human ?.. we shouldn't need a holiday to be good to one another but sometime's it get's us motivated to make somebody else feel better. I had to go to a homeless shelter a week ago to get my teeth pulled.... I have a place to live, but I can't buy insurance so I had to go to the free clinic. Our country has many problem's but celebrating the holiday's isn't one of them !!!!! Letting grown men and women, many of whom fought for your freedom to be able to spew your ignorant comments openly, sleep in the street ( 0 degrees here) ........ now there's something you can get behind!! Fight a fight that will lead someplace positive, help me with MY MISSION to help a homeless mission, I am trying to reach, KLG & HODA ......Oprah,...Bill Gates, whom ever can help but what if they never get my messege ? do you think it's ok to watch somebody go without or do you close your eye's so you don't have to give ? Do you only object to giving on the holiday's or do you object all the time? If only on the holiday's ok, object, but these occasions may be the only source of hope that some people have and it make's them feel good !! If you help a friend, or a stranger, if you give to someone, even if you arent Christian you have provided a Christian act ! It's people, "and that includes you" that other people need, and so if you decide that giving is just too difficult for you "any time of year" I hope you take out insurance in case you find yourself in a situation of need.....one of us Christian's or somebody providing a Christian like act will show up and help. If that was to happen.......maybe you could let us Christian's enjoy giving to our fellow human being's. Even if it is labled as a holiday!!
Ben Gaetz
b.gaetz@yahoo.com