Generational Succession in American Giving: Donors Down, Dollars Per Donor Holding Steady But Signs That It Is Starting to Slip

Abstract

Comparing two generations at the same point in their life cycles, four decades apart, indicates that average giving to charitable organizations (not including congregations) by Baby Boom families has remained roughly in line with the level of giving done by the Greatest and Silent generations, but that average giving by GenX and Millennial families is lower. All three generations exhibit the confluence of two divergent trends: lower percentages who give large amounts, but among families who do give large amounts, levels of giving compared with donors in previous generations are similar if not higher. The two divergent trends also characterize giving to religious congregations. Although “dollars per donor holding steady or up” describes Millennial, GenX, and Baby Boom families compared with the Greatest and Silent generations, when the former three generations are compared with each other, there are some indications that average giving among donors is starting to slip.