DonorSpeak e-Letter from Campbell Rinker

A majority of individual donors see recently enacted or proposed Federal legislation and rules as having no impact on their giving, according to new polls released by Campbell Rinker.

Of all the items rated, individual donors believe that losing the tax deduction for charitable giving would have the greatest negative impact on their personal contributions, among a list of recent and potential Federal initiatives.

Slightly more than one in three donors (36%) say that eliminating the tax deductibility of charitable gifts would likely reduce their giving this year, a figure which rises to 50% among households making $100,000 or more annually. Half of donors (48%) say this would have no impact on their giving – probably reflecting the fact that the proposed rules would affect only households earning more than $250,000 annually.

Another 18% of households say that new health care reform legislation would likely reduce their giving this year, compared to 57% who think it would have no impact on their giving and 5% who believe it would improve their giving outlook. The legislation was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010 after passing through Congress on a party-line vote.

In response to the same question asked after the law passed, 23% said that health care reforms would likely reduce their giving this year, while similar percentages expecting no impact or an increase.

The greatest shift in these poll numbers occurs among respondents who are under age 50 – before the bill passed, 14% said the legislation would likely “reduce” their giving, compared to 24% after it passed .

Furthermore, Campbell Rinker has consistently found the highest proportion of donors to say that unexpected household expenses have the greatest impact on their giving behavior and not household income, stock performance, or home value. In our March 29 poll, we found that 46% of donors expect their household health care costs to increase over the next two years, compared to 13% who expect their health care costs to decrease. Another 27% expect to see no change, and 15% are unsure of the impact.

The lowest percentage of donors (9%) believes that new legislation revising rules for credit card vendors would impact their giving, while roughly one in eight donors expects that the “Stimulus” plan, the “Cap and Trade” energy tax plan now before the Senate, and the TARP financial rescue might have a negative impact on their giving.

This Campbell Rinker poll was conducted online from March 3-5 among 506 known donors of at least $25 within the last year to a range of different nonprofit sectors. They were asked what impact various initiatives coming out of Washington D.C. might have on their charitable contributions in the coming year. Respondents could choose from the options “Reduce my giving,” “No Impact,” “Increase my giving,” “Unsure of Impact,” and “Not familiar with this initiative.”

A new poll shows that 42% of donors recall having a will, trust or annuity in place to secure their future, while 56% do not.

As might be expected, the percentage that has taken care of this planning declines with each successive generation. Nearly nine in ten Pre-boomers – those aged 66 and older – have taken care of their plans, compared with just 24% of GenX and GenY donors aged 18-47. By comparison, 63% of Boomers (age 48-65) have their plans ready.

The study also found that higher income donors are more likely to have made their plans than lower income donors. 58% of donor households earning $100,000 or more report having a will, trust or annuity in place, compared with 50% of those earning $75-$99K, 46% of those earning $50-$75K, 34% of those earning $35-$50K, and 22% of those with income less than $35K.

Those who had made their plans were asked what percentage of their estate was set aside to benefit charities. The average proportion was 5.4%, though interestingly, the mean percentage is higher among younger generations than it is among older age donors. Pre-boomers reported setting about 2.4% of their estates aside as a contribution to charity, while Boomers reported a mean of 5.8% and GenX and GenY respondents recalled setting aside about 6%.

Donors who had not yet taken care of their will were unlikely to leave anything to charity. Nearly half (49%) answered that they did not intend to leave anything to charity, while 11% said they did, and the remaining 41% said they were unsure. Women and younger donors were most likely to be unsure, but at the same time, younger donors were also more likely to say that when they finalize their plans they will include a charity.