Personal connections are a potent force in philanthropy, increasing both the likelihood of charitable giving and the amount, according to the latest Bank of America Study of Philanthropy, a biennial report on the field, which was released yesterday. 

The study found that affluent Americans — defined as those with a net worth of more than $1 million (excluding primary residence) and/or an annual household income of $200,000 — are continuing to volunteer more, following a COVID-19 dip, with 43% of respondents saying that they did so last year, compared to 37% in 2022 and 30% in 2020. The two most common forms of volunteering were distributing basic goods and working with a religious organization. The study, which surveyed 1,514 affluent households, found that people who volunteer are more likely to give to charity than those who don’t and that on average, their donations are 2.5 times higher than non-volunteers.

Donors are also mainly driven by their beliefs and values, with 63% saying that these are their reasons for selecting causes to support, as opposed to 47% who said that it was because of perceived needs of the organization or field. The survey also found that nearly 80% of donors give to causes within their local communities, principally those focused on providing basic needs and religious services. 

The Bank of America study offers a window into the philanthropic habits and motivations of wealthy households, some of which will be well known to regular eJewishPhilanthropy readers — such as the ongoing trend of more money being given by fewer, wealthier donors — while others have not been tracked by similar studies, such as the annual Giving USA report.

For instance, the Bank of America study, which was conducted with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that family collaboration is a critical tool but one that is vastly underutilized. While roughly half of respondents, 46%, said that they consult their spouse about every philanthropic gift, a sizeable majority of donors — 82% — said that they do not involve relatives from other generations in those decisions. This is despite the fact that 75% of donors reported planning to leave their estates to their children and grandchildren. 

Donors are also increasingly savvy about how they donate funds, with 18% making donations through a “giving vehicle” — as opposed to a direct donation — including donor-advised funds, private foundations, wills, endowment funds, giving circles, charitable LLCs and others. This represents a 64% increase from nine years ago, and is likely to continue increasing, particularly among the wealthiest of donors. Among those with $5 million-–$20 million in assets, nearly half said they either had a “giving vehicle” or planned to establish one within the next three years.