The generation gap isn’t such a big deal in fundraising, according to a study released today.

While fund raisers often say that baby boomers are very different in their giving styles from their parents, it turns out that other factors — such as income and education level — matter a lot more than the generation in which a donor grew up.

The scholars found that the amount people give rise along with their income, levels of education, and frequency of attending religious services. The age of donors didn’t matter at all.

However, the older donors are, the more likely they are to make gifts to religious causes: Seventy-two percent of donors in the great generation reported giving to religious causes, but only 41.5 percent of the millennial donors did.

The reasons people give also divided along generational lines.

Members of the silent generation are ore likely to say that they gave to “control where my money goes instead of having the government do it” or to “provide services the government can’t or won’t.”

Millennial donors are more likely to say they gave to “make the world a better place.”

The study, “Generational Differences in Charitable Giving and in Motivations for Giving,” was commissioned by Campbell & Company, a fund-raising consulting company.

Read the executive summary below; or download the complete study including recommendations for fundraising strategy based on the data, from Campbell & Company.

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