87% of Young Floridians Give to Charity, New Study Finds
Winter Park, Fla., September 29, 2023 – New research by global generosity movement GivingTuesday shows that the rising generation of philanthropists in Florida are generous and that generosity is spread among causes and modes of contribution.
The study, presented today at the Florida Nonprofit Alliance annual conference, looked at both donors and non-donors to better understand their reasons for and patterns of giving, their perceptions of nonprofit efficacy, and how they compare to their national peers. This research looked at a variety of types of generosity—including monetary, donations of items, and time—and contributions to organizations, individuals, informal groups, and more. This study is a partnership between GivingTuesday, through the GivingTuesday Data Commons, and Florida Nonprofit Alliance (FNA). It was funded by the Jacksonville-based private foundation the Jessie Ball duPont Fund (duPont Fund).
“Florida’s nonprofit sector is growing, but we still rank near the bottom in terms of revenue per capita – so this research is critical to helping us understand the patterns of generosity among under-40 Floridians, and how best to reach them,” said Sabeen Perwaiz Syed, President and CEO of the Florida Nonprofit Alliance. “Our nonprofits serve critical needs in communities across the state, especially as we have one of the fastest-growing populations in the country. The sector is planning for the future thanks to research like this.”
Key Findings:
Younger Floridians are slightly more generous and have a minor preference towards donating money compared to the national profile.
Younger Floridians can be categorized into three groups based on their level of engagement: Spontaneous Informal Givers (26%), Reliable Responders (29%), and Unreliable Unengaged (45%). Leveraging the unique behaviors of givers within these groups can help nonprofits better target their engagement.
Younger Floridians give in many ways: Two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed contribute financially to charities, informal groups, or individuals. Similarly, three-quarters (74%) give items and half volunteer and/or advocate for a cause.
Younger Floridians distribute their generosity through giving time, items, and money in near equal measure: financial contributions from younger Floridians encompass one-third of the total value of their generosity while two-thirds of all giving occurs through volunteering and donating items.
Generosity is concentrated in a small portion of the population surveyed: just 2.3% of the population surveyed gave half of all reported dollars donated. Similarly, half the value of all donated items came from 5.5% of surveyed donors and half of all reported volunteering hours came from 8.7% of givers.
Newcomers to Florida are as generous as longer-tenured residents. Overall, "newcomer" status matters less than income, religion, education, worldview, and personal identity in predicting giving behavior.
Race and ethnicity is not a differentiator in the generosity of younger Floridians.
“It’s heartening to see that the rising generation of Florida’s philanthropists is already quite generous,” said Mari Kuraishi, President of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. “This new research provides actionable insight so that our state’s nonprofits can further encourage and expand the reach of that generosity.”
This research differs from past surveys in that it captured information about the perspectives, attitudes, and values of survey respondents to generate psychographic giving profiles. These profiles define unique groups that vary in their patterns of giving (be it money, items, or time through organizations or to individuals) and in what engagement style and messages resonate with them. Analyzing generosity through the lens of distinct giving groups allows nonprofits to rethink and reorient messaging to their audiences to attract new donors or reach previous donors in new ways.
This whole-person approach reflects that Millennials and Gen Zers expect to engage holistically with the causes they support, and fills in gaps in the sector’s approach to engaging whole populations.
“Our data shows that younger Floridians are committed to supporting local causes, charities, and communities,” says Woodrow Rosenbaum, Chief Data Officer at GivingTuesday. “But not all Floridians give in the same way and nonprofits should embrace these differences to increase their reach and impact. Spontaneous givers need to be compelled through storytelling while frequent givers value efficiency and convenience when they give. To reach the largest group of givers—those who give rarely—charities need to experiment with radically different ways of framing, demonstrating, and connecting on an emotional level.”
This research builds on the collaborative report Giving in Florida, released in 2022 by FNA and the duPont Fund and conducted by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Giving in Florida found that Floridians were more generous than previously understood, with nearly 7 in 10 Floridians having made charitable contributions to charities, informal groups, and/or individuals in 2022.
Read the full Growing Generosity in Florida report here.
About Florida Nonprofit Alliance
The Florida Nonprofit Alliance (FNA) is a statewide coalition of nonprofits focused on research, collaboration and advocacy. FNA’s mission is to serve as the state’s collective voice, respected advocate, effective connector, and powerful mobilizer for the nonprofit sector. We provide a collective voice at the state and national levels, educating elected officials and constituents, and serve as a central resource and referral center for and about Florida nonprofits. FNA also represents Florida as the state association member of the National Council of Nonprofits. Visit www.flnonprofits.org.
About the Jessie Ball duPont Fund
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private foundation that works to expand access to opportunity and create inclusive growth for the organizations and communities that Jessie Ball duPont knew and loved. We envision a world in which every member of those communities feels they belong, and is engaged in shaping the future of their community. We use our grantmaking, investments, research and partnerships to increase equitable access to opportunities and resources for members of society who have historically been excluded, and placemaking to build stronger communities where all voices are heard and valued. Learn more at www.dupontfund.org.
About GivingTuesday
GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. What started in 2012 as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round.
GivingTuesday is also home to the GivingTuesday Data Commons, the largest multinational philanthropic data network ever built. The Data Commons is a research collaboration between more than 350 organizations and researchers and more than 50 global data labs focused on uncovering new trends and insights on giving and generosity. It explores giving behaviors and patterns, movement growth, and altruistic behavior in order to identify and share the best practices that help drive increased generosity on a global scale. Through nine Data Commons working groups, as well as 12 research hubs on an online collaborative data platform, it has unearthed new insights about the social sector and the giving economy and has produced tools to help improve effectiveness across these sectors. To learn more, visit www.givingtuesday.org/data-commons.
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Media contacts
Florida Nonprofit Alliance
Sabeen Perwaiz, President & CEO
Jessie Ball duPont Fund
Melanie Cost, Communications
GivingTuesday
Shareeza Bhola, Chief Communications Officer
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