Likely Payroll Tax Increases as a Result of `Fiscal Cliff' Legislation Leads to One in Five (20%) Americans Curbing Charitable Donations
Middle-aged adults (23%), aged 35-54, and seniors (22%), aged 55+, are more likely to say they will donate less to charities in the coming year compared to young adults (13%), aged 18-34. Conversely, young adults are more likely to say they will donate more (12%), in comparison to middle-aged adults (4%), and seniors (2%).
On average, respondents who will be donating less say they are planning on giving approximately 29% less to charities knowing there will be likely payroll tax increases in 2013. More specifically, nine in ten (87%) will be donating up to half of last year's amount, while the remaining one in ten (14%) will be giving less than half of last year's donation amount to charities this year.
One half of Americans (50%) report that when it comes to charitable giving, knowing that the money is used appropriately and honestly is the highest priority. One in five (20%) say that feeling a positive sense of well-being knowing that they helped others is the highest priority, while one in seven (14%) say knowing that the cause reflects their personal values is the highest priority when it comes to charitable giving. Fewer than one in ten (7%) say receiving a tax receipt was the highest priority and 2% believe being acknowledged for their donation via some form of thank you or appreciation is the highest priority in charitable giving. One in ten (7%) say the highest priority when it comes to charitable giving is some other reason.
Regional differences in priorities and charitable giving indicated that respondents from the Northeast (58%) are most likely to say their top priority is knowing the money they gave was used appropriately and honestly, more than those from the Midwest (55%), the South (47%), and the West (44%). On the other hand, respondents from the South (19%) are more likely than those from the West (13%), the Northeast (11%), and the Midwest (11%) to say their top priority is knowing that the cause reflected their values. Americans from the West (26%) are most likely to believe the highest priority when it comes to charitable giving is feeling a positive sense of well-being knowing that they helped others, ahead of Americans from the South (19%), the Midwest (19%), and the Northeast (18%).
Passing the Responsibility and Overstating Aid
Although the majority of Americans are planning on donating to charity in the next year, most do not think the responsibility lies with individual Americans or the U.S. government to provide aid to developing nations. More than four in ten Americans (42%) say that the governments where children are being affected are most responsible for assisting poor children in developing nations, while only two in ten Americans say either non-profits and advocacy groups (23%) or individuals in nations where children are being affected (22%) should bear the most responsibility. Less than one in ten believe either individual Americans (7%) or the U.S. government(5%) are most responsible for assisting poor children in developing nations.
Seniors (47%) are most likely to say the government where children are being affected is the most responsible for assisting poor children in developing countries, compared to young adults (39%) and middle-aged adults (41%). On the other hand, young adults (10%) and middle-aged adults (7%) are more likely to name individual Americans as those most responsible for assisting poor children, compared to seniors (3%).
While Americans want developing countries to shoulder more responsibility, they drastically overemphasize the U.S.'s support to such countries. When it comes to estimating the percentage of the federal budget that is devoted to foreign aid, Americans are nowhere in the ballpark of the estimated 1-2% of America's budget that consists of foreign aid spending. Less than one in four Americans (39%) are somewhat correct in thinking 10% or less of the federal budget is devoted to foreign aid; on the other hand, more than half of Americans (55%) think that more than 10% of the budget is allocated to foreign aid. On average, Americans estimate that 22% of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid.
Young adults are most likely to think between 1-10% of the federal budget was spent on foreign aid (46%), in comparison to middle-aged adults (38%) and seniors (35%).
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 10th to 14th, 2013. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,012 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. was interviewed by online via Ipsos' US online panel. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is considered accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points had all US adults, aged 18 and over, been surveyed. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
For more information on this news release please contact:
Sean Simpson Associate Vice President Ipsos Public Affairs 416.574.4474 [email protected]
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