Bequest Giving - US Study
4 June 2007 at 3:41 pm
New US research has found that people who name charities in their wills are more likely to have been steady donors during their lifetimes.
The study was conducted by the Centre for Philanthropy at Indiana University and Campbell & Co and offers some encouraging insights for Australian bequest managers.
One in three of all those surveyed said they currently did not have a charity named in their will but would be willing to consider adding one.
Those people who were not currently donating but were most likely to consider naming a charity in their will are aged 40-60, educated, with at least a bachelor’s degree and motivated primarily by ‘doing good’.
Interesting it found that those with charities already named in their wills, donated more than twice as much annually as those without bequests.
It also found that income appeared not to have an impact on the likelihood that an individual would name or consider naming a charity in their will.
The researchers concluded that it is up to fundraisers to turn a donor’s willingness into action and to target the right people for planned gifts.
