Reliable data on charitable giving is hard to come by. But based on the information available, very rich people are at least as generous as everyone else.
The founder of a black hair-care empire supported the NAACP and the Tuskegee Institute, helped preserve Frederick Douglass’s home. She also tried to used her prominence to stop lynching.
Anya Samek, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Like any personal touch, there’s a chance this common fundraising step makes people feel warm and fuzzy inside. But a five-year research project found that it doesn’t make donors more generous.
Not everyone’s a fan of this fundraising approach. But it does bring the needs of children in developing communities to the attention of many Americans.
The gravity and force of this Category 5 hurricane that lashed the Florida Panhandle and other Southern states may never have fully registered on the public’s radar.
Billionaire Robert F. Smith made a big splash when he told Morehouse grads he would pay off their student debt. Yet his generosity adheres to a long African American tradition.
Scholars researched whether bestowing awards on volunteers who pitch in with the Boy Scouts made a difference. The answer seems to depend on whether the recognition is expected or not.
Although far fewer Americans took the charitable deduction on their tax returns, giving stayed fairly steady, according to the annual Giving USA report.
Anya Samek, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
When asked to donate money they had earned through participating in a study, average people tended to choose the less onerous requirements rather than big ones.
Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies; Associate Dean for Research and International Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University