Participation in Philanthropic Activities: Donating Money and Time

The 1994 Independent Sector Survey of Giving and Volunteering conducted by the Gallup Organization was used to study the propensities with which people are solicited for money or time as well as the probabilities that people will volunteer time or donate money or property, given they have been solicited or not solicited, utilizing a two-stage probit analysis. Forty-five percent of respondents were asked by philanthropic organizations to volunteer time in 1994. Of those, 80% did volunteer. Some 78% of respondents were asked to donate money or property in 1994. Of those, 85% donated some money or property. Human, social, and cultural capital explained those who were solicited to volunteer. The same variables plus income variables determined whom to be solicited for donating money or property. Human, social, and cultural capital and income variables accounted for more variation in the probabilities to volunteer or donate, given respondents were not asked to contribute, than the probabilities to volunteer or donate, given respondents were asked to contribute.