Patterns of Charitable Giving in the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study

Abstract

This study explores the charitable giving patterns of Americans by analyzing data from the 2007 Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS). The study provides nonprofit sector professionals, fundraisers, policymakers and public officials a unique perspective of families’ giving behaviors over time by estimating giving to religious and secular causes. COPPS is the Center on Philanthropy’s signature research project. Data from COPPS is collected as a module of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which reaches more than 8,000 households every two years. COPPS is the only study that surveys giving and volunteering by the same households over time, following families as they mature, face differing economic circumstances and encounter changes in their family size, health and other factors. It is also the only data available that asks families extensively about their wealth and philanthropy, as well as income and other relevant factors. In this study, we probe deeply into the topic of household charitable giving by analyzing the most recent data from the COPPS 2007 wave. We investigate how charitable giving differs by socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, marital status, education level, regions, income, wealth, and others.