“Signs of an impending slowdown in charitable giving are emerging from multiple studies,” writes Holly Hall in Friday’s (3/1) Inside Philanthropy. “IRS data reveals that people under age 55 significantly reduced their giving during the Great Recession, and they have not fully resumed their support of charities, says Robert Sharpe, the principal of Sharpe Newkirk, a Memphis fundraising consulting firm…. People now in their 60s and older, baby boomers, and the last surviving members of earlier generations are the individuals who give the most to charity…. However, the losses these people sustained in the recession and other factors could easily put a damper on their giving, Sharpe and [Sharpe Newkirk Chief Operating Officer Barlow Mann] say…. Subsequent generations will be significantly harder to reach. For one thing, the younger generation, generation X, is much smaller. And another generation, the so-called millennials, are deeply concerned about charitable causes such as equality and the environment, but face especially difficult financial circumstances. Many struggle with crippling student debt and are living at home with their parents well into adulthood. For many years into the future, few millennials will be able to make the larger outright gifts their elders did, according to Sharpe and Mann.”
Posted March 7, 2019
