The average contribution of $754 by all households, including non-contributors, represented a real increase of over 1% since 1995, and the second real increase in household contributions since 1989. Average contributions as a proportion of household income, however, remained the same as in 1995 at 1.7%. Average household income increased by 2% after inflation from $44,369 in 1995 to $45,428 in 1998. This finding indicates that there is capacity for household giving to increase further.

A strong economy, a decline in unemployment, and a significant drop in the numbers of households worried about money led to 70% of all households in this survey giving. Contributions from this group averaged $1,075, or 2.1% of average household income ($50,483). In 1995, a smaller number of contributing households (69%) gave a smaller average contribution of $1,017, but this represented a slightly higher proportion of household income (2.2%).

Each survey since 1987 has observed fluctuations in the percentage of contributions given as a proportion of total household income. In 1998, 52% of households gave less than 1% of their total household income, slightly higher than in 1995 (under 51%). The number of households that contributed 3% or more of their household income also rose since 1993, from 19% to 22% in 1998. A strong economy resulted in more contributing households giving 5% or more of their total household income in 1998 (14%) than in 1993 (12%).

The number of non-contributing households decreased slightly from nearly 32% of all households in 1995 to almost 30% in 1998. After inflation was taken into account, this group of households experienced no real increase in household income since 1987. Contributing and non-contributing household income had increased since 1995 (up to $50,483 and $33,584 in 1998, respectively). Contributing households experienced a real increase after inflation of 1% in their household income between 1995 and 1998, thus helping them regain some value of the level they enjoyed in 1987. Non-contributing household income increased by 3.3% in constant dollars from 1995 through 1998. This group’s income was almost 84% of its 1987 value in 1998. If this trend continues, non-contributing households may begin to contribute as their income rises.

Methods Used to Contribute

Contributing households used between three and four methods to give to charity. The most popular method used by 84% of contributing households was making an in-kind donation of food or clothing. Additionally, 80% reported purchasing goods or services sold by an organization to raise money, and 79% contributed cash - gave a check directly to an organization. Only 1% of contributors used the Internet to make a contribution.

Effects of Tax-Deductibility: Itemizers and Non-Itemizers

Previous surveys indicated that tax policy in the form of the charitable deduction for itemizers affects the amount of household contributions. In 1998, 41% of all respondents who intended to claim a charitable deduction gave 2.5% of their average household income, compared with the 0.6% of household income given by those who did not intend to claim the deduction. The percentage of tax payers who intended to itemize on their tax returns increased to 41% from 38% in 1996, having declined from 50% in 1987. Accordingly, the percentage of respondents reporting the intention to claim a charitable deduction increased slightly from 27% in 1996 to 29% in 1998. Itemizers who donated money gave an average contribution of $1,509 or 2.4% of average household income, which increased to $1,798 or 2.7% of household income if they had claimed a charitable deduction. Non-itemizers gave less than half the average contribution of itemizers and only 1.7% of their household income.

Reasons for Contributing and Not Contributing

Respondents were asked what they thought were important motivations for their contributing. The most frequently cited were:

·	being personally asked to give by someone they knew well (77%)
·	having volunteered at the organization (63%)
·	being asked by clergy to give (61%)
·	reading or hearing a news story (47%)
·	being asked at work to give (46%).

The findings in this survey suggest that volunteering for an organization is an important reason for giving, almost as important as being asked by someone the respondent knew well. There is a strong connection between the giving of time and the giving of money.

The major reasons cited by non-contributors for not giving were :

·	they could not aff o rd to give money (69%)
·	they were making less money this year than last year (47%)
·	they would rather spend their money in other ways (46%)
·	they were unsure about having a job next year (39%).
·	being asked at work to give (46%).