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Research Outline

Prepared for Nick S. | Delivered October 4, 2019

Personas of Doners

Goals

To gain a customer persona for those who make planned gifts/donations to Christian charities and foundations.

Early Findings

  • One profile of Christian givers found that givers value "individual discernment" in their giving, which is being motivated by prayer and "listening to Jesus" to direct their gifts. They do not enjoy institutional direction in their giving.
  • As such, giving is highly personal.
  • One favorite is related to the Bible — increasing access, print and distribution worldwide. Similarly, other motivations like conversions and "church planting" factor heavily.
  • Most gifts are still done in cash. However, there is increasingly interest in more complicated items of value like stock, real estate or assets.
  • As could be expected, religious service attendance is number one factor correlating with charitable effort. Interestingly, though, those regular attenders give equally to religious and non-religious efforts.
  • Among Americans, "giving peaks at ages 61-75, when 77 percent of households donate, ­compared to just over 60 percent among households headed by someone 26-45 years old."
  • When adjusted for income to compensate for higher costs of living, the top states for giving are New York, Utah, Maryland, Connecticut and California. The bottom states are Maine, North Dakota, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Mexico. As you can see, there is no regional pattern for people's propensity to give.
  • The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability found that millennial Christians are more motivated by 'meaningful' gift sentiments than 'generous' ones.
  • There is increased interest in donating to donor-advised funds.