Please Share Your Thoughts - Are Americans Becoming Less Charitable?

10/25/2021

Please Share Your Thoughts - Are Americans Becoming Less Charitable?

The question’s not if we will weather this unknown, but how we will weather the unknown together.
Amanda Gorman, first U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate

According to an article in the Giving Square newsletter (available for free access), Americans are becoming less charitable.

The Giving Square, a nonprofit organization whose mission “advances the democratic ideals of equality and civic responsibility by recognizing children as leaders for a new model of philanthropy, one grounded in our natural empathetic connections to the experiences and needs of others,” quotes a study by Indiana University that reports:

“‘The share of American households that donate to charity has been steadily declining since the Great Recession.’
Giving rates decreased across all racial groups.
While giving decreased across age groups, it decreased at a higher rate for younger Americans.
These changes could be attributed to ‘declining trends in empathy, compassion, and interpersonal trust.’”

We want to hear from you, readers of ExchangeEveryDay and Exchange magazine. What has your experience been? Has charitable giving to the early childhood field declined recently – or not? Please post your thoughts in the comments. Thank you.

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