Michael Bacolas

"The statistics on giving in North America is very interesting and surprising, " remarks Michael Bacolas of World Lending Services.

Michael Bacolas quotes some very interesting statistics on charitable contributions.

A relatively small group of truly wealthy individuals is currently responsible for the majority of giving in the United States and Canada, as well as most of the rest of the world:

" You'd be surprised the breakdown in the United States on who is most responsible for charitable donations, " explains Michael Bacolas.

In the U.S., the 4.9% of families with net worth of $1-million or more make 42% of the total during-life contributions to charitable organizations. Of this small but wealthy group, those families with $1-million or more in net worth plus annual incomes exceeding $1-million comprise only 0.2% of the population, yet contribute 14% of all during-life ("inter vivos") giving, while 4.7% with income less than $1-million contributed 28% of all current giving. Paul G. Schervish and John J. Havens, "The New Physics of Philanthropy: The Supply Side Vectors of Charitable Giving/ Part 1: The Material Side of the Supply Side."

Michael Bacolas contrasted the difference between the American and Canadian counterparts. The top one-quarter of donors (21% of Canadians) who gave CAN$325 or more during 2004 provided 82% of the value of all donations, the survey showed. Nationally, more than 22 million Canadians — 85% of the population aged 15 and over — made a financial donation to a charitable or other non-profit organization during the 12-month period covered by the survey. They donated an estimated CAN$8.9-billion, an average of CAN$400 each. During the same one-year period, nearly 12 million Canadians, or 45% of the population aged 15 and over, did some volunteering through a group or organization. Their contributions totaled almost 2 billion hours, which was equivalent to one million full-time jobs. On average, volunteers contributed 168 hours each. Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating 2004 reported in Statistics Canada's The Daily, June 5, 2006. Subscribe free at http://www.statcan.ca/english/dai-quo/subs.htm. Michael Bacolas.

"The affluent are major givers, " points out Michael Bacolas. Fortunately, donating to charity is an integral part of both the budgets and financial plans of most affluent households. In the U.S., nearly half of households plan to increase their charitable giving in 2006 according to the study Wealth in America conducted by Chicago-based Northern Trust (www.northerntrust.com). Most wealthy Americans (71%) surveyed said that donating time and/or money to charities or non-profit organizations is embedded in their family life, and nearly half (47%) want to be personally involved in the charities to which they donate. Michael Bacolas.